Two weeks ago, the Oregon Ducks narrowly lost to Purdue before a comeback win against the Washington Huskies. They were still in the thick of it in the conference standings and looking like a solid team who could hang with almost anyone. After all, an undefeated non-conference schedule featuring signature wins over Alabama and Texas A&M proved that this team has the ability to be special. However, the Ducks have now dropped three straight and are looking like pretenders in a crowded Big Ten.
Oregon’s Losing Streak Began With A Tough Road Trip
On January 25th, Oregon visited Minneapolis to face a Minnesota Golden Gophers team that was in the Big Ten’s basement. Yet, after another slow start and a 31-point explosion from Dawson Garcia, the Ducks lost 77-69. As head coach Dana Altman noted, Oregon continues to do themselves no favors with seemingly not being ready to play in the opening stages.
We were just flat coming out. We’ve been flat coming out and we get ourselves in binds… We probably expended a lot of energy there and we didn’t have enough to finish.
Oregon displayed several recurring issues, including second chance points. They had exactly 0 of them against Minnesota and were also outrebounded by 9. With only 4 offensive rebounds as a team, they were outdone in that category singlehandedly by Minnesota’s Parker Fox, who had 6 by himself.
Leading scorer Nate Bittle put up a blank on 0-3 shooting. Brandon Angel did his best to make up for it, tallying 18 points, and TJ Bamba and Jackson Shelstad chipped in 15 each, but it was not enough. The Oregon offense continued to look stale, with contested jumpers, no second-chance points, and poor ball movement all remaining the norm.
A disappointing trip to the Midwest was followed up by a much more familiar visit to Los Angeles, with the opponent being the UCLA Bruins, who have had their fair share of struggles as well. However, even with a better start, the Ducks were completely outclassed and lost 78-52, letting the Bruins walk all over them in an ugly second half. At one point, Oregon surrendered a 22-4 run that completely buried the game.
UCLA knocks off No. 16 Oregon🤯 pic.twitter.com/3A31ateZdy
— College Basketball Review (@CbbReview) January 31, 2025
The Bruins were +21 from long range, as Oregon shot just 17.4%. Bittle, who was questionable to play coming into the contest, was outplayed by UCLA’s Tyler Bilodeau, who himself had recently returned from injury. Bittle managed 13 points, but this time it was Shelstad, the team’s second-leading scorer, who put up zero points. By night’s end, the guard had as many turnovers as attempted field goals. The Ducks looked like they physically did not belong on the floor with the Bruins, who frankly bullied them into submission.
Oregon Drops Another Game At Home Against Nebraska
The Ducks returned home to face a hot Nebraska Cornhuskers team on Sunday. After toppling an Illinois team that Oregon was blown out by earlier in the season, Nebraska came into Matthew Knight Arena and had a near-wire-to-wire win over the Ducks. Despite going 4-23 from deep, Nebraska shot 51% from the field. Although Oregon actually grabbed 11 offensive rebounds, their extra shots did not result in enough points to win. The final score was 77-71.
The inconsistencies and lack of cohesiveness on offense are very apparent. Bittle once again went cold and only managed 4 points. Shelstad returned to form with 16, but Bittle’s struggles were accented by Keeshawn Barthelemy, who went 2-11 and only had 4 points. The team is far too hot and cold to give themselves a chance. This time, an early 18-5 run put the game permanently out of reach.
Former NFL offensive linemen and Oregon grad Geoff Schwartz was highly critical of the team after the losing streak grew to three straight. His opinions are shared by many other fans.
Oregon basketball is ranked. At least that’s what it says on the screen. You wouldn’t know by watching them play the last two weeks.
— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) February 3, 2025
The worst news for Duck fans is the hardest section of conference play awaits, with road games against the Michigan Wolverines and the conference-leading Michigan State Spartans on deck for next week.
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