Eugene, OR (PSF) — It has been a frustrating stretch of 8 games for Dana Altman and the Oregon Ducks.

Off to a fantastic start 13-3 start to the season, including in-conference wins against Washington, top dog Washington State, USC, UCLA, and Washington, and sitting atop the PAC-12 as the number 1 team, it seemed like this Ducks team had the potential to make the March Madness Tournament for the first time since 2021.

Unfortunately, things took a downward turn on January 18th, with the Ducks losing to Colorado in a game that got away from them fast, and exposed issues on both sides of the ball.

Since the loss against Colorado, they’ve gone 3-5, which have all been crucial games against PAC-12 opponents. In that stretch, they dropped from first to fourth in the PAC-12 standings, now behind UCLA, Washington State, and Arizona, who all have better conference records than Oregon.

They now sit two games behind first-place Arizona (19-5, 10-3 conference), who decisively beat the Ducks at home on January 27th, thanks to a career-high 36 points from star guard Caleb Love.

Inconsistencies on both sides of the ball have been a troubling development. The Ducks are not a definitively offensive or defensively-oriented team. They are a relatively balanced team that leans on guys to score when they need it and can play consistent defense as a whole, but they don’t necessarily excel on either side of the ball. This is where the inconsistencies on both sides are troubling — if one aspect of their game breaks down, they can’t rely on the other to take over a game.

Offensively, they get 10 points per game plus scoring from three rotation players: Jermaine Couisinard, N’Faly Dante, and Jackson Shelstad. In theory, that should help their offense flow as they all complement each other, but each player has their limitations that has capped the potential of the offense, which has been exposed in the past 8 games.

Couisnard is the most 3-level scorer of the bunch, but the most inefficient at 41.6 percent from the field and 36.7 from three. He’s not a particularly proficient free throw shooter as well (70.5 percent), and opposing defenses have allowed him to shoot Oregon out of a few games.

Dante has been a force in the paint (61.3 percent shooting), and a fantastic contributor of second-chance points, but his offensive game is limited. He won’t score outside of the paint, allowing defenses to clog the paint and force contested layups.

Shelstad, a 6-foot, 170-pound true freshman, has NBA-level 3-point range and a smooth handle. However, when the threes are not falling, his size becomes an issue and makes offensive life difficult for him. He has shot 9-35 from three (25.7 percent) during Oregon’s tough 8-game stretch, and in five of those games did not make a three. As one of Oregon’s only three-point threats, to be struggling like this severely caps Oregon’s offensive potential.

In one game, the Oregon offense will score 80, as they did versus Washington. In the next game, they’ll score 56, like they did against Washington State. It’s a brutal combination of inconsistent offensive production from their offensive pillars and a combination of defenses game-planning for these three and forcing others to beat them.

Factoring in the loss of Center Nathan Bittle, who according to Head Coach Dana Altman is out for the year, and the offensive inconsistencies of all bench players not named Kario Oquendo and sometimes Keeshawn Barthelemy and Brennan Rigsby, and Oregon finds themselves short of offensive production at times.

Defensively, Oregon has experienced similar inconsistencies. They have a handful of strong defenders and switchable, rangy wings, and units centered around Couisnard, Jadrian Tracy, Kwame Evans, and N’Faly Dante have been effective defensive lineups. However, the offensive limitations of Tracey and Evans, can hinder their defense by creating more fast break opportunities for opponents.

The defensive inconsistencies can be linked to the offensive struggles, but there also also times when the defense simply falters by fouling, overplaying assignments, and miscommunicating. Games such as the losses to Colorado, Utah, and Arizona were riddled with defensive breakdowns and miscommunications that allowed opposing offensive players to get into a rhythm.

However, Oregon’s defensive upside, in my opinion, has a higher ceiling than their offensive ceiling. There have been more games this season, especially during this tough 8-game stretch, where the defensive play has been much stronger than the offensive play.

Entering the twilight of their season, before the March Madness Tournament, Oregon has a critical 7 game stretch of PAC-12 opponents coming up. They play Oregon State twice, Stanford, and California, in their next 4, and then have a brutal 3 game stretch of @ Arizona, Colorado, and Utah to finish the season.

As of now, ESPN’s bracketology does not have Oregon making the tournament again, which would mark their third straight year missing the tournament, an immensely disappointing result. For Oregon to make the tournament, they’d likely need to go 7-0 to finish the season and secure their spot in March.

Oregon has a plethora of talented players with a variety of skill sets. If Dana Altman can maximize this, they can go far. If they continue to display inconsistencies like the past 8 games, they’re looking at another non-tournament season, a frustrating outcome.

Their season hangs in the balance of whether they can right the ship. They’ve shown their ceiling this year as a strong team capable of making the tournament — now, whether they recuperate and find their best basketball within themselves, to reach that ceiling once more, will remain to be seen.