In a contest that needed to be a resounding homecoming for the No. 16 Oregon Ducks (16-6, 5-6 Big Ten), the Nebraska Cornhuskers (14-8, 4-7 Big Ten) played spoiler. The Cornhuskers flaunted their slow-moving offense, which only needed an early lead to stifle the Ducks’ efforts.
In a 77-71 victory, Nebraska led for the final 39 minutes and Oregon never found a way back into the game. The Ducks dropped their third-straight game despite 16 points from Jackson Shelstad and 15 from Brandon Angel.
“They simply played harder than us,” head coach Dana Altman said.
The Ducks entered Sunday afternoon as losers of their last two matchups, both against unranked teams. However, each of those losses came away from home, so Oregon’s return to Eugene appeared to come at an important time.
Oregon made one change in its starting lineup as guard Keeshawn Barthelemy started in place of forward Jadrian Tracey. It was an attempt from head coach Dana Altman to replicate the small-ball group that saw success throughout Oregon’s road trip struggles.
The Ducks’ offensive woes continued to begin the game, however. Oregon made one of its first six shots while the Cornhuskers hit enough of their own to take an early 7-2 lead.
That lead stretched itself to 14-6, at which point Nebraska had taken just under half the amount of shots Oregon did, but more than doubled the Ducks’ score.
Oregon rode a six-point run and cut that lead to two, but a Nebraska explosion started by way of Brice Williams’ 12 first-half points. Williams, the subject of heavy interest from NBA scouts, finished with 28.
“When they took that 15-point lead [in the first half], they were flying around and playing more connected than we were,” Altman said.
Oregon started full-court pressing as the first half drew to a close, and forcing the Cornhuskers to speed up their offense stifled Nebraska’s momentum. The press gave way to a resounding 11-2 run from the Ducks to finish the half.
The Huskers took a 34-28 lead at the break, but the shooting percentages didn’t match that. Oregon shot 32% from the field in the opening frame, while Nebraska found much more success at 52%.
The second half didn’t fare much better for either team, as the Ducks ended up shooting 40% and Nebraska shot 51%.
“Had a lot of good looks, just didn’t finish well around the basket. Obviously, we didn’t shoot the three well again. The thing I’m most disappointed in is that they outworked us,” Altman said.
Oregon stayed in the press to begin the second half, but didn’t effectively cut into Nebraska’s lead. The offense was just efficient enough to constantly get back within six or seven, but the Huskers’ methodical pace prevented anything beyond that.
A Kwame Evans Jr. free throw cut it to five, but in the five minutes after, Oregon didn’t hit a field goal. Four free throws from Brandon Angel made the deficit more manageable.
Nebraska’s offense stagnated just in time for a Shelstad three, which had the crowd feeling like Oregon was not done just yet.
The lack of scoring overall slowed the game down and gave Oregon fewer opportunities to cut into the lead. That being said, the Ducks passed up on each one of those chances and shot 5-20 from beyond the arc.
“I wanted them to be aggressive, but you still got to be smart. I think 20 is a good number for us,” Altman said.
Nebraska shut down the interior, which forced Oregon into more of those shots and compounded the issue, as the Ducks love to settle for contested shots.
Once the clock hit two minutes remaining, the deficit proved slightly too ambitious for the Ducks, who could not buy a bucket from deep on Sunday afternoon.
The Cornhuskers’ slow offense became the perfect vessel to close out this game and silence the Ducks at home. What once appeared to be a much-needed homecoming for Oregon became a cynical reminder of everything this team will need to be if it wants to move forward through the postseason.
Oregon travels to Michigan for a two-game road trip against the two state schools starting in Ann Arbor on Wednesday night.
