On Tuesday afternoon, the Oregon athletic department has officially announced Armstead’s departure from the basketball team. The news was first reported by Aaron Fentress of Comcast SportsNet Northwest earlier in the day.

“We have enjoyed having Arik on our team the past two seasons and we certainly wish him luck with his football career,” Oregon head coach Dana Altman said in a statement. “Arik is a very talented student-athlete and we completely understand and support his decision to concentrate on football.”

Armstead was in his redhsirt freshman season with the basketball team this year but his first, and last, appearance on the court came this past Sunday in Oregon’s 71-44 win over Washington State. Armstead played four minutes against the Cougars and made his only shot for two points.

Armstead has gotten much more playing time on the football field. He played in every game for the Ducks this past season and started five. He appears to have a bright future in football after college, as well. The upcoming football season will be Armstead’s junior campaign with the Ducks.

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The Oregon men’s basketball team will face 16-4 UCLA Thursday night at Matthew Knight Arena, and Ducks head coach Dana Altman expects the Bruins to be a tough test. Sophomore guard-forward Kyle Anderson especially impresses Altman, as do freshmen Zach LaVine and Bryce Alford.

During Tuesday’s Pac-12 media teleconference, Altman discussed UCLA and Mike Moser and how graduate transfer players like him compare to freshmen who are one and done, or play for one year before entering the NBA draft. He also talked about Arik Armstead hours before the sophomore announced his departure from the basketball team.

What has Mike Moser meant to your team this year?

“He’s filled a big hole. We lost Arsalan (Kazemi) and E.J. Singler from a year ago and (Moser) came in and gave us some experience at the forward spot. He’s been a little inconsistent, but he’s had some big games for us and has been really solid for us.”

What are the challenges for a player, like Moser, who transfers to play for just one year?

“Just trying to be a big part of the team for one year. Usually, you have an opportunity for two, three, maybe four years. I think it’s very similar to guys who are one and done — they come in as freshman. The biggest difference when they come in as a graduate is there’s a maturity there and they know it’s about the team. They’re trying to accomplish something for the team. While there are similarities between a one-and-done as a freshman, I think you have some advantages because they’re just a little more mature.”

When did Moser reach out to you?

“He let it be known around the time of the (2013) Final Four that we was going to graduate and leave.”

What have you seen out of UCLA freshmen Zach LaVine and Bryce Alford and how important are they to what UCLA does, especially on offense?

“I think they’re both really talented and come in and provide a big spark. LaVine’s athleticism is off the charts and Alford does a nice job of handling the ball and getting people the ball in the right spots. Bryce is the ball handler and LaVine is some instant offense and some great athleticism. I think they both give them a big boost off the bench.”

How much of a different look does UCLA have when they move Alford to point guard and Kyle Anderson to the post or the wing?

“Kyle’s so versatile. He just gives you so many different looks, with his ball-handling, with his passing skills and with his ability to see over the defense, so it doesn’t matter really if it’s out front or more from a wing position or even in the post. He’s got great vision, he really moves the ball well, he’s got great instincts, he’s just a very versatile player that creates a lot of mismatch problems and problems because he can shoot the three, he can go post up. But I think the thing that separates him is really his court vision and his ability to make plays for his teammates.”

Have you seen or game-planned against a player like Anderson?

“He’s pretty unique. You don’t see many guys that size that have the ball skills and shoot the three. He’s pretty unique. There’s not anybody in our league who’s like him.”

Did you notice a difference defensively in the win over Washington State that might point to improvement going forward?

“The encouraging thing was our communication was better, our transition D was a little better and our rebounding was much better. It was a combination of those three things and I don’t think Washington State played that well. We caught a break there that they missed some shots that they normally hit. But, for us, our communication was much better, our transition D, we got back and put our defense together more quickly, and our rebounding was much better. We had more physicality on the boards and I thought we did a better job there.”

It was obviously late in the game and a blowout, but what went into the decision to play Arik Armstead against Washington State?

“He’s been with the team for three weeks and it was just an opportunity to get him some minutes. He’s done some nice things in practice.”

Does he have physical gifts that other guys don’t have in the post?

