The Oregon Ducks hosted the Purdue Boilermakers in their biggest Big Ten game of the season so far. As the No. 13 Ducks and the No. 17 Boilermakers battled it out, the game quickly became physical and it was clear that defense would dominate the matchup.
Despite Oregon holding onto a lead at halftime, Purdue was able to battle back during the second half and down the dominant Ducks, pushing Oregon to 4-3 in conference play and improving its own record to 7-1 against Big Ten opponents.
Final in Eugene. #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/VIHaOITQZL
— Oregon Men's Basketball (@OregonMBB) January 18, 2025
The biggest storyline from the matchup was how poorly Oregon shot the ball on the offensive end of the court. The Ducks made just 18 of 50 field goal attempts, including an abysmal 22 missed three-point shots. Overall, Oregon shot just 36 percent from the field and a disappointing 24.1 percent from beyond the arc.
Even sophomore guard Jackson Shelstad, who had been on a hot streak when it came to finding his best shooting form, scored just 15 points and missed five of his eight three-point attempts.
Senior center Nate Bittle led the Ducks in scoring with 18 points and earned a career-high six blocks on the defensive end.
Throughout the loss, Oregon experienced shooting droughts of three minutes, four minutes, and seven minutes as the Ducks struggled to buy a bucket from any distance while the Boilermakers were able to produce second-chance opportunities with 12 offensive rebounds (37 total rebounds).
With the loss, head coach Dana Altman and the Ducks dropped to 15-3 overall, all of their losses coming in Big Ten play (UCLA, Illinois, and Purdue). The Boilermakers overall record improved to 15-4 overall with the victory.
Oregon will host long-time rival and fellow former Pac-12 member Washington at Matthew Knight Arena on Jan. 21 as the Ducks look to return to their winning ways in conference play.