Maybe any other month of the college basketball season, any other moment, and a game like Sunday’s 80-48 routing could be written off as an unavoidable occurrence.

It happens on days like this for teams, the second game in three nights, the travel miles and the on-court minutes piling up. But when you’re where the Ducks were entering Sunday, that stuff can’t get in the way.

Needing to stack wins to continue their upward trajectory, fouls, sloppy offense and  lethargic defense were a big culprit for the Ducks (16-6, 7-4 Big Ten ) in their disappointing loss to Michigan (15-7, 6-5 Big Ten). Oregon looked like it might be on the verge of a sprint back to the top 25 with a ranked win on Friday, but an early ten-point deficit put the Ducks in position for an uphill climb.

It wasn’t a climb they would make.

The Ducks rebounded from the 38-24 first half to match Michigan relatively well to start the second half. But an 8-0 run from the Wolverines in the second half made the deficit 20 and put any hopes of a lofty comeback far out of reach. By the end, the deficit was 32, Michigan giving Oregon its worst loss of the season by far. 

Phillipina Kyei had 11 points and eight rebounds, but it was mostly low-impact in a game in which the Ducks never really had any force. Oregon turned the ball over 14 times and shot an atrocious 29.5% from the field. 

But it was defensively where the Ducks struggled the most, looking unexpectedly flat-footed after making strides all season. 

Michigan attacked the Ducks with size and physicality, neutralizing Peyton Scott (six points on 2-9 shooting) and Deja Kelly (two points on 1-7) at the basket. And their shooting didn’t come close to slowing down. Olivia Olson had an 18-point double-double for the Wolverines. 

Michigan scored 25 points in both the first and third quarters, shooting 45% from 3-point range and hitting 11 of 12 free throws. Mila Holloway led the way for Michigan with 19 points, she was one of six Wolverines with nine or more points. 

And when the final horn sounded, the Ducks’ four-game winning streak snapped with a mammoth loss, the team had to reckon with a performance that could make their path to the top of the conference (and a favorable seed) much cloudier. 

Head coach Kelly Graves will have to wait a week to see his team’s improvements, Oregon returns to play on Thursday against No.  14 Maryland.