Oregon Ducks Basketball Holds Players-Only Meeting After Brutal Loss to Nebraska

The Oregon Ducks men's basketball team is looking to rally together amid a brutal stretch of recent play. Dana Altman's squad held a players-only meeting after the brutal loss to Nebraska which knocked them out of the AP Poll Top-25 and puts them in danger of missing the NCAA Tournament.

Feb 2, 2025; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Oregon Ducks guard TJ Bamba (5) intercepts a Nebraska pass during the first half at Matthew Knight Arena. Mandatory Credit: Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images / Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images

After finding some impressive early-season success during non-conference play, the Oregon Ducks have done a complete 180 as February begins.

No. 16 Oregon suffered its third straight loss Sunday night in Eugene, falling 77-71 to unranked Nebraska in a game where the Cornhuskers led for nearly the entire night. According to reports from Matt Prehm of 247Sports, the Ducks held a "players meeting" following the loss to Nebraska. The team has little choice but to rally together and get things turned around or face danger of having a program-wide mental letdown.

Despite Nebraska shooting just 17.4 percent from deep while losing the offensive rebounding and turnover battle, Oregon only led by as many two, which lasted for less than a minute after a game-opening dunk from Nate Bittle.

Feb 2, 2025; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dana Altman gives player instructions during the first half against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Matthew Knight Arena. Mandatory Credit: Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images / Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images

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Following the loss, Oregon head coach Dana Altman called out the team's overall effort and sounded bummed out, to put it simply.

"They're all kind of walking on eggshells," Altman said. "There's nobody that's really consistently played well. ... Everybody's been kind of up and down. None of them are or walk around like they own the place, they've all been little inconsistent. And I think that keeps any of them from being real vocal, so we don't have that, to answer your question, but I think that's kind of typical of today's players."

Against the Cornhuskers, guard Jackson Shelstad led the way with 16 points and three assists while TJ Bamba added 13 points, six rebounds, three assists and four steals. Nebraska guard Brice Williams finished with a game-high 28 points to go along with seven rebounds and six assists. Juwan Gary also posted 23 points and five rebounds for the Huskers.

Feb 2, 2025; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Oregon Ducks guard Jackson Shelstad (3) passes the ball inside during the first half against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Matthew Knight Arena. Mandatory Credit: Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images / Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images

Fortunately for the Ducks, their loaded resume makes it highly unlikely they'll miss the NCAA Tournament but there's no doubt they are trending down faster than any other team still in realistic at-large contention. Despite its miserable recent stretch, Oregon's eight Quad 1 wins is second-most in the country, trailing only the No. 1 Auburn Tigers with 12.

If not for their impressive play during non-conference action, the Ducks would likely be on the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament bubble at this point in the season. Oregon secured a win on the road over Oregon State before beating then-No. 20 Texas A&M, then-No. 9 Alabama and San Diego State to win the Players Era Festival to close out November. That stretch showed Oregon is capable of, but the team has been a shell of its former self since.

It hasn't been all bad for the Ducks in Big Ten play. Oregon beat USC on the road on Dec. 4 before winning three straight games in January, which featured a home victory over a quality Maryland team, a thriller in Columbus against Ohio State, and a tight road win over Penn State.

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