“Well, he’s bigger. He’s wider. That doesn’t maybe address our shot-blocking, or lack thereof, but he is a wide body.”

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Before Sunday’s win over Washington State, the Oregon men’s basketball team hadn’t won a game in over three weeks. The Ducks tried having more fun in practice and before games, they altered their starting lineup and they ignored game film from their loss to Oregon State. But what they truly needed was Sunday’s victory.

“We just need one (win) to get started,” redshirt junior guard Joseph Young told reporters after Thursday’s 80-76 loss to Washington. “If we get one then I feel like everybody will know what a win feels like again and once we get that one everybody will be excited.”

Before the three-week stretch of ineptitude, the Ducks didn’t know what a loss felt like. They won the first 13 games of the season, a span of nearly two months. The hot start, which propelled the Ducks into the top 10 of the AP poll, probably isn’t representative of Oregon’s true ability. But neither is the five-game losing streak.  In fact, Oregon’s talent level is closer to the 13-0 version. Come NCAA Tournament time, the Ducks could realistically make a run like last year’s team that reached the Sweet 16.

Oregon’s competitiveness in losses is one reason Ducks fans should be optimistic. The Colorado and California games were both closer than the final scores indicated. The losses to Stanford and Washington both came down to the wire. Even Oregon State, who controlled the entire game against Oregon, held a mere five-point lead with two minutes left in its 80-72 win.

The Ducks might also have more upside than other teams. Yes, they mostly are who they are at this point, but that doesn’t mean they’ve plateaued. Guard Dominic Artis and forward Ben Carter both started their first games of the season against Washington and didn’t play well. But they missed the first nine games of the season due to suspensions, so they’re probably still far behind the rest of their teammates. If they can catch up, the Ducks will have basically added two key players to their roster.

Washington head coach Lorenzo Romar said Oregon’s struggles, especially on defense, might be due to players taking a while to grasp all of the information.

“They’re probably just still learning,” Romar said during Tuesday’s Pac-12 media teleconference. “It could just be a team that, before it’s all said and done, they’re a good defensive team as they learn all the concepts.”

Becoming a good defensive team is a bit of a stretch, but Oregon could easily improve in this area. If the Ducks can start executing decent team defense, they can easily get on the winning side of these close games.

A high seed in the NCAA Tournament is unlikely for Oregon. They’ve lost too many games to good-not-great competition. But as last year’s Ducks illustrated, a low seed doesn’t mean an early exit.

The Ducks don’t have to fix much to regain that winning feeling and make a deep run in March.

“You hit a few shots, guys play with a little more energy, get some confidence back and you get that thing turned around,” head coach Dana Altman said.

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– The Eugene City Council announced on Wednesday that $3 million will need to be raised by the private sector in order to cover renovation, operation and maintenance costs for Civic Stadium. Before Wednesday, the previous fundraising figure was $5.5 million. The city will have six months to collect the $3 million and if they fail to do so, the city will not be able to complete its purchase of the historic baseball stadium. The city is competing with Eugene Family YMCA and Fred Meyer for the stadium property.

– Two Oregon football commits are on Rivals.com’s top 100 recruits list as National Signing Day (Feb. 5) approaches. Running back Royce Freeman is No. 52 and wide receiver Jalen Brown is No. 89 on the list. Safety/running back Budda Baker, who decommitted from Oregon last week, is Rivals’ No. 61 recruit.

– Speaking of Baker, the Bellvue High player spoke with The Seattle Times earlier in the week. Baker talked about his visit to Washington last weekend and his upcoming visit to UCLA, as well as why he decommitted from Oregon. “I don’t think I could live in Eugene for four years,” he said.

– In other Oregon football recruiting news, three players will make their official visits to Oregon on Friday. San Antonio defensive tackle Trey Lealaimatafao, Daytona Beach (Fla.) athlete Charles Nelson and Meridian (Idaho) safety Khalil Oliver are the three players who will be in Eugene. The Ducks expect to get five more commitments in the next two weeks.

– Oregon four-sport athlete Liz Brenner announced on Friday that she’ll be dropping her current sport, basketball. Brenner will now focus on the upcoming sand volleyball season and a tryout with USA Volleyball. Brenner, a second-team all-American in court volleyball, is expected to throw the javelin for the Oregon track and field team in the spring, as well.

