Ducks Look To Clean Up Mistakes When They Host ASU Thursday

EUGENE, Ore. – Oregon's 17-game winning streak is no more following a loss at Colorado, as is the Ducks' chance to be the first Pac-12 team since UCLA in 1977-78 to go unbeaten in league play.

The 13^th-ranked Ducks' aspirations go beyond their regular-season record, though. And so, come tournament time, the UO men hope they'll be able to look back at their loss to the Buffaloes as a welcome wake-up call.

"I honestly think we needed to lose a game," junior post Jordan Bell said. "We'd been playing kind of sloppy and getting away with it."

The Ducks (19-3, 8-1 Pac-12) return to action against Arizona State in Matthew Knight Arena on Thursday (8 p.m., FS1). They'll try to avoid their first back-to-back losses in nearly a year, at California and Stanford in mid-February of last season.

That UO team responded to the Bay Area sweep by winning 11 in a row, a streak that took them to Pac-12 regular-season and tournament titles, and the NCAA's Elite Eight. This year's Ducks want to respond as well, and without having to suffer another loss before getting the message.

"We don't want to make the same mistake," senior Chris Boucher said. "Losing to Colorado is only going to make us work harder. … We know how good we can be, and losing this game only made us come together more. We all know what we have to do for the team."

Saturday's loss was a recipe for what not to do. The Ducks were outrebound (41-38), committed 16 turnovers, allowed the Buffs to make 8-of-22 three-pointers and missed five second-half free throws. And all of that after several mistakes down the stretch that nearly cost them a win at Utah two days earlier.

"It's the formula for getting beat, there's no doubt about it," UO coach Dana Altman said. "Those kind of things lead to a tough road loss. And that's what happened."

Arizona State will present some similar problems, especially in its three-point proficiency. The Sun Devils have attempted 595 three-pointers this season, most in the Pac-12; they're making 36.6 percent, ranking fifth in the conference.

ASU (10-12, 3-6) relies heavily on its starting lineup, with only one reserve averaging more than 10 minutes per game. Torian Graham is second in the Pac-12 in scoring at 18.7 points per game, and second with 67 made three-pointers. Tra Holder is third in the conference in scoring at 17.7 points per game, and Obinna Oleka is tied for the Pac-12 lead with 12 double-doubles this season.

The Ducks are coming off a game at Colorado in which they took 34 three-pointers, one off the season-high they set on the way to scoring 128 points against Savannah State in nonconference play; the 34 attempts against the Buffaloes yielded just 65 points. Altman has addressed shot selection with his team in the days since.

"He just wants us to take good shots," said Boucher, who was 2-of-6 behind the arc against the Buffs and said Tuesday he intends to adjust his scoring focus closer to the rim. "Sometimes we're going to be shooting well, sometimes not, and when we're not we have to find other ways to score."

Thursday's game with Arizona State precedes a showdown two days later with No. 5 Arizona, which is now the only unbeaten Pac-12 team in conference play following Oregon's loss at Colorado. If there was any chance the Ducks might get caught peaking ahead to the Wildcats, it was squelched by Saturday's wake-up call in Boulder.

"We still control our own destiny," Altman said. "We've just got to keep moving forward. We can't worry about them. We've just got to worry about ourselves."