Oregon
USC gives No. 12 Oregon a scare before collapsing late in Big Ten debut loss
Little about the first month of his first season at USC had gone as Eric Musselman hoped. His USC offense had struggled to score. His defense struggled to get stops. And on the glass, only a few of college basketball’s 355 teams had been worse than the Trojans, who struggled with dispatching the likes of Grambling and Texas Arlington.
But after stumbling its way through the first eight games of the Muss era, here was a chance, in its Big Ten debut, for USC to stem the tide of those early-season struggles.
Until late Wednesday, the Trojans seemed well on their way to seizing that opportunity against Oregon, which sat atop the conference after a spotless 8-0 start. Then, in the final minutes, everything unraveled for USC in a 68-60 loss to No. 12 Oregon.
A defense that, for most of the game, appeared transformed from its early-season iteration was rolled over in the final minutes. Three different Ducks hit three-pointers in a stretch of a few possessions. One USC turnover turned into another … and another.
In a matter of five minutes, Oregon had turned a five-point deficit into a five-point lead. And the Ducks didn’t look back.
It was an especially disappointing finish given how impressive USC (5-4) had looked out of the gate. The Trojans looked like a totally different team during their Big Ten debut, clamping down on defense and outmuscling Oregon on the boards.
USC forward Terrance Williams II, left, and guard Wesley Yates III, right, try to steal the ball away from Oregon guard Jadrian Tracey in the first half Wednesday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Until the Ducks got hot late, USC had held them to a meager 30% from the field through 32 minutes. But the final eight would prove to be the issue.
Point guard Desmond Claude did his best to carry the Trojans across the finish line with a season-high 22 points. Outside of Claude, though, few of USC’s shooters managed to find their stroke. The rest of the roster shot just 10 of 35.
Oregon opened the game shooting just one for eight from the floor, as USC swarmed the Ducks on defense in a way it hadn’t yet this season. With a renewed effort on that end, the Trojans forced nine turnovers in the first half, nearly matching Oregon’s per-game average before halftime, while limiting Oregon to just 23 points.
Oregon guard Jackson Shelstad celebrates after making a three-pointer against USC with 4:08 left in the game.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
USC would need its defense to continue doing the heavy lifting from there. With both offenses grinding to a half, the Trojans clung tightly to a lead throughout the second half, relying primarily on Claude to orchestrate whatever offense he could manage.
Eventually, that grip loosened. Through one five-minute stretch, as Oregon sped past USC, the Ducks hit five straight from the field, including three from deep. The barrage turned the game on its head at the worst time for USC, which dropped its third straight game.
The good times keep on rolling for the Oregon Ducks in the recruiting world. Dan Lanning and the Ducks scored a massive commitment from five-star quarterback Will Mencl out of Chandler, Arizona.
Oregon had been rumored to be leading the race for Mencl’s services for months, but the No. 1 quarterback in the country, per Rivals, cleared the air and committed to the Ducks on Wednesday evening. Mencl chose the Ducks over Auburn and Penn State, both of which battled hard for him down the stretch.
However, Mencl has been connected to Oregon for a long time. While he was offered last fall before breaking out in his junior season, Mencl has been a fan of the program long before he popped up on the Ducks’ recruiting radar. In a post shared by Rivals recruiting expert Steve Wiltfong, Mencl was announced as a quarterback for the Ducks when he was a kid at the 2019 NFL Draft fan experience in 2019.
Now, Mencl is ready to don the green and yellow for real and make his childhood dreams come true. The Ducks have made a point to get Mencl on campus as often as possible and as recently as last week. The continued connection between both sides is ultimately what made the decision easy for the nation’s top passer. Mencl said he told Lanning and the Oregon staff about his decision on Sunday.
“The biggest thing was the relationship with the staff,” Mencl said after committing. “I feel like that continued to grow over time, especially when I first got there last spring. Being able to sit down with Coach Koa, really being an underlooked guy at that time, and kind of blowing up my junior season. And then, the path to the NFL. You can’t deny what they do with quarterbacks and the type of scheme they run. I felt like that was the best fit for me and my family to get to the next level.”
Koa Ka’ai, Oregon’s new quarterback coach, made waves earlier in the offseason after his recruiting test about ice cream flavors went viral, but that doesn’t appear to have scared Mencl off. In fact, the two have a close connection that Oregon hopes will translate to success on the field in the near future.
“My relationship with Coach Koa, I feel like that is super, super strong,” Mencl told Rivals. “I’ve had a lot of discussions with Coach Lanning about the culture there and how they’re going to continue to sustain greatness throughout the program.”
Mencl exploded onto the national recruiting scene with a massive junior season for Chandler. He completed more than 70% of his passes for 3,815 yards and 33 touchdowns against five interceptions in his junior season, leading Chandler to a state title berth. He also rushed for 741 yards and an additional 17 touchdowns.
The Ducks expect to have some competition for Mencl to compete with when he joins the team for the 2027 season, with Dylan Raiola and Akili Smith Jr. already on the roster and competing for a role as the backup. Oregon has gone to the transfer portal as well in recent seasons, finding success with Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel, and now Dante Moore.
Oregon has recruited well at quarterback in the past, establishing an NFL pedigree that attracted Mencl. Maybe he will be the one to buck the trend and give the Ducks a true, homegrown product under center.
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‘Pour in the largest glass you can find while slow dancing in your socks,’ a Wine Enthusiast contributor said of an Oregon wine
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Wine Enthusiast released a list of the top 40 sparkling wines around the world in 2026 – highlighting two bottles of bubbly from Oregon.
“While it can seem like you need a fortune to enjoy high quality sparkling wine, you honestly don’t. Excellent affordable bubbles are being produced around the world, often in places you might not expect. Each of the selections on our inaugural Top 40 Sparkling Wines list delivers personality, freshness, and celebration for under $75,” Wine Enthusiast wrote.
Wine Enthusiast divided its list into separate sparkling categories including, Champagne, Italian Bollicine, American sparkling and bottles $25 and under.
Snagging a spot on the American sparkling list: Corollary Wines in McMinnville.
Corollarly’s 2021 Momtazi Carbonic Rosé Pinot Noir scored 96 points from Wine Enthusiast.
“This is a Peter Max print of a wine, with vivid aromas and flavors to match the wine’s electric Kool-Aid color. It is filled to the brim with aromas and flavors of macerated strawberries, candied rose petals, apricots, and a bitter note similar to watermelon rind. Pour in the largest glass you can find while slow dancing in your socks,” wrote Wine Enthusiast contributor Michael Alberty.
The second Oregon winery to earn a spot on the list: Lytle-Barnett in Dundee.
Wine Enthusiast also gave Lytle-Barnett’s 2018 Brut Rosé Pinot Noir Chardonnay 96 points.
“Bubbles as persistent as an eight-year-old with a question deliver aromas of dried rose petals, macerated strawberries, and a touch of fresh hay and talc. This 70/30 Pinot Noir and Chardonnay blend is packed with flavors of lemon zest, Honeycrisp apple slices drizzled in caramel, and a dollop of raspberry,” Alberty wrote.
The nods to Corollary and Lytle-Barnett come as the wineries recently helped launch Method Oregon, a nonprofit made up of 50 Oregon wineries aiming to turn Oregon into a global sparkling wine destination.
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