For the first time since 2018, Oregon basketball is not part of the NCAA tournament field. The Ducks knew that before Selection Sunday, of course.

But their season is not over.

Oregon accepted an invitation to play in the NIT and will travel to play at Utah State on Tuesday at 6 p.m. PT on ESPN.

The Ducks (19-14) are a No. 5 seed in the 32-team tournament while Utah State (18-15) is a No. 4 seed.

This marks only the second time in the last 10 seasons that Oregon and coach Dana Altman aren't in the NCAA tournament, not counting the tournament being cancelled by the pandemic in 2020.

Oregon reached the second round of the NIT in 2018.

The Ducks went 3-7 over their final 10 games to fall off the NCAA tournament bubble. They played the Pac-12 tournament without leading scorer Will Richardson, who was unavailable due to a non-COVID illness, the team announced. It's not clear if the senior guard will play in the NIT.

One storyline for Oregon is whether it can get its 20th win, as the Ducks have won more than 20 games in each of Altman's first 11 seasons.

Utah State's best wins came against Oklahoma (73-70 on Nov. 21 in a neutral-site game) and San Diego State (75-57 on Jan. 26 at home), which is a No. 8 seed in the NCAA tournament.

The team is led by 6-foot-7 senior forward Justin Bean (17.7 points, 9.8 rebounds per game) and 6-foot-10 senior forward Brandon Horvath (13.8 PPG, 6.6 RPG). Bean shoots an incredible 47.4 percent from 3-point range (46 of 97), which would lead the country if he had more attempts.