No. 9 Oregon men’s basketball blown out in historic magnitude by No. 22 Illinois

EUGENE — In the first top 25 matchup at Matthew Knight Arena since 2020, Illinois looked every bit the part of a Big Ten contender and Oregon was the overrated bystander suffering one of its most lopsided losses ever.

Supreme Cooks scored 20 points to lead four players in double figures for the No. 9 Ducks, who got run out of their own gym by No. 22 Illinois 109-77 Thursday night. It was the most points ever allowed by a Dana Altman team at UO, third-most points allowed in program history and the most allowed in regulation in a home game in Oregon history.

“I got my ass kicked plenty over the years, but we haven’t lost one like that here,” Altman said. “We were stuck in the mud all night. We didn’t play well. We didn’t play hard. I’m very disappointed. I know the guys are disappointed.

“We’re going to have to do the hard things. The bounce back is not going to be easy. I’ve always told the guys, judge by how you respond when you’re here. We’re going to have to bounce back pretty quick.”

It was the 38th 100-point game ever allowed by Oregon and the sixth in the Altman era. The only games in which UO allowed more points were at UCLA in 1968 (119) and an overtime loss to Nebraska (114) at the 1995 Big Island Invitational.

Tre White had 20 points and 11 rebounds for Illinois (10-3, 2-1 Big Ten), which shot 57.5% from the field, including 55.2% from three-point range with 16 makes from behind the arc. It was the most threes by an opponent since UConn made 17 on Nov. 24, 2022.

“One team was well prepared and one team wasn’t,” Altman said. “One team was well coached and one team wasn’t. I got to take my share of the responsibility; we just didn’t guard. Offensively we scored 77 points, 43%, 33% from three — it wasn’t a terrible performance. Ball movement wasn’t good at times. We just got killed.

“I mean, 57%, 55 from three. We gave them so easy ones and then the basket just looked big and they hit some tough ones. Anybody hits 16 of 29 threes on you, outrebounds you by 12, is probably going to kick ya and they did.”

It was the first 20-point game of the season for Cook and fourth of his career. The Georgetown transfer was 8 of 11 from the field and 4 of 6 from the free throw line with a pair of rebounds.

“I thought he battled,” Altman said. “He finished some plays inside. We’re just going to have to get him on the floor more because he did compete. He wasn’t great on some defensive switches but he competed, he was physical.”

Nate Bittle had 13 points and five rebounds, Kwame Evans Jr. scored 11 and TJ Bamba added 10 for Oregon (12-2, 1-2).

Ben Humrichous scored 18 points and Kylan Boswell had 15 points, each making four three-pointers, and Kasparas Jakucionis had 16 points, six rebounds and six assists for Illinois, which shot over 70% from the field and 75% from three in the second half.

“Those numbers are not going to put you in position to win games,” Altman said. “But defensively and on the boards. They’re a very good offensive team, don’t get me wrong, but they’re not that good.”