Oregon Basketball: 3 takeaways from ugly loss vs. Oregon State

Oregon State got hot early and Oregon basketball had a tough time responding, getting back within five in the second half and never closer.

After what just seemed like a slow start that would be shrugged off before halftime, Oregon fell behind by 10 at the break and could never truly claw its way back into the Pac-12 semifinal battle against Oregon State, falling 75-64.

Oregon fell behind by 14 before going on a 9-0 run to pull within five, but a 3-pointer with the shot clock expiring by Jarod Lucas was the dagger as it put the Beavers up eight and they didn’t look back.

Unlike the last matchup in Corvallis on Oregon State’s senior day, the Ducks were ice-cold from 3-point range. In the previous meeting, Oregon was 15-for-23 from deep but that luck didn’t carry over into this one as the Ducks finished just 6-for-25 from distance.

What’d we learn from this ugly loss?

3. Oregon settled for too many low-percentage shots

There was a theme developing early on for the Ducks which led to them falling behind by double digits in the first half. What was it? Settling for low-percentage looks.

Oregon would give up a bucket on one end and then come back down and shoot a three way too early in the shot clock instead of trying to drive and score or dish. They weren’t making good decisions on offense and that just carried over to the defensive end as frustration was beginning to set in.

The Ducks did have a sense of urgency late in the game when they pulled within five, but it seemed like that Jarod Lucas 3-pointer just deflated them as they gave up seven straight Oregon State points after scoring nine consecutive of their own. They then panicked and settled for long-range jumpers to try and get back in it quickly.

Sometimes you live by the three but on Friday night, the Ducks died by it.