Oregon implodes against Cal at home, loses 78-64
Saturday’s matinee against Cal was supposed to be an easy win for Oregon. Instead, it was a disaster. “A difficult loss,” Dana Altman called it.
The Ducks (16-8, 9-4) came in winning 10 of their last 11 games. They were 13.5-point home favorites against lowly Cal (11-15, 4-11), who’d lost 10 of their last 11. Final score: Oregon 64, Cal 78.
The visitors didn’t do anything flukey to beat Oregon. They simply out-shot and out-worked the Ducks.
“It was a flat effort,” Altman said. “We came out and gave ’em easy baskets to start the game, they got rolling, and we could never get it stopped.”
Despite sticking with a smaller lineup, Oregon shot just 37.9% from the field and 5/27 from three (three of which came in garbage time). They also missed eight free throws, including seven in the second half.
“We didn’t do anything to give ourselves an opportunity to win the game,” Altman said.
Cal’s Jordan Shepherd blitzed the Ducks for 33 points on 9/15 FG. No other Cal player had more than eight, but nine different players contributed. The Bears shot 52% from the field and made 20 of their 24 free throws.
“They did everything necessary to win the game and we sure didn’t,” Altman said bluntly.
Will Richardson returned to form with 22 points and nine boards, but no other Oregon player reached double-figures until the game was out of reach. Quincy Guerrier finished with 15 points, while De’Vion Harmon added 11.
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With 15 seconds left in the first half, Jacob Young missed the front end of a one-and-one. On the other end, a blown defensive assignment gave Shepherd a wide open dunk. It was a perfect demonstration of Oregon’s first-half incompetence. The Golden Bears led 38-22 at halftime.
That first half was Oregon’s worst basketball since their early-season capitulation against BYU. Considering the opponent, it’s probably even worse. The Bears went on a 24-0 run at one point.
“We got stuck on 12 [points] for about two hours I think,” Altman said.
The second half didn’t go much better — Oregon failed to make a field goal until there were 10 minutes left in the game. Even when the Ducks made big momentum-swinging plays, they just couldn’t hit shots.
“Anytime we got it close to 10, we gave up easy baskets,” Altman said.
Notes
The Ducks have an opportunity to boost their resume with a trip to Arizona coming up, but this is a huge blow to their NCAA Tournament bid chances. They likely need to either win out or win the Pac-12 Tournament to get in.
Oregon will look to bounce back as they host Wazzu (14-8, 7-4) on Valentine’s Day.
Ernie and Jordan Kent were on the call for Pac-12 Networks. Ernie (father) is a former Oregon coach and Jordan is a former Duck.
