If it makes you feel better, go ahead and ask. I’ve done it and am still tempted to continue doing it.
What if Luke Jackson hadn’t missed the free throw for the three-point play in the final 15 seconds to bring Oregon within one point?
What if Stanford’s Matt Lottich hadn’t found a way to bank in a three-pointer with one second remaining on the shot clock with Jackson’s hand in his face?
What if Oregon hadn’t missed 10 free throws, or what if each one of the three players off the bench could have managed just one point?
Any one of those could have made the difference in Oregon’s 83-80 loss to No. 2 Stanford at McArthur Court on Saturday.
Asking such questions only leaves anger and grief for what could have been. It blinds you from the satisfaction that comes from such an excellent showing of college basketball.
The satisfaction that The Pit showed its finest colors.
Whether or not it was the 500 pizzas delivered before the game or because Stanford is undefeated, 111 decibels of noise is loud. That’s louder than a jackhammer and some average rock concerts. Metallica concerts range from 120 to 140 decibels.
The satisfaction that when Oregon trailed 79-75 with 21 seconds left and everyone in the crowd silently whispered “It’s over,” Oregon didn’t
give in.
James Davis sprinted off the inbounds pass, hit Jackson baseline, where he then drove hard to the hoop and managed a reverse layup on two
defenders.
Then Davis decided to hit a three-pointer with two-tenths of a second left in the game. What was he thinking? Someone in the crowd forgot to tell him it was over.
The satisfaction of it being a fight to the bitter end in which Davis nearly hit the best shot in Oregon history with two seconds left. The 9,087 at McArthur Court hung all their hopes and prayers on that one shot as it sailed toward the hoop, although the referee waived it off long before it got there.
There is bittersweet satisfaction that Stanford can find a way to score in its final 15 possessions. That was simply perfect execution and poise by an offense that was under the most pressure it has seen all season.
There is bittersweet satisfaction that any team can manage to score 35 more points in the second half than it did in the first half. Only an 18-0 team can find a way to shoot nearly 40 percent better from the field in the
second half.
It’s better this way. Everything being said, Oregon learns much more from losing this game than it does winning.
Sure the celebration would’ve been great and I would’ve liked to see the Pit Crew rush the floor in pandemonium, but it would’ve all seemed to strikingly familiar to the Oregon-Michigan upset in football. Remember what happened after that game?
Now the players are still hungry and not arrogant. Now the players realize the level of play they are capable of rising to rather than believe they are the best in the country — because they’re not … yet.
Now Oregon has time to improve, time to grow, time to progress into an even stronger offensive powerhouse when freshman Aaron Brooks returns this month.
Consider Saturday’s game a satisfying, bittersweet what-if glimpse of what is to come. It’s not where Oregon is right now that’s important, but where the Ducks will be come March.
It is difficult to see, but it’s better this way.