The Oregon Ducks (16-8, 8-5 conference) dropped a crucial home game to the Washington State Cougars (18-6, 9-4 conference), losing 62-56 for their fifth conference loss of the season on Saturday afternoon.
Offense was hard to come by for both teams as defense and spacing controlled the tempo of the game early on.
Because points were so hard to come by throughout the game, Oregon’s inability to make their free throws cost them the game shooting 8-for-14 from the line.
“The free throws in a low-scoring game like this possession by possession, you get to the free throw line you gotta go and you can’t shoot 50% on the night where it’s a two possession game,” Altman told reporters after the game. “So free throws hadn’t cost us for a while, but it should cost us today.”
True freshman Jackson Shelstad was setting up his teammates early in the first half, drawing in defenders while driving to the basket and passing to the open man or just finding open teammates on the court. The point guard’s vision was really on point even if it wasn’t reflected in the box score.