It has been a rough season thus far for Oregon. The Ducks have lost five of their last seven games against Division I foes as they get ready to play host to Portland on Wednesday.

Portland has gotten off to an 8-3 start under coach Shantay Legans, who comes in from Eastern Washington after leading it to the NCAA Tournament last season. He brought starters Mike Meadows and Tyler Robertson with him when he left the Big Sky Conference.

Under Legans, the Pilots have found success getting to the free-throw line. They are scoring just over 23 percent of their points from free throws, which ranks 16th in the country, and are making 81.4 percent of them, which is No. 2 nationally.

Oregon has been uncharacteristically poor on defense this season, ranking 195th in the country in points allowed on a per-possession basis. Opponents are making 54.8 percent of their 2-point shots, which ranks the Ducks’ defense 319th.

In a battle of pair of programs that are trending in opposite directions, Portland will hang tough.

The Play: Portland, +17.5.