Oregon Men's Basketball Ranked No. 15 in Preseason AP Top-25

The Associated Press' preseason poll puts the Ducks right in the mix with some of the best teams in all of college basketball.

The end of October is nearly upon us, and that means that the Oregon Ducks basketball program is set to get underway in the coming weeks. While the Oregon football team has steadily climbed the AP Top-25 over the last several weeks, the men's basketball is starting the season firmly planted in the mix, being named the No. 15 team in the AP Preseason ranking. 

The men's basketball team will feature many new faces this season, with players like N'Faly Dante, Eugene Omoruyi, Shakur Juiston, and Francis Okoro set to take the floor. While the Ducks will look to mesh together in the early weeks of the season, senior guard Payton Pritchard will be at the head of it all. 

With all of the new talent coming into the program, ESPN recently highlighted some of the most notable pieces that Oregon has, focusing mainly on Juiston, who transferred from UNLV this season. 

It seems as if Dana Altman's plan is to just overwhelm opponents with long, talented athletes, the same formula he employed during his team's Final Four run in the 2016-17 season. That's why he added a 6-7 athlete such as Juiston, a transfer from UNLV who played in just eight games last season. He was a junior college All-American before he averaged 14.6 PPG and 10.0 RPG for the Runnin' Rebels in 2017-18.

The Ducks are set to get their season underway in the coming weeks, with the Green/Yellow scrimmage taking place on October 30th, and the first regular-season game against Fresno State on November 5th. Starting on November 12th, Oregon will head to Portland to take part in the Phil Knight Invitational at the Moda Center, where they will face high-profile teams like Memphis and Houston.