By the end of Friday’s game between Oregon (11-13, 2-9 Pac-12) and No. 4 Colorado (20-3, 10-2 Pac-12), the stat sheet looked like something out of a coach’s nightmares. The Ducks were outdone in nearly every category — not just the 33-point differential between the two teams that saw the game finish 90-57.
Outshot 52% to 33%, outrebounded offensively and defensively and outworked in the paint, off the bench and on the fast break, the Ducks left Boulder with their feathered tails between their legs. Friday night wasn’t a game Oregon was expected to win (the Buffs were 18.5 point favorites), but the Ducks’ best couldn’t go toe-to-toe with the conference’s apparent best.
Just under two weeks ago, the two squads played on Feb. 9, and Oregon had the chance to take its first look at the Buffs at home. In Eugene, though, the Ducks were held to just 11 points in the first half before drawing nearer (but not nearly close enough) in the second half. In Boulder, Oregon put together a reasonable first quarter, matching Colorado’s game for a time, but could never match the Buffs’ tempo for four quarters.
By the time the final buzzer sounded, the Ducks were sitting on unenviable trends: they’d made one of their last 14 field goals and were in the midst of a four-minute-plus scoring drought. The comeback spirit that has embodied these Ducks across the season prior to Friday wasn’t there — may it be the altitude, the size of the deficit or the long season catching up to the team, this one wasn’t close.
Now on a six-game losing streak, the demand for change in this program will surely come, and it likely will — though perhaps not how fans envision it. The transfer portal is an open door for several of the team’s stars who’ve put together impressive campaigns in the midst of a desolate spell for the team. If those players leave — even one — change will be forced.
Friday night was just the second time a player outside of Oregon’s so-called “Big Three” — Phillipina Kyei, Grace VanSlooten and Chance Gray — had 10 or more points in conference play. Ula Chamberlin, who was 4-9 from 3-point range with a made free-throw, had 13. It’s too easy for teams to bottle up Oregon’s star power, especially in Quad 1 games like Colorado, and can’t get the production out of its bench to make up for it.
Should players leave at season’s end, Oregon head coach Kelly Graves will be forced to find answers elsewhere. There’s production on the bench — Chamberlin’s sharp shooting from range kept the Ducks in the game against the Buffs for a time — but five of 10 Ducks who played at least two minutes ended the game with one or no points while Colorado saw three of 13 on the same level.
Seven games remain to prove that this team has something left to give. Four of those are against AP-ranked teams. This is no longer the season it was meant to be: instead it’s a battle to remain relevant — for current stars, for future recruits and for fans, who now need to be convinced that the trip to Matthew Knight Arena is worthwhile. If that’s not established heading into next year, it’ll be an uphill battle in the Big Ten from the outset — one that many players won’t want to fight.
