Oregon Basketball: 3 takeaways from brutal PK Invitational loss to BYU

2. This team is going to rely heavily on Will Richardson

The ESPN broadcasters said it early in the first half when Oregon was down by about 10-15 points: Will Richardson needs to be more involved. He was struggling at one point with no points, a couple of fouls, and a few turnovers. That can’t happen if this team expects to beat anyone with a pulse.

Richardson finished the night with eight points, two assists, and two rebounds and he was essentially a non-factor for the Ducks. He’s the leader of this team and when he’s struggling, the team is probably going to struggle. He’s the key to the car and when he’s missing, the car isn’t going to start.

With Richardson struggling early and not really having an impact, the Ducks fell behind and could never really catch up.

Dana Altman is going to need his All-American-level guard to step up when the spotlight is the brightest moving forward because more often than not, he’s the calming factor for Oregon.