The Oregon men’s basketball team suffered its 10th consecutive loss on Monday, falling to Indiana 92-74 in Bloomington. Despite recording their highest point total in a regulation game this year and shooting 50 percent in the second half, the Ducks were unable to contain Indiana’s offense after halftime.
Oregon (8-16, 1-12 Big Ten) trailed by just six points at halftime, but Indiana began the second half with a strong shooting performance, making 17 of its first 19 attempts and widening the gap.
“It wasn’t what we wanted,” UO coach Dana Altman said. “I liked our performance first half; other than just giving up a couple shots in transition and that, I thought we did some good things. But defensively, the second half, that was not what we have to have to be successful.”
Wei Lin and Nate Bittle led Oregon with 15 points each. Sean Stewart added 12 points, Takai Simpkins scored 11, and Drew Carter contributed a career-high 10 points. However, Oregon could not match the offensive output of Indiana’s Lamar Wilkerson, who finished with 41 points.
“We don’t have the offensive firepower to score 92 points,” Altman said. “We knew that coming in. We needed a game in the seventies. They’re a good offensive team; we made them look really good in that second half. We weren’t connected defensively.”
Carter helped Oregon start strong with five early points as they opened with a 6-0 lead. The Hoosiers struggled initially from the field but recovered midway through the first half when Wilkerson scored his team’s first ten points during a decisive run.
Wilkerson ended the first half with 16 points despite not scoring until seven minutes remained before halftime. He added another 25 after intermission on efficient shooting while his teammates also shot well from the field.
Indiana’s accuracy—making over 80 percent of its shots after halftime—overshadowed Oregon’s own improved offense as Bittle recorded double figures along with five assists in the second period.
The Ducks will look to break their losing streak when they host Penn State on Saturday at noon on Big Ten Network.
