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Eugene, Ore. • After a long stay in the visiting locker room on Sunday afternoon, coach Larry Krystkowiak came out with three poker chip-sized energy gels in his left hand, shuffling them like puzzle pieces.
The problem his Utes couldn't solve hung heavily on him.
A 76-66 loss to Oregon spread before the team like an unfinished picture — a turnover here, a blown assignment there, a healthy dose of Dillon Brooks tearing it all apart. The Utes came to Matthew Knight Arena hoping for a spectacular turnaround from a disconcerting loss at Oregon State, but they left Oregon with another incomplete game.
Krystkowiak knew it would take "a special effort" to beat the Ducks, now sitting on top of the Pac-12. The Utes didn't get it, falling to 1-9 against Oregon in the Pac-12 era and losing the sixth straight
"You gotta be good to beat Oregon," he said. "We made too many mistakes, too many errors to get that."
It was closer than the Ducks' last visit to Utah, which resulted in an 18-point defeat, but it had a lot of the same images. The Runnin' Utes turned over the ball 14 times, leading to 19 Oregon points. Running a zone defense for much of the night, the Utes had momentary lapses that led to the Ducks throwing down baseline dunks, to the tune of 36 points in the paint.
But the prime-time draw was Brooks, who flashed his NBA talent with step-back 3s in Utes' faces, or whirling drives that cut through the paint like a hot knife. He led Oregon's effort with 30 points, nine assists and six rebounds — there "was no answer" for many of the spectacular plays he made, Krystkowiak admitted.
"When they hit the hard ones on top of the easy ones you've given up, you've basically put yourself in a position where you can't beat 'em," Krystkowiak said. "For a portion of the game, we were pretty solid with that. He stepped up, made good plays."
Early on, the matchup looked much more evenly set, and the Utes showed their own toughness.
After an agonizing loss to the Beavers, the Utes came out composed. Their zone defense flustered Oregon early, and allowed Utah to eat up the defensive glass. Kuzma came out with his second straight hot start of eight points in under six minutes, and Poeltl's first basket at the 12:50 mark gave Utah a 17-12 lead.
Unfortunately for the Utes, it would be their biggest lead of the game.
The game turned as Poeltl and Kuzma each were hit with two fouls with 9 minutes left in the half — the second on Poeltl riling up Krystkowiak into a technical foul.
From there, the game got dicey. As Poeltl and Kuzma subbed out for much of the final stretch of the half, Utah's offense hit a wall. Oregon took the lead on a 9-2 run as Poeltl sat on the bench, then closed the half with a 7-2 burst.
"When you get in foul trouble, it makes you less aggressive because you don't want to get another one," Kuzma said. "I think that set everything off, really."
Once Oregon went off, it was tough for Utah to catch up. Brooks sizzled in the second half, shooting 7 for 11 from the field and notching five of his assists as the Ducks led by as 16. Early second-half fouls to Poeltl and Kuzma didn't help Utah's efforts, and Krystkowiak shuffled around the lineup — even playing reserve Gabe Bealer for 6 minutes — in an effort to find scoring and ball-handling consistency.
Utah's only stable offense came from its frontcourt: Kuzma had a team-best 18 points, while Jordan Loveridge had a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double, and Jakob Poeltl had 13 points. But Oregon's frontcourt successfully limited Poeltl's touches (4 for 5 from the floor) and Utah's guards had little luck driving against shot-blockers Jordan Bell and Chris Boucher, who had three blocks each.
The Utes got as close nine points late in the game, but the Ducks managed to hold off the comeback.
Tied with Colorado for fifth at 6-5 in league play, Utah next faces third-place Washington at home on Wednesday evening.
Twitter: @kylegoon —
Storylines
R Utah has 14 turnovers, leading to 19 Oregon points.
• Dillon Brooks has 30 points, nine assists for the Ducks.
• Oregon has won six straight meetings with the Utes dating to 2013.
More coverage
• Oregon's Brooks shows his NBA-caliber talent while flummoxing Utah. > B2