– Former Oregon distance runner Galen Rupp was rewarded for his record-breaking American indoor 5,000 meter race last week. On Wednesday, Rupp was named the USA Track and Field Athlete of the Week. On Saturday, Rupp will look to break another record in the indoor two-mile race at the same place (Boston University) he ran last week’s 5,000 meter. Bernard Lagat broke Rupp’s previous U.S. indoor two-mile record in 2013 with a time of 8:09.49.

– Oregon Tech’s Danny Miles might become the second coach at any four-year men’s basketball program to reach 1,000 wins for his career. Miles currently sits at 998 wins and his team plays back-to-back games this weekend. The first game comes against Eastern Oregon Friday at 7:30 p.m. and the second is against the College of Idaho Saturday night at the same time.

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The story stayed the same for the Oregon men’s basketball team on Thursday night. The Ducks’ defense struggled and an opposing guard torched them in their hard-fought 80-76 loss to Washington at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle. Oregon (13-5, 1-5 Pac-12) has now lost five straight games.

For the fourth time during the losing streak, Oregon allowed the other team to make over 50 percent of its shots. But those other efficient games by Oregon’s opponents weren’t as prolific as Washington’s on Thursday. The Huskies (12-8, 4-3) made 57.8 percent of their shots, including 69.6 percent in the second half. They also shot 58.3 percent on three-pointers.

Washington guard C.J. Wilcox, like he has all season, played brilliantly for the Huskies. He scored 23 points on 7-of-11 (63.6 percent) shooting from the field, including 5-of-6 on three-pointers. His last three was the dagger, putting Washington up 76-72 with 44 seconds left in the game. Three was a magic number for Wilcox, who also contributed three rebounds, three assists, three blocks and three steals.

“We made a mistake a couple times on screens and he (Wilcox) made us pay every time, then he hit the big shot there late,” Oregon head coach Dana Altman told reporters after the game. “He was the difference in the game, he was the best player on the floor and you know he made us pay.”

The Ducks made a couple of changes to their starting lineup before the game. Guard Dominic Artis and forward Ben Carter, who were both suspended for nine games to begin the season, started their first games of the year for Oregon, but neither made much of an impact against Washington. They combined to score four points on 1-of-8 shooting.

Oregon guard Joseph Young got out of his scoring slump (five points in each of the last two games) but still struggled with his shooting efficiency. He led the Ducks with 18 points, albeit on 5-of-14 (35.7 percent) shooting. As a team, the Ducks shot 42.9 percent from the field, although they did make 18-of-19 free throws (Washington converted on 21-of-32 free throws).

Unlike Sunday’s loss to Oregon State, in which the Ducks trailed for the entire game past the 17:28 point of the first half, Oregon and Washington traded leads throughout. Oregon took the halftime lead on an Elgin Cook layup to beat the buzzer, and the two teams remained close for most of the second half. But a three-pointer from guard Darin Johnson with 12:17 remaining in the game put the Huskies up 50-47, and Washington would never relinquish the lead after that.

Washington built its lead up to seven with 2:59 left, but the Ducks went on a 9-3 run to make the score 73-72. Guard Johnathan Loyd converted an and-one on a questionable foul call with 1:14 remaining to trim the Huskies’ lead to that one-point margin. But on the next possession, Wilcox, with Loyd guarding him, rose up from the top of the three-point line and buried a three to essentially seal the game.

Forward Richard Amardi scored 11 points off the bench for the Ducks, and added a game-high nine rebounds and three blocks. He, Loyd, Cook and Jason Calliste provided a spark for Oregon off the bench, combining to score 37 points on 14-of-24 (58.3 percent) shooting.

Washington guard and Portland native Andrew Andrews scored 17 points and dished out a game-high six assists. Forward Perris Blackwell added 15 points and four rebounds on 5-of-7 (71.4 percent) shooting.

Oregon stays in the state of Washington this weekend to take on Washington State. The Ducks and Cougars will tip off Sunday at 7 p.m. at Wallis Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum.

