Oregon battles but loses at Arizona, Couisnard finishes with 39 points

Oregon Head Coach Dana Altman spoke late last week about visiting Arizona and he knew going in, the game would be a challenge, especially for a team that was depleted due to injuries throughout the season.

It was clear after the opening minutes that the Ducks were going to be on the wrong side of the score.

Arizona started out hot at times hitting better than 70 percent from the floor. The Ducks did their best to keep it respectable, but in the end, it was a 20-point loss to a superior team.

This was not the Oregon of the past that went to face the Wildcats and came out with a win. Despite the 103-83 loss, there were a few bright spots.

First, the team played hard till the end, going on a 6-0 run over the final minutes. Jermaine Cuisnard put up 39 points going 7 of 14 from the floor and 4 of 9 from three-point range.

N’Faly Dante overcame an injury to finish the game with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Arizona was just better on Saturday.

One area of the game that was statistically eyepopping was bench points. The Wildcats finished the game with 27. The Ducks with their lack of healthy players had just 6.

Oregon was also outrebounded by Arizona 35-27 and gave up 19 points to the Wildcats from 12 turnovers.

The loss likely burst the NCAA Tournament bubble for Oregon, but two important games are remaining on the schedule. The importance comes with seeding for the Pac-12 Tournament.

The top four seeds have a bye and Oregon would like to start playing on the second day.

Oregon is in third place with a half-game lead over Colorado and a two-game lead over Utah. The Ducks face both the Buffs and Utes to close out the regular season.

Oregon and Colorado meet on Thursday at Matthew Knight Arena. Tip time is set for 6 p.m. PT on ESPN2.