In a game in which Oregon’s defense held Arizona State to 53 points and 28 percent shooting, the Ducks’ usually-potent offense failed to pull its weight.
Oregon scored only 49 points and shot 30 percent from the field, well below their season averages of 78 points and 40 percent, and fell to the Sun Devils 53-49 on Saturday afternoon at Matthew Knight Arena.
The Ducks’ top defensive performance of the season – their previous low in opponent’s scoring was 71 by Portland State in November – went to waste.
“I thought we played reasonable defense, reasonable to pretty good,” Oregon coach Paul Westhead said. “But if you can’t make shots, you can’t win games.”
Oregon’s offense didn’t find its rhythm until late in the second half, when they scored nine points in the final 1:37 to keep the game close. The Ducks scored only 17 points in the first half, and failed to take advantage of a sterling effort by its defense, which limited Arizona State to 16. The Sun Devils didn’t score a point until the 13:17 mark of the first half.
“The first eight minutes of the game we should have been up comfortable and it was like a three-point game,” Westhead said. “Not a good sign.”
The Ducks did credit Arizona State for their defensive intensity. The Sun Devils are one of the Pac-12’s top defensive squads, and lead the conference in opponent’s field goal percentage and are second in scoring defense. Yet as a unit, Oregon’s offense didn’t find a way to create scoring opportunities.
“They just play really pressure defense, in your face kind of activity,” forward Jasmin Holliday said. So it can get us flustered but in games like that we just have to learn to keep our composure and keep attacking the basket and trying to get fouled and just hit shots.
Added Westhead: “It takes offensive players to disregard that type of defense and make their shooting more comfortable,” he said. “You need to adjust and as a group we didn’t.”
If it weren’t for an above-average defensive showing by the Ducks, the final margin could have been more lopsided in Arizona State’s favor. Oregon didn’t change its strategy from previous games, but did a good job staying active and securing defensive rebounds, particularly in the first half.
“In the first half we got hands up so when they shot they were a little off,” Holliday said. “And I think we did better in the first half boxing out and getting boards so they didn’t really have too many second chance points like they did in the second half.”
It all amounted to a missed opportunity for Oregon, which dropped to 10-8 (2-4 in Pac-12 play) with the loss.
“Thye were struggling to score,” Westhead said. “Unfortunately, so were we. For the strangest reasons, because we couldn’t score, the game was in the 50s or 40s because of our scoring drought, not because of bad defense on our part. Usually, we’re going to get you out there and let you have 80 points and we have to get 81.”