NASHVILLE, Tenn. — In the end, the bottom line is all that matters.
The shots didn’t fall. Oregon lost. Season over.
That’s basketball, as they say. And it stings.
James Davis, the Pacific-10 Conference’s top three-point shooter, missed two potential game-winning shots in the final five seconds as the Ducks were knocked out of the NCAA Tournament in the first round with a 60-58 loss to Utah on March 21.
“It’s real tough knowing how hard you worked to get here, and all of a sudden it’s over,” said Oregon point guard Luke Ridnour, who played what many speculate will be his final game in an Oregon uniform.
As they sat in the locker room of the Gaylord Entertainment Center, Ridnour and Davis, two of the last Ducks to leave, sat next to each other, staring blankly at the floor, hands shadowing their teary eyes.
In the final seconds of the Midwest Region matchup between the No. 8 seed Ducks (23-10) and the ninth-seeded Utes (25-7), Ridnour, as has been the case throughout the season, was given the ball in the waning moments of the game. He drove, then kicked to an open Davis.
“That first one I thought for sure was going in,” Oregon head coach Ernie Kent said of Davis’ shot.
It didn’t. The rebound bounced back out to Davis, who took a deeper attempt with two Utes running at him. It clanked off the rim, too, and the horn sounded immediately after.
“I just didn’t hit the shots,” Davis said. “We gave ourselves a good opportunity to win, the shots just didn’t fall.
“It breaks my heart, man, especially the way we lost. I can’t explain it.”
Ridnour couldn’t explain it either. The Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Year didn’t score his first field goal until the 13:08 mark of the second half; he finished with 13 points on 3-of-13 shooting — no jump shots — with five assists, five rebounds and five turnovers in 39 minutes.
“(Utah) did a good job of making him go to his left, but he was missing shots he normally hits,” Kent said. “I would say half of (Ridnour’s struggles) was their defense, and half was him out a rhythm a little.”
Davis was 2-for-12 from the field. Both Ridnour and Davis took the blame for the loss, though their teammates said that’s hardly fair. As a team, Oregon shot 34.5 percent (19-of-55); the Utes were even worse at 29.5 percent (18-of-61).
“You can’t fault one person,” said junior forward Luke Jackson, who paced the Ducks with 14 points. “This is a team loss.”
Even without Britton Johnsen, their best player who was ruled out of the tournament because of mononucleosis, the Utes built a 51-42 lead with 9:28 left. But three Utes fouled out in the final 10 minutes, and the Ducks went on a 12-2 run to take a one-point lead after a pair of Ridnour free throws with 5:41 remaining.
With the game tied 58-58, Utah opted to hold the ball with 46 seconds left. With three ticks left on the shot clock (14 seconds on the game clock) Utah’s Nick Jacobson missed a three-pointer, but was fouled by Ridnour on the shot.
“I ran into him, and the refs are going to call that if put in that position,” Ridnour said. “That’s basketball. Unfortunately, it had to happen right now.”
Jacobson missed his first attempt, but sank the next two. Without calling a timeout, Ridnour took the ball the other way before giving way to Davis.
Oregon’s up-and-down season had reached its pinnacle last week when the Ducks won the first two games of the Pacific-10 Conference Tournament on last-second shots, and then claimed the tournament title. The Ducks hoped the Pac-10 Tournament experience, coupled with a trip to the Elite Eight last year, would help them in the Big Dance this year.
“It was a great run for this basketball team and a great season,” Kent said.
The Ducks met their match with Utah’s yawn-you-to-death offense — a deliberate attempt to slow the game by eating up the clock — which forced the impatient Ducks to hurry their offensive sets in the first half. The Ducks committed 13 turnovers in the first half and trailed 30-27 at the break.
“They run a very disciplined offense that just takes the air out of the ball,” Jackson said. “We played right into their hands.”
That’s basketball.
And that’s a wrap.