At the Buzzer: Oregon 73, Indiana 64

Quick thoughts on a 73-64 loss at Oregon:

How it happened

Oregon, winners of five straight entering Thursday’s game, came out hot at Knight Arena. The Ducks got strong starts from Jackson Shelstad and Nate Bittle and steadily built a lead throughout the first half. By the 6:24 mark, Oregon had stretched its lead to nine points on a second-chance 3-pointer from Kwame Evans Jr. Indiana, however, kept plugging away. Reserve guard Kanaan Carlyle hit a pair of 3-pointers to get the Hoosiers within three at 30-27 and IU briefly took the lead at 31-30 on an Anthony Leal layup. The Ducks, however, got another 3-pointer from Evans Jr. to claim a 35-32 cushion at the break. Indiana won the points in the paint battle in the first half, 22-12, while Oregon outscored the Hoosiers by six points from the perimeter. Poor free throw shooting – 1-for-5 – was also a problem for IU in the opening 20 minutes.

The Ducks were 5-for-8 from the field to start the second half and had six early second-chance points to build a five-point cushion at 47-42 at the under-16 media timeout. Indiana went on an 8-0 run out of the timeout and led 50-47, but Oregon regained the lead, 53-52, by the under-12 break. Mackenzie Mgbako hit his second 3-pointer of the second half during the 8-0 spurt for the Hoosiers. A 3-pointer by Trey Galloway and a tough jumper by Carlyle gave Indiana a 57-55 lead by the under-eight media timeout. Anthony Leal’s steal and pass ahead to Malik Reneau tied the game at 61 with 3:55 to play and Dana Altman took a timeout with 3:30 to play. Out of the timeout, Oregon took the lead on a TJ Bamba layup and Bamba stole the ball from Galloway just before the final media timeout with 2:38 left.

Out of the break, Oumar Ballo blocked Bittle to end Oregon’s possession and Galloway hit a 3-pointer with 1:58 left to give IU a 64-63 lead. Jackson Shelstad’s deep 3-pointer with 1:30 late in the shot clock gave the Ducks a 66-64 advantage and the Hoosiers took a timeout with 1:22 left. Galloway was pressured heavily by Bamba out of the timeout and turned it over. Galloway then fouled Bittle with 1:05 left and he made both to give Oregon a 68-64 lead. After IU came up empty again on its next possession, the Ducks sealed the game from the free-throw line to snap IU’s three-game winning streak. Oregon finished the game on a 10-0 run.