James Crepea of the Oregonian said that Dana Altman probably blistered paint off the walls with his postgame chat with his team after they lost 97-80 to San Diego State at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas Tuesday night.
For the second game in a row the Ducks committed 18 turnovers, falling to 4-2 a night after losing to No. 21 Auburn on Monday 84-73.
Some glaring issues have surfaced. The Ducks started well with Jackson Shelstad nailing four three-pointers, tied 15-15 at the 12-minute mark. They settled down nicely, shaking off five quick turnovers to start the game.
First half run buries the Ducks in the desert
By halftime they were down by 10, however, as a 12-0 Aztec run buried them over the next two-and-a-half minutes. Two missed jumpers, a missed layup and yet another turnover contributed to the deficit.
Early season games are all about finding rhythm and learning what works. Altman has to find a reliable fourth scoring option, some points off the bench, and a trustworthy ball handler. Dezdrick Lindsay, Takai Simpkins and Wei Lin shot a combined 4-17 from the floor. Bittle, Evans and Shelstad coughed up three turnovers apiece.
San Diego State had 36 points in the paint in the game. Other than faltering in ball-handling, scoring and defense, the Ducks look ready for Big Ten play.
They conclude their out of conference portion with a game on Thanksgiving Day versus Altman's old school, the Creighton Bluejays, 3-3 so far this year with losses to Iowa State, Baylor and Gonzaga. It will be televised on TruTV, an 11 a.m. PT tipoff.
"We just made too many defensive mistakes," Altman said. "Our rotations really caused us some problems. Then the turnovers, we had 18 turnovers, they only had six."