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Opposing guards have killed the Oregon men’s basketball team during its current four-game losing streak. Oregon State’s Roberto Nelson, Stanford’s Chasson Randle and Anthony Brown, California’s Jordan Matthews and Colorado’s Spencer Dinwiddie and Askia Booker all scored over 20 points while making more than 50 percent of their shots against Oregon.

The Ducks (13-4, 1-4 Pac-12) won’t get a break in the backcourt, either, when they take on Washington (11-8, 3-3) Thursday night.

C.J. Wilcox averages 19.7 points per game (second in the Pac-12), with a shooting slash line of 45.7/88.9/41.5 (field goal/free throw/three-point percentage).

“He’s one of the best scorers in the league,” Oregon head coach Dana Altman said. “He’ll be a handful, there’s no doubt about it.”

Oregon guard Damyean Dotson said he, Joseph Young and Jason Calliste will likely be the main Oregon players to guard Wilcox. Altman wasn’t as specific but said he plans on rotating defenders on Washington’s senior guard.

The Huskies guards drop off from Wilcox, but backcourt players like Andrew Andrews, Nigel Williams-Goss and Mike Anderson all play the next highest minutes and have produced this season (Andrews has struggled shooting the ball, however.)

But Oregon is one of the few teams that can match the Huskies in that area, especially at attacking the basket. Just ask their head coach Lorenzo Romar.

“Dominic Artis last year was one of their best guys at getting to the rim,” Romar said in Tuesday’s Pac-12 media teleconference. “Even though Young can really shoot it, he can get there. I can go on and on. They have a number of guys who can get to the basket.”

Washington’s and Oregon’s frontcourts are also similarly constructed. Each team rebounds and blocks shots at the almost exact same rates, and most of their key big men stand around 6-foot-8 or 6-foot-9. Both teams are also in the dregs of the NCAA on defense.

While the two teams might appear to be mirror images of each other, Oregon does have a sizable advantage on offense. The Ducks are 86 spots higher than Washington nationally in points per game (Oregon ranks third) and 162 spots higher in field goal percentage. Washington might be deep at guard, but Oregon has outperformed them this season, especially shooting the ball (Dotson, Young, Calliste and Johnathan Loyd have all made at least 46.7 percent of their field goal attempts this season.)

Plus, the Ducks won’t have to worry about a huge front line protecting the rim, a luxury they haven’t enjoyed for most of Pac-12 play.

“We’re not quite as undersized against them,” Altman said, “so hopefully we’ll be able to get to the basket a little bit more and create a few more things on the offensive end.”

But Washington won’t be an easy out, especially with the game being played in Seattle. Their three conference victories came against Colorado, Utah and Arizona State — all above-average teams. If the Ducks continue their defensive woes and/or struggle on offense like they did against Oregon State (37.9 percent from the field), their plunge into the depths of the Pac-12 will continue.

“(Washington’s) a good team,” Altman said. “Lorenzo does a good job, so they’ll create different problems than the problems we’ve faced the last couple weeks.”

Follow Victor Flores on Twitter @vflores415

On the eve of Oregon’s road game against Washington, Joseph Young discussed his team’s four-game losing streak and the most recent loss to Oregon State. But Young said he and his team are focused on moving on, which is one reason why the Ducks didn’t watch any film from the Civil War loss. Young also talked about his recent struggles on offense and Ben Carter’s big performance on Sunday.

Follow Victor Flores on Twitter @vflores415

On the eve of Oregon’s road game against Washington, Joseph Young discussed his team’s four-game losing streak and the most recent loss to Oregon State. But Young said he and his team are focused on moving on, which is one reason why the Ducks didn’t watch any film from the Civil War loss. Young also talked about his recent struggles on offense and Ben Carter’s big performance on Sunday.

Follow Victor Flores on Twitter @vflores415

On the eve of Oregon’s road game against Washington, Joseph Young discussed his team’s four-game losing streak and the most recent loss to Oregon State. But Young said he and his team are focused on moving on, which is one reason why the Ducks didn’t watch any film from the Civil War loss. Young also talked about his recent struggles on offense and Ben Carter’s big performance on Sunday.

