Oregon
Will No. 13 Oregon men’s basketball be able to slow down Braden Smith, No. 17 Purdue?
EUGENE — By far Oregon’s biggest remaining home game this season, a top 20 clash with two-time reigning Big Ten champion Purdue carries significant stakes.
The No. 13 Ducks (15-2, 4-2 Big Ten) are ahead of the No. 17 Boilermakers in the polls, but behind them in the conference standings and NET entering Saturday’s game (12 p.m., NBC) at Matthew Knight Arena.
Both teams could use the Quadrant 1 win to improve their respective resumes come Selection Sunday, with Purdue (14-4, 6-1) arguably in bigger need of the road victory with all of its losses coming away from home. But as jockeying at the top of the Big Ten intensifies these are the matchups that will go a long way to determining the top four seeds in the conference tournament, which all receive double byes.