The Fast Break: It's now or never for the Ducks; Home-court in sight for OSU women

On Jackson Shelstad's struggles, Nate Bittle's status and forecasting OSU's March.

It seems Dana Altman and his Ducks are attempting to build a snowman in the dead of summer. Every time they add a bit to their creation, a little bit melts away.

Oregon’s most recent home stand paints the picture.

In a 85-80 win over Washington last Thursday, Oregon’s defense — a lightning rod for criticism amid a topsy-turvy season — nearly cost it another game, the Huskies turning a 26-7 run into a near-win in front of the Ducks’ home crowd. 

That much-maligned defense showed up, remarkably, two days later against Washington State and held the Cougars to 62 points, their lowest since Dec. 29. Yet transforming a would-be win into another agitating loss was the Ducks’ inability to parlay the defensive success with what they’d hung their hat on all season: an offense that could be, at times, devastating.  

The Ducks hit eight threes, made 25-of-33 (!) free throws, and finished with 19 assists on 26 buckets against the Huskies. They managed just four threes, hit eight-of-14 at the line and tallied nine assists in their loss to the Cougars. 

“We didn't give ourselves an opportunity, made a lot of mistakes and just simply didn’t get it done,” Altman said.

Will that, again, be the story of the season if the Ducks finish shy of March Madness for a third-straight season? 

This year had a different feel to it. The Ducks’ six-game winning streak between late-December and mid-January was promising, especially given the raw hand Altman was dealt in the injury department. But here in mid-February, Oregon’s dropped five of eight, still can’t seem to get all its best players on the court at once, and is on an eerily-familiar collision course with the NIT. 

The Ducks are tied with UCLA for third in a conference that could well send three teams dancing, but the computers have never liked them less. They’ve fallen to No. 62 in the NET rankings, a season-low 59th on KenPom and are nowhere to be found in the bubble conversation.

Oregon isn’t a team deflecting the outside noise or ignoring the rankings, either. On multiple occasions, and most recently after that loss to the Cougars, Altman has made it clear he and his team are well-aware of where they sit.  

The Ducks are teetering on the edge of another largely-lost season. So why aren’t they playing like it?

Among the casualties of Oregon’s backslide has been one of its most consistent sources of offensive output. 

Freshman Jackson Shelstad, whose December ascent provided the Ducks a serious jolt, has been noticeably quieter over the last five weeks.