How to watch: Oregon basketball vs. Kent State
In their final non-conference matchup of the season, the Oregon Ducks will look to capture some momentum before beginning Pac-12 play.
Oregon (7-3) will host Kent State (7-3) in Eugene Thursday evening.
The Ducks are coming off an ugly neutral-site loss to Syracuse during which they had just seven scholarship players available. The Orange trounced Oregon, 83-63, while capitalizing on some sloppy turnovers.
The Golden Flashes, meanwhile, are riding a three-game winning streak and notched an 83-77 win over Cleveland State last time out.
Here is everything you need to know in order to watch Oregon’s final non-conference tilt of the year.
How to watch Oregon Ducks vs. Kent State Golden Flashes
When: Tuesday, Dec. 21 at 6 p.m. PT
Where: Matthew Knight Arena — Eugene, Ore.
TV: Pac-12 Networks
Radio: SiriusXM Channel 197 (Portland); 1080 AM, 95.3 FM (Eugene); TuneIn.com/Ducks (online)
Oregon injury report
Out
- C N’Faly Dante (knee)
- C Nate Bittle (wrist)
- F Mookie Cook (ankle)
- G Jesse Zarzuela (ankle)
- G Keeshawn Barthelemy (ankle)
More on Oregon’s 2023-24 season
The Ducks have managed to tread water this season despite missing five key players for much of the year.
True freshman point guard Jackson Shelstad has been carrying Oregon on the offensive end of the floor and has been the program’s brightest player for much of the season. He leads the Ducks with 12.7 points on 47% shooting, including 35% from three-point range.
Senior guards Jermaine Couisnard (11.7 PPG) and Kario Oquendo (10.3 PPG) have also played big roles offensively, and reserve center Mahamadou Diawara has stepped into a starting role while N’Faly Dante and Nate Bittle are sidelined.
During last Sunday’s loss against Syracuse, though, Oregon was badly outplayed on both ends of the floor.
During a mid-week media availability, head coach Dana Altman refused to use the Ducks’ flurry of injuries as an excuse. He made it clear that he wasn’t pleased with what he saw effort-wise during the Syracuse loss.
“I’ve been on them,” Altman said. “I’m not going to let them get away with that. I got to hold them accountable for something. Seems accountability is something that nobody wants; but I mean we made a lot of mistakes. Just unacceptable.”
The Ducks will look to contain a Kent State squad that ranks 27th nationally at 84.3 points per game. Jalen Sullinger leads the Golden Flashes with 15.6 points per game and is shooting 43% from three-point range on 5.8 attempts per game.
“They’ve got two guards who are really quick,” Altman said. “They’ve got five lefties out of their 10 guys so it’s kind of an unusual deal with those guys that can go left. Athletic, old, all the things — they’ve got two or three graduate students, a redshirt senior. Old team, well coached.
“We’re going to have to play our tails off. Fundamentally they’re really sound.”
