Oregon opened Big Ten Conference men’s basketball play with its best player out with an injury and an undefeated opponent on the schedule.
It could’ve been worse for the Ducks, though it could’ve been better as well.
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Oregon was locked in a one-possession battle for most of the second half but couldn’t close the gap as it lost its fourth straight game, 82-77, to Southern California Dec. 2 in front of 6,107 at Matthew Knight Arena.
“We played hard enough, we did some things good enough to put ourselves in position,” coach Dana Altman said. “It was a one-possession game and we didn’t get the rebounds when we had to and we didn’t get the free throws when we had to.”
The Ducks (4-4, 0-1 Big Ten) were without center Nate Bittle – who leads the team in scoring and rebounding – for the second straight game as he recovers from an ankle injury.
Taking the lead on offense for Oregon was Kwame Evans Jr., who tied his career high with 23 points. The forward was 6 for 12 from the field with a pair of 3-pointers, and 9 of 11 from the free-throw line. He also led Oregon with nine rebounds.
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“He was in the fight,” Altman said. “I thought he did a lot of good things.”
Takai Simpkins scored 17 and was 4 of 6 from 3-point range, but he also came up empty in the final minutes for Oregon. He went to the free-throw line for three shots and made one with 2:29 to play and the Ducks down 75-72.
On Oregon’s next two possessions Simpkins missed a layup and then a 3-point attempt with USC’s lead still within reach.
Jackson Shelstad also didn’t provide much help on offense to close the gap. The junior point guard had 11 points in the first half, including a jumper in the final seconds to send the game into halftime tied 39-39, but was held scoreless in the second half until making a layup with 1.2 seconds left in the game to finish with 13.
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He finished 6 for 12 from the field and 1 for 6 from 3-point range.
Altman gave credit to USC’s defense for taking Shelstad out of the game in the second half.
“If they’re going to double him like that, someone else has to come and make a play,” Altman said. “… But we gotta get him some more shots.”
The Ducks shot 47% from the field (25 for 53) and 43% from 3 (10 for 23). The Trojans (8-0, 1-0) made 51% from the field (28 for 55) and 38% from 3 (8 for 21).
Oregon missed nine free-throw attempts (17 for 26), were outrebounded 35-27 and were outscored in the paint 36-24.
Chad Baker-Mazara scored 25 to lead the Trojans.
Oregon forward Kwame Evans Jr., right, presses toward the basket under cover from USC guard Chad Baker-Mazara as the Oregon Ducks host the USC Trojans at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene on Dec. 2.
Oregon’s Wei Lin continues to get limited playing time
Minutes have become increasingly hard to get for backup point guard Wei Lin.
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The first-year player didn’t get on the court against Creighton in the Ducks’ final game of the Players Era Festival last week, then was in for just seven minutes against USC.
Lin is averaging 8.8 minutes per game this season, 2.5 points, and is shooting 16.1% (5 for 31) from the field and 12.5% (2 for 16) from 3-point range. Not exactly the type of impact expected from a player who was a standout scorer for three years in the Chinese Basketball Association.
“He’s a talented young man that for whatever reason, my message has not resonated with him at all for the last month,” Altman said. “His shooting percentages are bad because he takes bad shots, quick shots and our guys don’t know what he’s taking and I just can’t get him to understand.”
Altman said he and Lin got together on Nov. 28 after the team returned from Las Vegas and had a productive meeting.
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“He and I talked about a lot of things and he really had a good practice Saturday and Sunday, so that was really encouraging and hopefully we’re on the same page,” Altman said.
Lin missed both of his shots Dec. 2 but went 1 for 2 from the free-throw line to finish with one point.
What’s next for Oregon men’s basketball?
The Ducks head south to take on UCLA at Pauly Pavilion in Los Angeles at 3 p.m. Dec. 6. The game will be streamed on Peacock.
The Bruins (5-2) dropped out of the rankings this week after a loss to California in their last game. They play for the first time since Nov. 25 on Dec. 3 against Washington in Seattle. UCLA’s only other loss this season was to Arizona.
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Chris Hansen covers University of Oregon football, men’s basketball, track and field, cross country and softball for The Register-Guard. You can reach him at chansen@registerguard.com.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Oregon loses to USC in Big Ten men’s basketball opener
