Oregon's Offensive Struggles Lead to Deflating 78-64 Loss to Cal

The Ducks' tournament hopes hang in the balance as they fall at home to struggling Cal.

Author:
Billy Spotz
Publish date:
Feb 12, 2022 7:30 PM EST

First Half

It was an uncharacteristically warm February day in Eugene as the Men of Oregon sought to continue their strong run of play against the California Golden Bears, a team missing one of their best players in Andre Kelly.

Rarely do you see a Dana Altman-coached team deliver a bait and switch as whiplash inducing as the Ducks did this afternoon. An early 12-5 lead saw the Ducks have four assists on five made baskets, coupled with solid ball movement, respectable defense, and an excellently set up Quincy Guerrier three. It felt like the beginning of another successful conference game for a Ducks team that’s been undeniably on fire since the new year.

The Golden Bears, the 10th place team in the Pac-12 going into Saturday's game, rattled off 24 points unanswered as the Ducks sported one of their worst shooting performances of the season. As the half came to a close, the Ducks only connected on 10 of 29 attempts from the floor, with Guerrier’s three being the lone make from long range.

Jordan Shepherd was the engine for Cal’s success in the first half, scoring 13 points on excellent efficiency as the Golden Bears built a 16-point lead at half, leading the Ducks 38-22 at the break.

Oregon Ducks vs. California Golden Bears (2/12/22)

The Ducks looked to extend their four-game win streak with a weekend home contest.

Gallery

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Second Half

The second half began with more of the same. Despite good looks early, every shot the Ducks took, whether that was down low, from mid range, or beyond the arc, fell listlessly. The Bears wouldn’t fare much better, as they were only able to connect on one of their first six shots.

Despite the less than stellar offensive performance, the Ducks seemed determined to be as pesky as they possibly could early on in the second. The patented Altman press was out in full force, frustrating a Cal team eager to replicate its first half performance.

The defensive effort would be fruitless though, as despite forcing Cal turnovers and making any attempt at scoring seem futile, the Ducks could not capitalize on any of their steals or turnovers.

As the 10-minute mark came into view, both teams began to pick up steam offensively. Will Richardson tallied 10 of the Ducks' 12 points in this stretch, drawing timely fouls and hitting consecutive shots to bolster a lifeless offense.

With nine minutes remaining, and a 14-point deficit to overcome, the pressure began to mount on a Ducks team struggling to find avenues to score. The continued defensive pressure resulted in wasted possessions by the Golden Bears, but with an offensive performance to forget by the Ducks, it didn’t amount to much.

The horrific three-point shooting would come to an end for the Ducks, as Richardson would sink his first three of the game to cut the deficit to 11. Seconds later, Cal guard Makale Foreman would drain a wide-open three of his own to keep the Ducks at bay, and silence a Matthew Knight crowd looking to shift momentum anyway they could.

With time continuing to dwindle, the hopes for a comeback began to seem farfetched. A seemingly static double-digit lead kept the Ducks at bay, only ever fluctuating between 12 and 15 points.

Fouls mounted, missed threes were racked up, and steadily the Ducks' hopes for crawling back into a game they were supposed to have the advantage in were wiped out.

This was a game that the Ducks not only needed to win in order to keep their tournament hopes alive, but by all means should have won. A loss this bad to a Cal team who had only won three conference games up to this point can only be described as deflating.

Oregon will be at home again Monday for a Valentine’s Day match up with the Washington State Cougars.

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