Oregon headed home from Las Vegas empty-handed Thursday, Nov. 27 following a third straight loss at the Players Era Festival men’s basketball tournament.
Playing without starting center Nate Bittle, the Ducks got stuck in a shooting funk in the first half, fell behind by double digits and could never recover as they lost 76-66 to Creighton at Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOregon went 0-3 in the tournament with losses to No. 25 Auburn, San Diego State and the Bluejays.
Sean Stewart led Oregon (4-3) with a career-best 18 points on 8-for-12 shooting and added seven rebounds and two blocks. Kwame Evans Jr. had 12 points, eight rebounds and four blocks. Dezdrick Lindsay recorded a career high with 14 points.
Oregon head coach Dana Altman yells to his team as the Oregon Ducks host the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors on Nov. 4, 2025, at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Oregon.The Ducks led 22-21 with 9:39 to play in the first half but missed 13 straight shots over the next seven minutes and finished the half on a 2-for-18 shooting stretch to trail 44-29 at halftime.
Oregon was 0 for 9 from 3-point range in the first half and shot 33.3% from the field.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementNot only were the Ducks without Bittle in the post, but Evans was limited to 10 minutes in the first half after picking up three fouls.
Oregon cut Creighton’s lead to three points, 63-60, with 5:15 to play but the Bluejays ended the game on a 13-6 run to close out the victory.
Bittle, who is averaging 16.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.3 blocks, suffered a ankle injury in the first half against San Diego State on Tuesday and played limited minutes in the second half. The Ducks also lost starting forward Devon Pryor to a groin injury early in the first half on Thursday.
What's next for Oregon men's basketball?
The Ducks will play USC at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Matthew Knight Arena in their first game of the Big Ten Conference season.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementChris Hansen covers University of Oregon football, men’s basketball, track and field, cross country and softball for The Register-Guard. You can reach him at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Oregon men's basketball loses 3rd straight to end Players Era Festival
AdvertisementAdvertisement
