During the Oklahoma-Maryland game on ABC Saturday, always-opinionated announcer Dick Vitale started spouting off about the Terrapins.
“Oooh, those Terrapins,” Vitale said, or something to that effect. “They get me excited, because they go on those spurts, but they’re such a letdown, baby! They just play so well at times, but then they go flat. They just go flat.”
Hey, Dickie V., have you ever seen Oregon play?
You see, it gets harder and harder, as the men’s basketball season winds to a close, to figure out why the Ducks lose so much.
At times during Saturday’s 87-80 overtime loss to Southern California, Oregon looked like Duke. The Ducks could have been North Carolina or Florida, in green and yellow uniforms of course.
They were brilliant. They were dazzling. They were every sparkling adjective under the sun.
There was Freddie Jones, reaching back for a too-strong alley-oop pass from Luke Ridnour to throw it down for a Sportscenter-worthy jam. There was Bryan Bracey, fading back for a Jordan-esque jump shot. There was Anthony Norwood, draining three-balls like they were lay-ups.
But for the Ducks, there’s always a Mr. Hyde to go along with that Dr. Jekyll. Bad defense, miserable rebounding and cold stretches on offense are just a few of the reasons the Ducks are 4-11 in the Pacific-10 Conference instead of 11-4.
Oregon head coach Ernie Kent said Saturday’s loss was “typical.”
“That was a mini-version of our season,” Kent said. “There were times when we played great and looked awesome and controlled the game, and there were times when we didn’t play particularly smart.”
Oregon players have often said that if they all play well, on the same night, there isn’t a team in the country that could stop them. The Ducks’ 79-67 win over then-No. 7 Arizona on Feb. 1 is positive proof that Oregon can put together a complete game.
“We have a young team,” Norwood said. “We’re so good. If we could put it all together, it’s going to happen. It’s definitely going to happen.”
There’s always the youth factor that Norwood mentioned, if you’re a Duck fan looking for an excuse. Oregon has so much potential, but most of it hasn’t grown up yet. Ridnour runs the team well, but hasn’t developed a scorer’s touch that makes him a legitimate threat to other teams. Luke Jackson is the complete package — he proved that with a triple-double against Washington — but hasn’t been consistent. James Davis is a good shooter, but that’s all that Kent will put him in games for.
In the end, there’s always a little part of the Duck fan that believes in Oregon basketball, because of those brilliant spurts. No matter how many times they lose, no matter how much the postseason fades from view, the Ducks always give hope to their fans.
There is still a possibility that Oregon could be heading to the National Invitation Tournament. The Ducks need one more win to be eligible, and two to essentially solidify a spot. Oregon will take on Arizona State and Arizona in Tempe and Tucson this weekend, and Oregon State in Corvallis next weekend.
If the Ducks do win two more games and make the NIT, in all likelihood they will host a first-round game at McArthur Court. That game could, theoretically, be televised on ESPN.
Maybe Vitale will get a chance to comment on Oregon before the season is over.
“I love ’em, baby!” Vitale would say, just like he did commenting on that up-and-down Maryland team. “But they kill me. They kill me!”
I couldn’t have said it better.