For the first time since November 29th, 1985, Rutgers Basketball traveled to Eugene to take on Oregon.
The Scarlet Knights (12-14, 5-10) will have to wait even longer to notch their first win inside Matthew Knight Arena.
Rutgers fell 75-57 to the Ducks (18-8, 7-8), who used a lights-out perimeter shooting night and an off night from the Scarlet Knights' freshman stars to notch their second straight win after losing the previous five.
Oregon shot a blistering 13-for-22 from the three-point line, including 7-for-12 in the second half. The Scarlet Knights' defensive rotations were consistently a step slow, leading to countless open opportunities from the perimeter and at the rim. Jackson Shelstad led all scorers with 19 points on 8-for-13 shooting, while Nate Bittle and TJ Bamba were the two other Ducks in double figures with 15 points and nine rebounds for Bittle, and 11 points with six assists for Bamba.
The Scarlet Knights now have their backs against the wall, only being a game ahead of Washington for the Big Ten Tournament's final spot after getting blitzed in the second half.
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Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey - Rutgers' two freshman stars - struggled in the scoring column. They combined for 21 points - 13 from Harper and 8 from Bailey - on 9-for-27 shooting from the floor. Lathan Sommerville was the lone other Scarlet Knight in double figures with a team-high 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting.
Despite a fast start in the first half, the Scarlet Knights went down 38-33 as the Ducks ended the half on a 24-12 run after Rutgers built up a seven-point lead.
Oregon got hot from the perimeter with a 6-for-10 mark in the first half with several open looks, but also distributed the scoring. All eight Ducks that played in the first half scored at least 3 points, led by Bamba's 7 points in the opening half.
The second-half defense did not get much better, seemingly getting worse, allowing Oregon to hit seven three-pointers in the half with another 10 points in the paint. Shelstad and Bittle scored 13 and 10 points in the half, respectively, as Oregon was able to generate seemingly whatever it wanted offensively.
Rutgers' offense cratered in the final 20 minutes as well, finishing at just 10-for-28 in the half, including 1-for-10 from the three-point line.
That came after a first half where the Scarlet Knights shot 14-for-25 from the floor with 18 points in the paint. They shot 6-for-15 on layups in the game and was outrebounded 33-27.
After a subpar performance in the first leg of its Pacific Northwest, the Scarlet Knights now face a test in Washington, in a pivotal matchup for the upcoming Big Ten Tournament. At 5-10 in Big Ten play, Rutgers remains a half-game ahead of the 4-10 Huskies with the head-to-head matchup looming even larger as the Scarlet Knights currently sit in the tournament's final spot in 14th place.
RHOOPS PLAY OF THE DAY
Dylan Grant picks up the loose ball and takes it coast-to-coast for the three-point play.
UP NEXT?
Rutgers will play the second half of its Pacific Northwest trip, traveling to Seattle to play against Washington on Wednesday at Alaska Airlines Arena.
The game will tip off at 10:30pm EST and will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network, with radio broadcast available on WFAN and WRSU.
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