The Oregon Ducks are ranked No. 21 in On3’s way-too-early college basketball rankings after NBA Draft decisions. Oregon got a huge boost when Nate Bittle announced earlier this week that he would be forgoing the 2025 NBA Draft and returning to Oregon for his fifth season. 

Are the Ducks ranked too low?

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The No. 1 team in On3’s ranking are the Purdue Boilermakers. The Houston Cougars are right behind them at No. 2. Here is On3’s full top 25:

No. 1: Purdue Boilermakers

No. 2: Houston Cougars

No. 3: UConn Huskies 

No. 4: St. John’s Red Storm 

No. 5: BYU Cougars 

No. 6: Michigan Wolverines 

No. 7: Louisville Cardinals 

No. 8: Kentucky Wildcats 

No. 9: Florida Gators

No. 10: Duke Blue Devils

No. 11: Texas Tech Red Raiders

No. 12: Tennessee Volunteers

No. 13: Alabama Crimson Tide 

No. 14: Creighton Bluejays

No. 15: Auburn Tigers

No. 16: Arizona Wildcats

No. 17: Illinois Fighting Illini

No. 18: Kansas Jayhawks

No. 19: Baylor Bears

No. 20: San Diego State Aztecs

No. 21: Oregon Ducks

No. 22: Virginia Cavaliers 

No. 23: UCLA Bruins

No. 24: Iowa State Cyclones 

No. 25: North Carolina Tar Heels

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Oregon will be getting their top two leaders scorers from the 2024-2025 season for 2025-2026. Those players would be center Nate Bittle and guard Jackson Shelstad. 

Bittle led Oregon in points, rebounds, and blocks per game. He averaged 14.2 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game. At the end of the season, Bittle announced that he would be entering the 2025 NBA Draft while retaining his college eligibility. In the end, Bittle decided that going back to Oregon for his fifth collegiate season would be in his best interests. 

Junior guard Jackson Shelstad was second in both points and assistz per game for Oregon last season. Shelstad averaged 13.7 points and 2.7 assists. He has also been the Ducks go-to guy in crunch time. 

Oregon will also be getting back forward Kwame Evans, who improved as the season went on last season. In the transfer portal, Oregon added TK Simpkins, Sean Stewart, Miles Stewart, Miles Goodman, and Devon Pryor. 

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The Oregon Ducks will be entering their second season as a member of the Big Ten conference. Oregon finished 2024-2025 with an overall record of 25-10 and a mark of 12-8 in Big Ten play. They placed eighth in the Big Ten. 

Dana Altman’s squad earned a No. 5 seed in the NCAA tournament. It was the highest seed Oregon had got in a NCAA tournament since the 2017, when the Ducks got a No. 3 seed and made the Final Four. 

Oregon won their first round matchup against the No. 12 seeded Liberty Flames, but fell in the round of 32 to the No. 4 seeded Arizona Wildcats. 

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