The formula for Oregon men’s basketball’s offense is simpler than the Ducks have made it look this season. When the Ducks work the ball to fifth-year center Nate Bittle in the post and create space on the perimeter, they provide their other scorers an option to shoot or drive that is difficult to stop.

Against the zone defense that Washington deployed in its 85-79 loss to the Ducks, Oregon’s offense started 7-for-7 on 3-point attempts and built a 14-point halftime lead, before slumping in the second half and allowing the Huskies to briefly take a lead of their own.

“They were doubling me, and I was able to make a couple easy reads,” Bittle said. “I had a penetration kick to TK (Simpkins) and Drew (Carter) off of a double team, and when guys do that, we put them in rotations, and there’s always an open guy on the back side, so I’ve just gotta be able to make a simple play and find those.”

Bittle’s execution of that role earned him 11 points and four assists by halftime, while Takai Simpkins, Oregon’s best dual-threat option, made both of his 3-point attempts en route to 12 points. Dezdrick Lindsay made three of his four 3-point attempts, while Carter and Wei Lin each added an open 3-pointer assisted by Bittle.

“Those were inside out threes,” Oregon head coach Dana Altman said. “They were zoning, we got the ball to the free-throw line and kicked it out — they were all assisted, none of them were off the dribble, and then we got a little aggressive and started taking some off the dribble.”

The Ducks’ meticulous ball movement into wide-open shots appeared unstoppable without major halftime adjustments from Washington, but the Huskies were able to slow it to a halt with the same zone defense. 

Unintuitively, the Ducks’ offense made stylistic changes before the Huskies’ defense, making a distinct shift toward tough shots and unassisted 3-point attempts midway through the second half.

“We just got so excited that we hit a few that we took some very questionable ones, and the percentages just aren’t there,” Altman said. “As a team, we haven’t shot it well off the dribble on threes all year. Our only percentages come from inside out threes, and ball movement, open threes are the only threes we’ve hit.”

Despite Oregon’s unprompted shift from its gameplan, which included unassisted heat-check 3-point attempts from Lindsay and Lin which Altman described as “really bad,” the Ducks held their 14-point lead with 8:35 left to play. A demoralizing slump of six straight misses, including two layups and two three-pointers from Bittle, allowed the Huskies to close the gap to four points in fewer than five minutes.

“I’m happy for the guys, especially Nate. Nate would have been really hurt, with a couple of the plays he made there in the second half, if we didn’t finish that one,” Altman said.

Washington led with as little as 29 seconds on the clock, but Kwame Evans Jr., motivated by the quickly-approaching senior night festivities, went off script with a 3-pointer off the dribble through a foul, and sealed the win at the free-throw line.

While the comeback preserved some momentum going into the Big Ten Tournament, the Ducks’ sudden departure from their effective gameplan, which Bittle and Altman both laid out in simple terms after the game, leaves significant adjustments to make.

“Well, they haven’t picked up on things very well, so I’m not sure that they will, but we’ll keep talking and emphasizing that,” Altman said. “I think I mentioned it a long time ago, of connection — of what we want and how we need to play. As a coach, you’re disappointed if they don’t understand what we’ve got to do to win games, and that’s my fault not getting them to play the way we need to play to win games.”

The good news for Altman and the Ducks is that the first half of Saturday’s game provided teach tape on their offensive system, but the players will need to commit it to memory in a short time to make the heroic effort that will be required of them in the Big Ten Tournament.