On Thursday, Stanford men’s basketball fell to Oregon 68-60 in Eugene. Junior guard De’Vion Harmon led the way for the Ducks with 21 points while senior guard Will Richardson (12 points & 6 assists) and junior center N’Faly Dante (12 points & 7 rebounds) also finished in double figures. Stanford sophomore guard Michael O’Connell and freshman center Maxime Raynaud each had 11 points for the Cardinal while sophomore forward Brandon Angel had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Oregon improves to 16-7 overall and 9-3 in the Pac-12 while Stanford falls to 14-10 overall and 7-7 in the Pac-12.
“Tough one for our team,” Stanford head coach Jerod Haase said after the game. “The guys have battled through this stretch. Lot of games and not a lot of rest. Certainly concerned about Michael and that situation and we’ll evaluate that as time goes on, but in terms of the game, the turnovers in the first half were defining for us with 3 assists, 13 turnovers showed that it wasn’t a lack of desire to make plays for others, but the pressure caused us to just put our head down and not be able to see other players.
“In the second half we did a much better job of getting to the paint, looking for our teammates, and that was an important part of us coming back. Defensively, I thought we were really good especially in the second half. Need to give them a lot of credit, they have experienced, big time players and they made some really highly contested shots in the late game and have to tip our hat to them and tell them they did a hell of a job.”
Oregon led 10-8 with 14:29 to go in the first half. Dante was up to 4 points for the Ducks, establishing himself early. As for Stanford, it was a committee effort as Michael O’Connell, Spencer Jones, James Keefe, and Harrison Ingram each had 2 points. Oregon jumped out to a 10-4 lead, but Stanford responded nicely.
Senior forward Lukas Kisunas and sophomore forward Max Murrell would each score 2 points for Stanford, continuing the Cardinal’s balanced attack. Harmon was up to 5 points for Oregon. Stanford was dominating the glass with a 10-5 rebounding advantage. 14-12 Oregon was up with 11:55 to go in the half.
Harmon would continue to heat up for Oregon with 9 points. Stanford called for time. 20-12 Oregon led with 9:53 to go in the half.
With 7:28 to go in the half, Oregon led 22-16. Stanford was still yet to make a 3-pointer as they were shooting 0-6 from deep. O’Connell was up to 4 points on 2-4 shooting from the field. He was doing his part to keep Stanford afloat.
Oregon would continue to stay in front, leading 29-22 with 2:43 to go in the half. Harmon was now up to 12 points. Stanford needed to slow him down. Neither team was shooting great from beyond the arc. Stanford was now 2-9 from 3-point range, finally getting a couple to drop while Oregon was 3-10.
At halftime, Oregon led 32-24. Michael O’Connell cut it to five with a nice bucket inside for Stanford while junior guard Rivaldo Soares responded for Oregon with a triple. Harmon’s 12 points was leading Oregon while O’Connell’s 6 points was leading Stanford.
The second half did not start well for Stanford as Oregon led 40-26 with 16:37 to go. The Ducks were on an 8-2 run to open the second half. Dante was up to 12 points and 6 rebounds for Oregon. Stanford needed to respond.
Stanford would respond with a mini 4-0 run thanks to buckets inside from Angel and Keefe. Oregon now led 40-30 with 15:32 to go. Stanford’s 4-0 run turned into an 8-0 run as Ingram was up 7 points, while Angel got a transition bucket and was up to 4 points. It was now a 40-34 Oregon lead with 13:30 to go.
Oregon continued to allow Stanford to creep back into the game as they led 41-36 with 10:57 to go. Angel had a nice rebound inside and put-back. He was now up to 6 points. Oregon had gone cold as they had 0 field goals in the last 5:40.
Oregon would soon wake up as Harmon was up to 17 points. He was balling out. Raynaud was coming alive for Stanford as well with 8 points and 4 rebounds. Stanford continued to fight. It was now a 50-42 lead for Oregon with 7:03 to go.
With 4:25 to go, it was now a 10 point lead for Oregon as they led 57-47. Junior forward Quincy Guerrier nailed a triple for Oregon, Maxime Raynaud banked in a triple for Stanford, and then Will Richardson responded for Oregon with another triple. Stanford was trying to cut into Oregon’s lead, but every time they made a dent, Oregon found a way to respond.
As they have all season, Stanford continued to fight and they were rewarded as triples from O’Connell, Ingram, and Jones made it a 63-58 Oregon lead with 49.6 to go. Stanford still had a pulse. However, Oregon would do enough to win by making some free throws, not giving Stanford the chance to make the comeback complete. In the end, it was a 68-60 win for Oregon.
For Stanford, this loss is a bummer in that they had their chances, but to their credit, they battled for the full 40 minutes. They didn’t give up and made Oregon work hard for the victory. Considering that they got the better of Oregon at Maples Pavilion earlier this season, getting the sweep was going to be a tall task, so it’s no surprise Oregon found a way to win.
The biggest issue for Stanford in this game was their perimeter shooting and ball security, two things that were keys to the game coming in. Stanford shot 6-25 (24.0%) from 3-point range and turned the ball over 17 times. That is not a recipe for success.
Up next for Stanford is a road game at Oregon State. That game will tip-off on Saturday at 7:30 PM PT on Pac-12 Networks and Cardinal Sports Network radio.
Note: Michael O’Connell left the game with under one minute to go due to a sprained left ankle. He was not putting any weight on it and had to be helped to the locker room. His status for Saturday remains to be seen. Also, sophomore guard Noah Taitz (lower leg) continues to be out without a firm timetable for return.
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