When Oregon men’s basketball is on, it’s on. That’s undeniable. 

But these Ducks haven’t been “on” in a while — at least not for a full 40 minutes. When Oregon (16-8, 5-5 Big Ten) rolled into East Lansing for a visit with No. 9 Michigan State (19-4, 10-2 Big Ten) on the schedule, it looked to have flipped the switch. The Ducks could head back west with a statement, top-10 victory over the Big Ten’s second-best team.

It wasn’t to be. One of Oregon’s best periods this season, a 50-point first half where it held Michigan State to 36, was left in the locker room as the Ducks gave up 50 second-half points and lost their shooting nous in what became an 86-74 loss. 

Sophomore guard Jackson Shelstad looked to have returned after he was held scoreless in a loss to UCLA last Thursday, but Spartans freshman Jace Richardson outdueled his opposite number with a season-high 29 points that left Oregon five games winless and still in search of a victory to get itself back on track for an NCAA Tournament appearance.

Oregon head coach Dana Altman retained guard Keeshawn Barthelemy in the starting lineup, a change he made for the first time in January. Forward Jadrian Tracey would once again come off the bench. The Spartans, meanwhile, were without guard Jeremy Fears (team-leading 6.2 assists per game) to a team-wide sickness. 

It’s been a struggle when the Ducks’ two threats — guard Jackson Shelstad and center Nate Bittle — aren’t able to get going. The guard didn’t score against UCLA, and the center only put up four against Nebraska. They opened up with a rolling feed to Shelstad, who drained the Ducks’ first shot of the game and a pick-and-pop ball to Bittle, who made his effort count.

For all of Shelstad’s 10 points before the 14-minute mark, though, their opponents had answers. One Duck could catch fire at a time, but a sparking Spartan woul often set his teammates aflame; four Michigan State players had scored at the first media timeout, but only Shelstad and Bittle were in the box score by then. 

Sometimes all you can ask for is to hang in a game. Oregon took advantage of a mistake-prone Michigan State squad to pull back into the lead. The Spartans turned it over nine times in the first half — the Ducks scored 21 first-half points off those handouts. After a difficult season (5.6 points per game), sophomore forward Kwame Evans Jr. scored eight first-half points and snagged seven rebounds in the period.

When Barthelemy — the lineup insert — put up a 3-point effort with 1.8 seconds to tick on the first-half clock, it was almost no surprise. The guard hopped on one foot. The ball slid through nylon. The Ducks had overperformed their 35.3 first-half points average by nearly 15 on the way to a 50-36 halftime lead.

That was as good as it would get.

The second half was far from picturesque. A 14-point lead was whittled to six by the first media timeout. Michigan State was doubling Oregon in shots taken. The Ducks still had to navigate nearly 20 minutes with three starters on foul watch.

The Ducks didn’t score their first points of the half until Brandon Angel got to the stripe, finally, with over three minutes gone. They were off, and they’d have to throw together another comeback effort to secure a win and salvage a game they were in control of just minutes ago.

It looked okay at first. Transfer big Supreme Cook got up high to dunk home a 3-point play. A four-point possession after a Michigan State technical foul stretched the lead to eight. 

In 55 seconds following that run, the lead evaporated. The Spartans earned it with a four-minute, 16-2 run. Altman cut it off with a timeout. It was like a balloon that would inflate, then let all its air out with a wheeze. 

An Oregon team that shot 48.6% from the field before heading up the tunnel re-emerged as one that had lost that fire. At one point in the midst of that four-minute run, the Ducks were shooting less than half that first-half clip: 20%. Their 52.6% efficiency from beyond the arc vanished; Oregon didn’t make a 3-point shot in the entire period, going 0-8 from deep.

They couldn’t hang down the stretch. Shelstad (0-3 field goals in the second half) and Bittle (0 second-half points) disappeared. The trick that saved the Ducks against Washington — Cook’s post-up ability — was nullified. The bag was empty, and a crowd in the tens of thousands who hadn’t seen their team lose in its building this year wouldn’t have it any other way. Their air blew up the balloon. Oregon was helpless to pop it.

The half-to-half difference was stunning. Oregon out-rebounded the nation’s sixth-best team in the category in the first 20 minutes, then was dominated on the boards, 24-10, in the second half. It made the Spartans pay for turnovers it caused, then lost that statistic, too, after the break. The Ducks put up 24 points in a half the same day they put up 50. 

Oregon played one of its worst halves of the season right after playing one of its best. It’s a damning indictment of this team’s flaws. Until they’re fixed, a win will be hard to find.

The Ducks return to Matthew Knight Arena to face Northwestern on Tuesday. Tip is set for 8:00 PM.