It seems like for the majority of Oregon Men’s Basketball seasons, there has to come a point when Dana Altman “works his magic” and gets the team playing as a cohesive unit.
Anytime now would be great, Dana.
Oregon lost yet again Saturday, this time at the hands of UCLA 74-63.
The Bruins jumped ahead very early and pushed their lead to as much as 18 in the first half. Heading into the locker room, they were ahead 44-31.
Fortunately, the Ducks had enough pride to fight back, cutting the deficit all the way
down to three in the second half.
Unfortunately, they once again faltered down the stretch, allowing the Bruins to close out a comfortable win.
Jackson Shelstad played well for Oregon with 20 points, and Ty Simpkins added 14 as both players shot over 50% from the field.
Aside from that though, Oregon got hardly anything.
Kwame Evans sat out with an illness and Nate Bittle, returning from an ankle injury, recorded only three points while going 0-10 from the field.
Defensively, Oregon allows a ton of space. And they were fortunate UCLA wasn’t shooting very well or the game could have been far worse. Despite their size, giving up offensive rebounds continues to be a problem.
Offensively, the Ducks look flat out lost. Their pick-and-roll action is essentially defunct outside of Shelstad. Their free throw shooting remains head-scratching, and they often stand in place for several seconds at a time, as if expecting something to happen rather than forcing action.
Last year during midseason, Oregon was also in the throes of a five game losing streak, and they ended up rattling off eight consecutive victories following that.
The talent on this team is high-end. The execution and cohesiveness is at a Junior-Varsity level at best.
Even considering the way they’re playing, three of Oregon’s next four games seem to be completely winnable.
It may not necessarily take “Altman magic”, but it’s going to take a lot more than what we’ve seen to have reasonable hope heading into January.
