If you needed another reminder of why college basketball never disappoints, this was it. Kelly Graves’ Oregon dragged No. 6 Michigan into deep waters and nearly pulled off a comeback that would have been one of the stories of the season. But when double overtime finally ended, Ducks fans were left staring at a result that hurt more because of how close they were to victory.

This one was always supposed to go Michigan’s way. ESPN gave the Wolverines over a 70 percent chance to win, and the early signs backed it up. A 21–10 first quarter had all the makings of a comfortable Michigan night in front of the 5,439 fans inside Matthew Knight Arena, who showed up hoping to will the Ducks to something special.

At the break, this looked over. A 44–28 lead left Oregon trailing by 16, and it was hard to find anyone who thought the Ducks would still be standing late. But Kelly Graves’ side refused to fold. Katie Fiso’s 24 points and Mia Jacobs’ 16 sparked a stunning rally, and Oregon somehow clawed its way back to make it 69 apiece with 1:23 remaining. They had done the impossible part. Unfortunately, late-game mistakes wiped out all that hard work.

Those late-game mistakes did not go unnoticed. For Oregon fans, they became the defining frustration of the night. What should have been a heroic comeback instead turned into disappointment, and much of that frustration was directed toward head coach Kelly Graves. Fans were vocal, emotional, and made their feelings clear once the final buzzer sounded. Here are some of the reactions.

Frustration Boils Over as Kelly Graves’ Side Falls to Michigan

“Kelly Graves should’ve been gone,” one fan wrote. Another followed it up with, “Kelly Graves gotta retire. This is bad.” And honestly, you can see where the frustration is coming from. Oregon may not be ranked, but the Ducks started the season 12–2. This loss to Michigan dropped them to 0–2 in Big Ten play and marked their second straight defeat. For a team that was knocking on the door of the rankings, suddenly struggling to close games was never part of the plan.

And it is not like Michigan played flawless basketball either. The Wolverines went just 16-of-38 from the free-throw line and turned the ball over 26 times, mistakes that should have been punished. Yet Oregon could not fully capitalize on any of it. One fan was left stunned that a sixth-ranked team shot 42% of their free throws, saying, “how tf you go 16/38 from the FT LINE 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭”.

It was messy, chaotic, and packed with head-scratching moments. Even sportscaster Chris Williams could not believe what he was watching and summed it up perfectly, saying, “Kelly Graves and Kim Barnes Arico need to lock all of their players in the gym to do foul shots cuz this is nasty business man lol.”

Both teams combined for a staggering 49 turnovers and went just 36-of-72 from the free throw line, numbers you almost never see at this level. With that many mistakes and missed chances, it is no surprise the game spiraled into overtime. If either side had been even slightly more efficient, especially from the field, this one likely would have ended long before overtime.

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But the biggest head-scratching moment was yet to come. Syla Swords appeared to take the final shot for Michigan, only for play to be halted. The clock had stopped at 5.2 seconds, the score remained tied at 69–69, and confusion swept through the arena.

Even reporter Talia Goodman was left stunned by the situation, saying, “I genuinely couldn’t think of a worse time for this to happen. Game on the line. We don’t know how much time is on the clock, who has possession, etc. Craziness.” The game was eventually sent to overtime, only giving Oregon fans yet another reason to feel frustrated.

Tied at 76–76 with 4.3 seconds remaining, Oregon had a golden chance to steal the win. Instead, the Ducks pulled the ball back, killed the clock at midcourt, and walked themselves into double overtime. The play drawn up by Kelly Graves baffled just about everyone. One fan said, “Man nah Kelly Graves what was that play gang?”

With the ball in her hands, Astera Tuhina let precious seconds bleed off the clock. When the pass eventually reached Katie Fiso, it was too late. Regulation had already ended, and Oregon was headed to double overtime. In a game full of errors, that lack of clock awareness stood out as the most costly.