Washington @ Oregon preview
Matthew Knight Arena
Last Meeting ( Dec 12, 2020 ) Oregon 74, Washington 71
Even when Oregon can get on the court, it can't catch a break.
The Ducks, who have had two coronavirus-related shutdowns in the past month, took the court for just the second time since Jan. 9 when they played host to Washington State on Thursday.
The Ducks (9-4, 4-3 Pac-12) suffered their second consecutive home loss after a 28-game winning streak at Matthew Knight Arena, dropping a 74-71 decision despite Eugene Omoruyi's 21 points and seven rebounds.
"The guys are really disappointed. I'm obviously disappointed," Oregon coach Dana Altman said. "We just didn't get it done the last two games. I know we can make excuses, but it is what it is. We just didn't get it done."
Even worse, leading scorer and Jerry West Award finalist Chris Duarte suffered an ankle injury early in the second half and didn't return.
Duarte is questionable when host Oregon plays again on Saturday against Washington in Eugene, Ore.
"It'll be a big challenge without Chris," Altman said. "He's been a really good player for us."
Ducks point guard Will Richardson made his season debut against WSU after surgery on his left thumb. He finished with 10 points, six rebounds and five assists, though he missed his first seven field-goal attempts.
Forward Eric Williams Jr., who hadn't yet cleared COVID-19 protocols to return to practice, was sitting at the end of the bench Thursday, an indication he might be good to go against Washington.
The Huskies (3-13, 2-9) are coming off a 91-71 loss at Oregon State, their ninth straight road defeat. The Beavers scored the game's first seven points and never trailed.
"We're scoring," Washington coach Mike Hopkins said. "We're not defending. We got to defend. If we had scored 71 points a month and a half ago, we'd be jumping for joy. But ... we're just not stopping people."
It was the fourth time this season the Huskies have allowed 90 or more points. Oregon State made 11 3-pointers against Washington.
"You can have the greatest game plan in the world, but then you have to go out and execute that," Hopkins said. "We're just not good enough right now for sure."
Quade Green, the Huskies' leading scorer, was limited to two points on 1-for-7 shooting.
Fellow guard Marcus Tsohonis came off the bench to score a game-high 22 points.
"We definitely didn't have any resistance today," Tsohonis said. "I felt like we came out there kind of slow and they shot like 50 (percent) from the three. So, we definitely didn't execute our defensive plan."
--Field Level Media