Atmosphere is a touchy subject at Matthew Knight Arena.
Against No. 17 Purdue on Jan. 18, for the first time this year, Oregon opened up all of its upper-deck sections. For one of the only times since coronavirus restrictions were lifted, the Ducks sold out the arena most famous for curtaining off those seats. No, it’s not normal in Eugene. But it’s welcome.
Oregon is not a team without flaws. It trailed early and often throughout its inaugural Big Ten campaign. It couldn’t score on Saturday. Fans haven’t been interested for the sake of basketball, and while the team has won, it has not done so with confidence. But this is an AP top-15 team playing at home in front of a fanbase that has proven it can show out. It’s a big occasion, and the team didn’t play like it.
“The crowd was great. We don’t have any excuses,” Oregon head coach Dana Altman said in a frustrated press conference afterwards.
Maybe it only happens for these games. The Ducks faced No. 11 Arizona nearly a year ago in the last near-sellout of their home court. Wildcats guard Caleb Love scored 36 in that game as fans flowed down the aisles and out of the arena with the game clock still ticking.
Those aisles were starting to clear again with two minutes left and Purdue up 11 on Saturday afternoon. It wasn’t pretty; midway through the second half, the teams combined to make two of their last 18 shots. Oregon had turned the ball over four times in the last nine minutes and Purdue hadn’t made a field goal in over two and a half minutes. It was one of the Ducks’ worst offensive performances of the season, and a frustrated Altman took the blame.
“I’ll tell you what,” Altman said. “That’s a poorly-coached team.” It certainly didn’t look like a team headed up by one of the game’s most experienced coaches with players up and down the roster who have been to bigger stages than this.
Altman steamed over the poor shot selection — Oregon shot over 52% from inside the arc, but took just 21 of its 50 shots from there. It was understandable: the Ducks held a team that is top-10 nationally in shooting percentage to its second-worst point total of the year, and couldn’t take advantage.
Senior center Nate Bittle sat, defeated, as he talked about Oregon’s failure to perform in front of what he called “the most fans I’ve had here.”
It’s hard for a seven-foot man to look short, but Oregon’s do-it-all big man did as he laid out the team’s failure to meet expectations in front of a one-time-only crowd.
It’s difficult to reconcile this team with the one that roared back from consecutive deficits on its road trip with supreme self-confidence. It was defensively solid but offensively hapless, and so the fans left dissatisfied. The performance has not always matched the occasion this year — not now, and not when the lights are dim and they must come from behind.
The Ducks return to action three days from the big game with one the antithesis of Saturday night: an 8 p.m., Tuesday night tip off against an unranked team, but a one it calls a rival.
Oregon faces Washington at home. In the standings, it’s not a must-win. Once again, though, Bittle, Altman and the Ducks must bounce back.
