The Oregon men’s basketball team picked up its fourth win in a row Tuesday night with a 66-60 victory against Portland at McArthur Court.
The 4-0 start to the Ducks’ 2000-01 campaign is the best in head coach Ernie Kent’s four seasons at Oregon.
But Kent is the only one excited about it.
“We didn’t come to play tonight,” freshman point guard Luke Ridnour said. “We’ve got UMass on Saturday, and if we play like we played tonight, we’re going to get beat.”
Ridnour’s thoughts were representative of the players’ feelings toward their mediocre win against the Pilots. The game was Oregon’s last before its big test against Massachusetts in the Papé Jam Saturday night in Portland.
“We need to get some rest and concentrate on UMass,” senior forward Bryan Bracey said.
The Ducks were impressive at times Tuesday night, taking a 15-point lead two minutes into the second half and an eight-point lead with 7:48 left, after Portland had closed the gap to one point two minutes earlier.
“We didn’t play like a 4-0 team tonight,” Bracey said. “I felt we were ready to play. They took some things away from us, and we didn’t adjust.”
One thing the Pilots took away was the Ducks’ three-point shot, which was so effective in wins against Portland State and Mississippi Valley State. The Ducks shot 16 treys Tuesday night, but only six found their target. The 31.3 percent effectiveness was the Ducks’ lowest mark of the season.
“We did a good job of taking away the three-point line,” Portland coach Rob Chavez said.
Another area Chavez pointed to was the normally potent Oregon transition offense ­ the “run and gun” that was almost non-existent Tuesday night.
But the Ducks couldn’t decide why they were disappointed after Tuesday’s game. Most players pointed to a lack of intensity.
“We didn’t play well tonight at all,” senior forward Freddie Jones said. “We know what we’re capable of on the floor, and we didn’t show that tonight.”
The players did take some positives from the six-point victory.
“We found a way to win,” Ridnour said. “Our defense kept us going because we weren’t scoring.”
The Ducks played tough defense in the final 3:49, when they held Portland to only four points. Oregon scored eight points in that stretch and opened a two-point lead into a six-point margin of victory.
The win was the first close regular-season game for Oregon, which had won its first three games by 15, nine and 18 points, respectively.
Kent was pleased with the play of his freshmen — especially the clutch play of Ridnour, who hit four key free throws down the stretch — and his team’s ability to bounce back even when facing adversity.
“We don’t win this game last year at this time with the way we were playing,” Kent said. “We’re 4-0, and that’s a good sign to me.”
Jones put the team’s mentality simply and perfectly, despite its disappointment.
“We’re always happy with a victory,” Jones said.