The Oregon men’s basketball team let another opportunity to qualify for the Pacific-10 Conference Tournament slip away.
Except this time, there won’t be anymore second chances.
Oregon’s 73-61 loss to UCLA on Saturday at Pauley Pavilion in
Los Angeles, combined with California’s 63-57 overtime win against Washington State, pushed the Ducks down into ninth place and out of the Pac-10 Tournament.
Oregon (14-13 overall, 6-12 Pac-10) now places its hopes on the slim chance it will receive an invite to the National Invitation Tournament. Head coach Ernie Kent said the Ducks would gladly accept a chance to keep playing and continue
with the maturation process that comes with having 11 freshmen and sophomores on the roster.
“We are a young team, and we’re going through a lot of growth,” Kent told The Associated Press after the game. “At times, it’s going to be hard. There is a lot of development to still come to this team. For the continued growth of this program, there is no rest.”
With the Golden Bears winning earlier in the day, the Ducks entered Saturday’s game facing a must-win scenario to reach the conference tournament. UCLA proved too much for Oregon, however, as the Bruins
(18-9, 11-7) received big games from freshman swingman Josh Shipp and junior center Michael Fey.
Shipp, the younger brother of former Cal standout Joe Shipp, matched a career-high with 20 points on
8 of 10 shooting, while Fey scored
15 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked four shots.
The win gives UCLA 11 conference wins and a solid chance to earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Sixty of the last 61 Pac-10 teams with
11 league wins have qualified.