How to Watch Nebraska Men’s Basketball at No. 16 Oregon: Preview, Breakdown, TV Channel

The Huskers meet their new Pacific Northwest conference foes for the first time, with the ranked Ducks up first.

Jan 30, 2025; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers guard Brice Williams (3) reacts after a foul during the second half against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Pinnacle Bank Arena. / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Ding dong, the streak is dead. 

The Nebraska men’s basketball team ended its own misery by snapping their six-game losing streak with a 80-74 overtime win over No. 17 Illinois to mark the Huskers third Quad One win. Brice Williams balled out for a game-high 27 points while Connor Essegian added 14 points off the bench and Juwan Gary chipped in 13. 

NU held the Illini to 35.6% shooting from the field including a 2-for-12 mark in overtime. Nebraska finally solved its defensive woes from three-point range as Illinois shot 23.8% from deep with 10 three pointers made. 

Despite the losing streak, Nebraska still controls its own destiny for a path to the NCAA Tournament with its trio of ranked wins. They have another chance to do that on Sunday when the face a ranked Oregon team as the Huskers look for their first true road win since late December.   

Here’s all you need to know as Nebraska travels to Eugene to take on the Ducks Sunday night.

How to Follow Along 

• Matchup: Nebraska (13-8, 3-7 B1G) at No. 16 Oregon (16-5, 5-5 B1G)
• When: Sunday, February 2, 2025
• Where: Matthew Knight Arena, Eugene, Oregon
• Time: 6:30 p.m. CST
• Watch: Big Ten Network
• Listen: Huskers Radio Network and Affiliates

No. 16 Oregon Scout

Head Coach: Dana Altman | 15th Season at Oregon; 40th as Head Coach | 361-157 (.697) at Oregon; 771-400 (.658) Career HC Record | 16x NCAA Tournament Appearances, 1x Final Four, 1x Elite Eight, 3x Sweet 16 | 10x Conference Tournament titles (6x MVC, 4x Pac-12), 7x Conference Regular Season titles (3x MVC, 4x Pac-12) | 3x Pac-12 Coach OTY, 2x MVC Coach OTY, Big Eight Coach OTY, SoCon Coach OTY, Jim Phelan Award (2013) | Previous head coach at Creighton, Kansas State, Marshall, Moberly CC, Southeast CC | Previous assistant at Kansas State and Western Colorado.

Jan 18, 2025; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dana Altman watches the game action during the first half against the Purdue Boilermakers at Matthew Knight Arena. / Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images

2023-2024 Record: 24-12 (12-8 Pac-12, 4th) | 1x All Pac-12 first team, 1x All Pac-12 second team, 1x Pac-12 All-Freshman, 1x Pac-12 All-Defensive | L, 86-73 to Creighton in NCAA Round of 32.. 

All-Time Series: Nebraska leads 7-6 (December 15, 2012 last matchup, 60-38 Oregon). 

Key Returners: Jackson Shelstad, G, Soph. | Nate Bittle, C, Sr. | Keeshawn Barthelemy, G, Sr. | Jadrian Tracey, G, R-Sr. | Kwame Evans, Jr., F, Soph. | 

Key Additions: Kasparas Jakucionis, G, Fr. (Recruit) | Tomislav Ivisic, C, Soph. (Montenegro) | Kylan Boswell, G, Jr. (Arizona) | Tre White, G, Jr. (Louisville) | Will Riley, F, Fr. (Recruit) | Ben Humrichous, F, Gr. (Evansville) | Morez Johnson Jr., F, Fr. (Recruit) | Jake Davis, F, Soph. (Mercer) | Carey Booth, F, Soph. (Notre Dame). 

Key Departures: N’Faly Dante, C (NBA) | Jermaine Couisnard, G (NBA) | Jesse Zarzuela, G (Transfer Portal) | Kario Oquendo, G, Gr. (SMU) | Brennan Rigsby, G, Sr. (Minnesota) | Mahamadou Diawara, C (Eligibility). 

Jan 21, 2025; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Washington Huskies forward Great Osobor (1) battles Oregon Ducks center Nate Bittle (32) and forward Brandon Angel (21) for a rebound during the second half at Matthew Knight Arena. / Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images

Outlook: Former Creighton head coach Dana Altman has enjoyed a plethora of success since leaving the Bluejays as he’s in the midst of his 15th season in charge of the Ducks and 40th overall as a head coach. Oregon has reached 20 wins in every season under Altman and that won’t change this season. An Elite Eight and Final Four in back-to-back seasons established Altman as one of the best in program history and has widely been respected as one of the best in college basketball. 

The Ducks got back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in three seasons in 2023-2024, losing to his former team Creighton in the Round of 32 in a double overtime classic. There’s been plenty of turnover in the roster since that game, including the departure of the team’s two leading scorers in N’Faly Dante and Jermaine Couisnard — who both made Pac-12 All-Conference teams — as they each secured NBA contracts as free agents. Kario Oquendo and Brennan Rigsby were each solid contributors off the bench with over seven points a contest but they transferred to SMU and Minnesota respectively. 

Altman has leaned into his team’s development with a couple of transfer portal pickups to form the core of this season’s team. Four of the six leading scorers so far this season were at Oregon last season including leading scorer Nate Bittle (12.9 PPG, 7.4 RPG) as well as guard Jackson Shelstad who’s putting up 12.1 points and a team-high 56 assists. Keeshawn Barthlemy has improved his production after playing 18 games last season, dropping in 9.7 PPG. Jadrian Tracey has started 16 of the 21 games this season adding 7.9 PPG. 

Jan 25, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Oregon Ducks guard TJ Bamba (5) is fouled by Minnesota Golden Gophers guard Femi Odukale (11) during the second half at Williams Arena. / Nick Wosika-Imagn Images

6-foot-5 Villanova transfer guard TJ Bamba has been the biggest addition through the portal with the senior being third on the team in scoring 10.4 PPG, plus a team-leading 36 steals. Senior forward Brandon Angel earned a starting spot for the Ducks after transferring from Stanford where he averaged 13 points a contest. Supreme Cook has added over six points per game off the bench after coming over from Georgetown. 

A 15-2 start to the season created a lot of buzz around the Ducks, but a dry spell of three losses in four games has halted the momentum. That includes a blowout loss to UCLA on the road Thursday night which came after another road loss to Minnesota 77-69. Oregon is fourth in the conference in free throw percentage (75.2%), but they remain either in the middle or in the bottom half of the conference in most other major statistical categories. 

The Ducks will be chomping at the bit to get back home after two brutal losses away from Eugene and Matthew Knight Arena. Despite the win over Illinois, Nebraska has yet to inspire confidence that they can win on the road, let alone against a top-20 opponent. Give me the Ducks in this one, but you never know what can happen with some pressure lifted after snapping a big losing streak. 

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