University of Oregon
1-1 (#4/4)
Baylor
First Road Game Eludes Oregon's Grasp
11/15/16 | Men's Basketball
The Ducks struggled against Baylor's zone and appeared to miss Dillon Brooks in Tuesday's 66-49 defeat.
WACO, Texas – The No. 4 Oregon men's basketball team lost its first road game of the 2016-17 season, struggling against Baylor's zone defense and failing to sustain an early second-half surge in a 66-49 loss Tuesday afternoon.
How It Happened: Down 33-23 at halftime, the Ducks (1-1) scored the first nine points of the second half to get within one. They spent much of the game settling for three-point attempts against Baylor's zone – and making just 3-of-21 – but executed their halfcourt offense during that stretch. A reverse layin by Chris Boucher out of a halfcourt set a few possessions later kept Oregon within 38-34, and an alley oop from Casey Benson to Boucher cut the lead to four again at 42-38.
But the Ducks didn't sustain the run from that point on. After Jordan Bell hit a jumper that kept it close at 48-42, Baylor (2-0) scored eight straight to get the lead into double digits. Oregon's final field goal, a drive to the hoop by Bell, cut it to 56-44, but Baylor extended the lead the rest of the way.
The Ducks opened the game with a Boucher three-pointer, then missed their next seven and couldn't come up with other offense against Baylor's zone defense, except for a short stretch in which they cut the lead to 13-12 on back-to-back jumpers by Tyler Dorsey. A tip-in by Bell made it 15-14, but Baylor scored the next 10 points and led by double digits at the half.
Who Stood Out: After struggling last week in his return to the court from a medical hardship season, Dylan Ennis scored 16 points Tuesday to lead the Ducks. Boucher scored 12 and Dorsey added nine, with both going 1-of-4 from three-point range. Bell scored eight, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked four shots.
What It Means: A year ago in Eugene, Oregon also struggled with Baylor's zone. The key in that UO victory was Elgin Cook's ability to drive to the basket and break down the defense, and the Ducks clearly missed both the departed Cook and injured junior Dillon Brooks on Tuesday. Oregon has a nice mix of athletic posts and quality guards, but the lack of a big wing like Brooks who can slash to the basket was apparent at Baylor.
Quotable:
UO coach Dana Altman
On the inability to find offense against the zone
"Really disappointed with our ball movement. It looked like we'd never seen a zone before. We didn't get the ball in the middle of the zone, something we did very effectively last year."
On the absence of Dillon Brooks
"We do miss him, but that's just part of the game. We didn't have anybody step up and help us out there."
Up Next: The Ducks return home to face Valparaiso on Thursday (6 p.m., Pac-12 Network).
