The Ducks (7-3), led by their new small-ball lineup, carried their 3-0 December record into Sioux Falls, South Dakota to take on the Syracuse University Orange (8-3). 

Missing several key players, the Ducks were severely outmatched by the Orange and were handed their third loss of the season. 

Oregon was coming off a 21-point blowout-win at home against Cal Baptist behind a career-high 17 points from freshman point guard Jackson Shelstad. 

Syracuse started the game in its patented 2-3 zone, so early in the game, Oregon responded by pushing the tempo and getting in transition whenever it could. With the injuries to Nathan Bittle and N’Faly Dante, the Ducks have had to prioritize drive-and-kick 3s, so the Orange played a much higher zone. 

The Orange struggled early offensively, especially with the complicated defensive look that the Ducks were giving. Oregon head coach Dana Altman seemed to have drawn up a hybrid zone-man defense that gave the Orange no space to shoot early in the first half. 

The game started very low scoring, with Oregon taking a 4-3 lead in the first four and a half minutes. 

Shelstad found himself open on 3-point shots early, making two of his first five while scoring 10 of the Ducks’ first 14 points. His emergence as the starting point guard has led to great improvement from other guards such as Kario Oquendo and Jermaine Cousinard who now do not have to worry about ball-handling and playmaking duties. 

Oregon quickly rode a 10-1 run to a 10-point lead behind lockdown defense and aggressive rebounding. In the first eight minutes of play, the Ducks held the Orange to four points and just one field goal, paving the way for a potentially dominating first half. 

After a long timeout, Syracuse was able to find its rhythm, making shots and pushing the ball in transition. The Orange took an 8-0 run to bring the game back within two points at 14-12. 

The Orange took their first lead of the game at 17-15 converting on a stepback-3 after an Oregon turnover. The theme of their run was causing turnovers and getting down the floor for quick buckets.  

Oregon failed to score for over two minutes late in the half. Syracuse’s aggressive defense often quickly led to offense for the Orange, creating 11 Oregon turnovers in the first, which is just over the 10.8 that the Ducks average for the season. 

The Orange were also able to convert a lot more efficiently in the paint, almost doubling the Ducks’ total 14-8 in the first half. 

Syracuse led 33-25 at the half, finishing the last 10 minutes a lot better than the first 10 started. The Orange carried all of that momentum into the second half, where Syracuse came out and hit an immediate 3-pointer to take an 11-point lead. 

Mahamadou Diawara, the Ducks’ only healthy, true center continued to have a hard time not fouling, picking up his fourth early in the second and then fouling out in his next on-court appearance.

Oregon was forced to play a seven man rotation due to injuries to guards Keeshawn Barthelemy and Jesse Zarzuela, which was a large part of the reason why the Ducks were so sloppy after their hot start. The fatigue of having to play such heavy minutes was clear in the way that the Ducks defended on their heels and that they were fouling a lot more often. 

The Ducks never found an answer for Syracuse’s defense and they were not consistent or efficient enough to stick with them throughout the second half. Their consistent fouls also made it hard to string together any momentum and Syracuse was able to get easy points at the free throw line. 

Oregon simply didn’t have the energy to match Syracuse’s, and with the inefficient offense and lackluster defense it was hard to get anything going. The Orange didn’t need to shoot many 3s, as the Ducks were wildly inefficient in their offensive attack, shooting 31.6% compared to Syracuse’s 56.6%. 

Syracuse took half the amount of Oregon’s 3-point shots, which was their key as it outscored the Ducks in the paint 50-28. The Orange took this one in a 83-63 blowout as the Ducks stood no chance in the second half after they stopped making shots. 

One positive to take away from this game is that the two leading scorers were the two freshman stars, Shelstad with 16 points and Kwame Evans Jr. with 17. 

The Ducks hope to reclaim positive momentum in their last non-conference clash against Kent State at home on Dec. 21.