How it happened: Oregon’s NCAA Tournament hopes fade with 81-57 blowout loss to ASU

Oregon’s hopes of making the NCAA Tournament as an at-large bid washed away with an 81-57 blowout loss to Arizona State.

The Oregon Ducks entered Thursday night’s game against Arizona State knowing that a loss would almost certainly end their NCAA Tournament hopes, barring an improbable run in the Pac-12 Tournament.

That didn’t stop the Ducks from putting up a stinker against the Sun Devils, where they ultimately lost 81-57.

Oregon’s poor shooting struggles continued, and they finished the game 5-for-26 from deep. They were 1-for-13 from three in the first half, and a porous defense allowed the Sun Devils to get whatever they wanted on the offensive end. There was not much fight put up from the Ducks down the stretch, and it felt like a train wreck happening in slow motion.

Now, the Ducks can look forward to the toughest stretch of games on their schedule, with Arizona, USC, and UCLA up next. Here’s how the disaster happened on Thursday: