STANFORD, Calif. – The Stanford juggernaut keeps on rolling.
Oregon headed into the Pacific-10 Conference’s lion’s den on Saturday and came out bruised, battered, beaten and basically left dead for an NCAA Tournament berth.
And now, the Ducks are almost on life support for a berth into the Pac-10 Tournament in March. That all comes courtesy of No. 1 Stanford, which defeated Oregon, 76-55, in front of a sold-out 7,391 at Maples Pavilion.
“Stanford plays so solid,” Oregon forward Luke Jackson said. “We knew it was going to be tough tonight.
“They play great team defense. They don’t have many stars but they play solid as a team.”
There’s a laundry list of issues for the Ducks, most pressing of which surrounds the team’s berth into the Pac-10’s postseason. The loss forces Oregon into a three-way tie with UCLA and Southern California for fifth-place in the Pac-10. Coincidentally, the Ducks host both teams to end the season at McArthur Court.
One win and the Ducks should be in. Another loss – or two – and it could get close.
Oregon can’t lose focus, especially after scoring a season-low 55 points and shooting a season worst 31.1 percent from the field against the Cardinal.
“We’ve got to focus on USC and UCLA,” Jackson said. “We’re not taking anything for granted because we’re not in for sure. I’m absolutely frustrated. That can only go so far. We have to come together and we have to get wins.”
The Ducks were not together in going 0 for the Bay Area for the fourth straight season. They allowed the Cardinal to connect on 45 percent of the team’s three-point shots. Stanford outrebounded the Ducks, 42-33, highlighted by 12 from forward Josh Childress.
Childress, for that matter, gave the Ducks fits. He scored 29 points – hitting on four three-pointers – for his third double-double of the season.
“I’ve just been trying to be aggressive, attack the basket and open up things for my teammates,” Childress said.
The Ducks had problems offensively early on and those issues extended throughout the game. Oregon missed its first 10 shots and didn’t score until an Aaron Brooks layup with 13:31 to play in the first half.
Stanford, meanwhile, was not much better, missing seven straight field goals before Matt Lottich hit a three-pointer four minutes in.
That’s where the Cardinal (25-0 overall, 16-0 Pac-10) pushed ahead, and in a big way. After an offensive barrage, it led 13-0 three minutes later.
“I really felt like the game got away from us early on,” Oregon head coach Ernie Kent said. “They gave us some great looks early on and we couldn’t knock down shots.”
Oregon (12-11, 7-9) eventually pulled out of its shooting woes, coming to within one, 13-12, with 11 minutes to play.
That mattered little, though, as the Cardinal out-scored the Ducks 28-12 entering the break.
“We’re not going to beat anybody shooting the ball that poorly,” Kent said, alluding to Oregon’s 29 percent shooting from the field in the first half. “We needed easy baskets because they are such a great transition team. Defensively, when we break down, it’s hard to run while they’re scoring baskets.”
The second half was just as unkind to the Ducks. Oregon never got closer than 15 points en route to its 18th straight loss atMaples Pavilion.
“They are a great basketball team,” Kent said. “They deserve everything they get.”
Jackson led Oregon with 18 points, 11 coming in the second half. Aaron Brooks scored a career-high 17 – breaking his best of 16 against California Thursday. For the second straight game, he hit four three-pointers.
No other Ducks scored in double-digits.
The win is Stanford’s 25th straight and pushes the Cardinal a game closer to a perfect regular season record.
The Ducks, meanwhile, lost their fourth straight game, the first time that’s happened since the 2000-01 season. That year was also the last time Oregon missed the postseason, something this year’s team is coming dangerously close to doing.
“We’re going to come out hard and play, regardless, for our seniors,” Brooks said of the team’s final two games of the season. “We’ve just got to come out and play no matter what.”
Ironically, as the Ducks were set to leave the Bay Area, construction crews began tearing down Maples Pavlion as the arena is set to undergo a $30 million renovation.
Piece by piece, the building will be torn down.
Kind of like Oregon’s season.