BASKETBALL

Once in the top 10 this season, Oregon is descending rapidly towards the bubble. The Ducks (16-8, 5-8 Big Ten) have dropped five in a row following road losses to Michigan and Michigan State and open the week in a three-way tie for 11th in the Big Ten. Despite the losses, Oregon moved up two spots from a week ago to No. 35 in NET, but that won’t persist if the losses continue to mount. Five of UO’s seven remaining games are in Quadrant 2, with at least the USC game likely to drop to Q3.

More importantly, this week is a pair of what has effectively becomes must-wins. The Ducks host Northwestern (Tuesday, 8 p.m., Big Ten Network), one of the worst power conference programs in the history of college basketball. Then Oregon hosts Rutgers (4 p.m. Sunday, FS1), which is tied with Oregon in the conference standings. Dropping either game could make missing the Big Ten tournament a legitimate possibility.

FOOTBALL

The NFL offseason won’t last long. By the time the Philadelphia Eagles complete their victory parade Friday, it’ll be less than two weeks until the scouting combine kicks off in Indianapolis. Free agency follows on March 10 with the two-day negotiating period. The annual league meeting starts March 30. The seven teams with new head coaches may open offseason workout programs on April 7 and the remaining 25 teams can follow two weeks later. Then, it’s time for the NFL draft on April 24 in Green Bay.

Some of the league’s offseason priorities include player health and safety and conversations about potential new rules, including reviewing kickoffs following a one-year experiment with dynamic changes.

TRACK & FIELD

Track and field moved toward adopting rules that would place athletes assigned female at birth but have higher testosterone levels, like Caster Semenya, under the same set of rules as transgender athletes who were born male and transitioned to female.

World Athletics announced recommendations that would apply strict transgender rules to people like Semenya, who was born female but has what the organization describes as naturally occurring testosterone levels in the typical male range.

AUTO RACING

NASCAR has no shortage of storylines headed into its 76th season. The biggest one is the federal lawsuit NASCAR is embroiled in with NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan. This year also marks the start of a new seven-year television package that welcomes Amazon and Warner Bros. Discovery to a multi-network deal.

NASCAR will also take the Cup Series outside the United States for a race that counts for the first time since 1958 with a June race in Mexico City. The season opens Sunday with the Daytona 500.