The Oregon men’s basketball team earned the dubious distinction of being one of two teams left in the Pacific-10 Conference without a conference win Thursday at the McKale Center in Tucson, Ariz., where it fell 67-52 to the Arizona Wildcats.
Less than a week after giving UCLA, the conference’s highest-ranked team, everything it could handle, Oregon (6-9, 0-3 Pac-10) turned in one of its worst offensive performances of the season, shooting 37 percent (20-of-54) from the field, and 18.2 percent (4-of-22) from beyond the three-point arc.
No Oregon player broke into double-digits offensively, as the Ducks were led by freshmen Michael Dunigan and Matt Humphrey with nine points. Sophomore guard LeKendric Longmire led the Ducks on the glass with seven rebounds.
“I just didn’t think we did a very good job of attacking them offensively,” Oregon head coach Ernie Kent said in a broadcast interview.
Oregon tied the game at 8-8 early, but a 9-0 run put the Wildcats (10-5, 1-2 Pac-10) up 17-8. Oregon cut the lead to four at 15-19 on a Joevan Catron layup but would get no closer as another Arizona run, capped by a driving Jordan Hill layup, put the ‘Cats up 11 at 26-15. Hill finished one point short of his 11th double-double in 15 games with nine points and 12 rebounds.
Oregon’s problems began on the offensive end of the floor, where the Ducks had trouble finding their touch from anywhere. The Ducks trailed 30-19 at the half after shooting 35 percent (9-of-26) from the floor and 0-for-8 from beyond the arc.
Those offensive struggles led to a lack of focus in general, said Kent, as Oregon allowed Arizona to shoot 52.3 percent (23-of-44) from the field for the game.
“Not only did we not score, but that took some of our confidence and some of our energy away,” Kent said.
Less than a week removed from a promising performance against the Bruins, this loss to the slumping Wildcats, previously winless in Pac-10 play, is even more disappointing to the young Ducks.
“We took a step backwards in this game,” Kent said. “We didn’t want to but we did.”
Arizona junior forward Chase Budinger led all scorers with 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting while adding four rebounds and three assists, though he remained cold from long range, converting just one of five three-pointers.
Arizona sophomore forward Jamelle Horne scored 15 points and grabbed four rebounds, while junior guard Nic Wise led all passers with five assists while adding seven points and four rebounds.
Oregon was out-rebounded 35-25 in the game, as Dunigan again saw limited minutes due to foul trouble, logging nine points and two rebounds in 16 minutes on the floor. Oregon was whistled for 23 personal fouls while Arizona was called for 13.
Next up for Oregon is a trip to Tempe, Ariz. on Saturday to face No. 20 Arizona State, which beat the Oregon State Beavers on Thursday night to improve to 2-1 in conference play, 13-2 overall. The game tips off at 11:02 a.m. and will be televised on Fox Sports Net.
Oregon is 0-3 in conference play for the first time in Kent’s 12-year tenure and Saturday’s game will be as much about getting back on track after a disappointing performance as it will be about winning the game.
“It’s just about getting our confidence back and getting our energy back,” Kent said.
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