Oregon vs. Liberty: 2025 NCAA Tournament Odds & Picks

by BettingPros Staff |
Mar 16, 2025

The 2025 NCAA Tournament is officially here! The March Madness Bracket is set, and first-round NCAA Tournament matchups are in place. It’s time to make your picks and predictions for the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament! We’re here to help as we’ll have picks and predictions for each of the first-round 2025 NCAA Tournament games. Here are our top picks and predictions for Oregon vs. Liberty.

2025 NCAA Tournament Odds & Picks: Oregon vs. Liberty

Let’s dive into our top picks and predictions for this opening-round NCAA Tournament matchup.

2025 NCAA Tournament Preview: Oregon vs. Liberty

Oregon 2025 NCAA Tournament Preview

The Ducks quack into March Madness as a dangerous tournament threat under veteran head coach Dana Altman, whose program has impressively weathered the transition to the Big Ten with a top-50 offense and defense.

Oregon’s identity starts on the defensive side, which has proven adept at preventing easy scoring opportunities and ranks among the nation’s elite at limiting free throw attempts while forcing opponents into difficult shots both at the rim and beyond the arc.

Offensively, the Ducks feature a balanced attack built around sophomore Jackson Shelstad, whose combination of shooting range and creative playmaking drives the Oregon offense. T.J. Bamba provides physical wing scoring and isolation excellence, while Nate Bittle offers floor spacing and rim protection as the team's leading scorer.

Oregon is entering the tournament on a roll, going 8-1 over its last nine games, but the Ducks’ win over Wisconsin is the only high-quality win in that time frame. It seemed to be a season of runs for Oregon, and a 10-point loss to Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament might foreshadow an NCAA Tournament struggle. Despite their strengths, questions remain about who emerges as the Ducks’ true star in crunch time. But their well-roundedness positions them for a solid tournament, and Oregon showed up in neutral-court games and non-conference, with all their losses coming to Big Ten foes.

The lack of pure shooters may hold this team back, but all they've done is win on the neutral court and out of conference, so it's hard to doubt this squad.

Liberty 2025 NCAA Tournament Preview

The Liberty Flames arrive in the NCAA Tournament as Conference USA champions with an impressive 28-6 record under coach Ritchie McKay’s disciplined system. Ranked in the top 75 across the analytical sites, Liberty embodies tactical precision with elite shooting prowess as they enter March Madness with the highest effective field goal percentage in DI hoops. This is a team of sharpshooters with Kaden Matheny, Taelon Peter, and Colin Porter all capable of lights-out performances with the latter two shooting over 44% on the season from deep.

No team depends on more points from beyond the arc than the Flames so they will lean heavily on their shooters. Defensively, the Flames excel at perimeter containment with opponents shooting nearly 28% from deep, one of the lowest clips in the nation. Combine that with rarely sending opponents to the free-throw line, and how well their defense travels, and you can see how scary of a unit this can be. This is a veteran team with little depth, ranking 348th in bench minutes per game.

If they face an up-tempo squad, be wary of late-game play, as their free throw shooting is a bottom-25 percentage in all of hoops. While offensive rebounding remains their Achilles’ heel if they're missing shots, they do a good job at, well, not missing shots. This team handled business against Kansas State and McNeese in neutral court matchups so they are capable of playing up in class. If they can continue their elite shooting then it’s easy to see a Cinderella run, despite their lower field goal attempt rate altogether.

2025 NCAA Tournament Predictions: Oregon vs. Liberty

The Oregon Ducks got hot at the right time. It's no secret that they had to adjust to Big Ten play. Their travel schedule was wild in their first year in the Big Ten. However, Oregon won seven consecutive games before losing to Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament on Friday to close out the season.

While the Ducks have been inconsistent this year, they're still a balanced group with much experience. Oregon has shot a 52.2% effective field goal percentage and hit 76.3% from the foul line. That said, they're facing a Liberty team that has shot nearly 40% from three and has limited teams to 28% from inside the arc.

The Flames aren't going to add a whole lot of offensive rebounds. They're also not the best from the foul line. But as long as nerves don't get to Liberty, the Flames could easily out-shoot Oregon and pull off an upset.

2025 NCAA Tournament Picks: Oregon vs. Liberty

Bet: Liberty +7.5 (-102 via FanDuel Sportsbook)

Check out all of our 2025 NCAA Tournament Bracket & Betting Coverage >>

2025 NCAA Tournament Sports Betting Picks

For those looking to place bets on the matchups, let's take a look at the early odds and picks for the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

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