Follow Victor Flores on Twitter @vflores415

Johnathan Loyd slowly dribbled the ball up the floor and stopped around half court, “massaging the clock,” as ESPN’s play-by-play announcer Roxy Bernstein described it. The Moda Center fans rose to their feet. The Ducks held a 65-62 lead over Illinois with less than a minute remaining in the game.

Mike Moser set a screen for Loyd with 11 seconds left on the shot clock. As the senior Loyd dribbled to his right, Illinois’ 6-foot-11 center Nnanna Egwu switched onto him. Egwu held his ground against Oregon’s 5-foot-8 point guard, not letting Loyd drive past him.

Loyd backed up with six on the shot clock, took two quick steps forward with five left, then rose up for a long two-pointer.

Swish.

The crowd roared. Oregon’s bench players jumped up and down. The Illini, who ended up losing, called a timeout with 21.4 seconds remaining.

“There was a time last year about the midway point when Dominic Artis was out with a stress fracture and Johnathan Loyd was thrusted the role of having to play 40 minutes a night as a point guard,” Bernstein said during the timeout. “His confidence struggled. But then late in the year, something clicked for him. He would go on to be the most outstanding player in the Pac-12 Tournament, and that confidence has carried over into this season.”

A spike in Loyd’s minutes last season started on Jan. 26, the day Artis was ruled out with an injury. For the next eight games, Loyd shot 12-of-47 from the field, or 25.5 percent.

“Last year, the guys would just step all the way into the paint or double-team somebody and if I got the shot, I would miss it most of the time,” Loyd said. “They’re living with percentages.”

But something did indeed change after that eighth game, a 48-46 loss to California in which Loyd shot 0-of-6 from the field. Loyd made 46.3 percent of his shots in the final 10 games of the season.

Of course, the endpoints in these two chunks of games are arbitrary. Loyd only shot 36.7 percent from the field and 31 percent from three all season. But the evidence sure does seem to indicate that something clicked after the Cal loss because Loyd’s shooting numbers this season are the best of his career, and it’s not even close.

Loyd’s shooting percentages through the first 17 games this season are 48.4/39.4/86.5 (field goal percentage/three-point percentage/free throw percentage), on a career-high number of attempts per game. In his previous three seasons, Loyd never eclipsed 74 percent from the free-throw line and his career-highs in the other two categories were 36.7 percent (field goal) and 31.0 percent (three-point) from last season.

So what changed?

Loyd said this season (and the offseason) is the hardest he’s ever worked on his shot. He didn’t drastically change his shooting mechanics or learn one key trick to shooting more efficiently. He just shot. Constantly.

“I was just in here (Matthew Knight Arena) every day, twice a day sometimes,” Loyd said. “I was just in here getting it in and it paid off.”

Head coach Dana Altman echoed those comments and said Loyd has been smarter with his shot selection.

“There’s no shortcut on being a better shooter,” Altman said. “You’ve got to take good shots, put a lot of work in, and he’s done that.”

It’s no coincidence that Oregon’s offense has ascended this year, as well (third nationally in points per game at 87.4 and tied for 22nd in field goal percentage at 48.4). Loyd’s improved shooting hasn’t single-handedly improved the Ducks’ offense, but when the primary ball-handler is a threat to score from anywhere on the floor, a ripple effect occurs. 

“If they (defenders) help off too much, I’m gonna knock it down, so you can’t really help off me like that,” Loyd said. ”It opens up lanes for everybody else.”

Plus, when Oregon players set screens for Loyd, defenders guarding him have been forced to take different routes around those picks than in years past.

“Teams can’t go under screens,” sophomore guard Damyean Dotson said. “They have to go over and we can run our plays more.”

Oregon, of course, is far from a perfect team. They’ve lost four in a row, struggled mightily on defense and don’t get much offensive production in the post. But Loyd’s improvement has turned a good offense into one of the nation’s best. If he had another 35/30/70 season this year, Oregon’s current 13-4 record would almost certainly look worse.

After his first three seasons, it seemed like Loyd would never shoot well. But he took a meteoric leap at the end of last season and is now one of Oregon’s best shooters. The formula for his improvement, he said, is pretty simple.

“After last year, my confidence was high,” Loyd said, ”so confidence plus hard work, that’s all it is.”

Follow Victor Flores on Twitter @vflores415