Seton Hall @ Oregon preview

Oregon at Seton Hall

Last Meeting ( Nov 27, 2019 ) Oregon 71, Seton Hall 69

Oregon newcomer Eugene Omoruyi gets an opportunity to go up against a familiar opponent Friday night when the 21st-ranked Ducks meet Seton Hall in a neutral-site, nonconference men's basketball game in Omaha, Neb.

The game is a rematch of a 71-69 Oregon win last November in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas.

Both teams have suffered significant losses in the past 13 months, with Oregon (0-1) having graduated standout Payton Pritchard, who led the Ducks with 16 points in the win, while Seton Hall has seen star Myles Powell, who poured in 32 points in the loss, likewise age out.

The Ducks didn't have Omoruyi available last season as he sat out the year as a transfer from Rutgers.

The senior wasted no time stitching his name into the Oregon record book in his team's 83-75 season-opening loss to Missouri on Wednesday, recording 31 points and 11 rebounds.

The 31 points were the most ever scored by a Duck in his debut for the school.

"Eugene fought his tail off to keep us in the game," Oregon coach Dana Altman praised. "He was by far the brightest spot. Competitive, toughness-wise. Unbelievable effort."

While at Rutgers, the 6-foot-6 forward faced cross-state rival Seton Hall in each of his three seasons, averaging 12.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in his two most recent head-to-heads.

Oregon also got 22 points from Chris Duarte and 13 from Eric Williams Jr. in the loss to Missouri. The Ducks got a total of just four points off the bench in the defeat.

Omoruyi likely will get a chance to duel with Seton Hall's new top player, 6-foot-11 Sandro Mamukelashvili, in the contest's featured matchup.

Mamukelashvili, a native of the country of Georgia who arrived at Seton Hall after a stint at Montverde Academy in Florida, has recorded double-doubles in two of the Pirates' three games. He had 25 points and 10 rebounds in his team's most recent effort, a 76-63 loss at Rhode Island on Wednesday.

The senior totaled 10 points and four rebounds against Oregon last season.

Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard blamed poor ball movement -- his team had just 10 assists as opposed to 14 turnovers -- as the chief shortcoming against Rhode Island.

"We're playing really selfish offensively right now," Willard noted. "I think we're taking a lot of bad shots. When we pass the ball, it's great. The ball's sticking in everyone's hands. It's not one guy; it's sticking in everyone's hands. We gotta get a little more continuity on offense."

As with Oregon, depth was a problem for the Pirates against Rhode Island as their bench contributed just 10 points.

Both teams will take the court with their respective conference openers right around the corner.

Oregon is currently slated to be off until tipping off Pacific-12 Conference play next Saturday at Washington, while Seton Hall will squeeze in Penn State on Sunday and Wagner on Tuesday before opening Big East Conference action against DePaul next Friday.

--Field Level Media