Oregon found itself in the wrong place at the wrong time — fighting for its NIT life against the buzzsaw that has been the Texas A&M Aggies of the last month.

Dating back to Feb. 22, the Aggies are now 9-1. Their only loss came in the SEC championship game against Tennessee, now a No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament.

The Aggies rode the metaphorical Joe-Lunardi-bracketology-bubble for the backend of February and fell 15 points short of the Volunteers -- 15 points short of making the NCAA tournament. After failing to receive an at-large bid, the they apparently have made it their mission to show the NCAA committee that it made a mistake.

The Ducks fell victim on Saturday morning, losing 75-60 in the teams' second-round NIT matchup in College Station, Texas, marking the close to their rather disappointing season.

Oregon finishes 20-15 -- the most losses for a Dana Altman-coached team since his first season with the Ducks in 2010-11.

Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams danced on the sidelines after dialing up a successful half-court trap. Ashton Smith wagged his tongue in celebration of a Hayden Hefner and-one floater. Texas A&M (25-12) took care of business — and had fun doing so.

Eric Williams Jr. dropped a team-high 13 points for Oregon. To have a chance at winning, though, the Ducks needed to unleash their fiercest fighter — center N’Faly Dante, who also provided 13 points along with 13 rebounds.

Dante missed the Ducks' first NIT game against Utah State four days ago, with a non-COVID illness, but seemed to be fully recovered on Saturday. He provided 5 blocks, but the Ducks failed to help him man the middle.

Texas A&M finished with 42 points in the paint, a plus-18 advantage over the Ducks. Quenton Jackson lit it up again with 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting. In the Aggies now 9-1 surge, Jackson has averaged 17.5 points while shooting 60.2 percent from the field.

Jackson’s performance, along with the Ducks' continued inability to knock down the 3-point shot, (they shot 25 percent Saturday) combined to highlight Oregon’s demise. Its season comes to a sputtering close.

“Teams that are shooting the 3 well are at such an advantage,” Altman said. “That will be a priority for us this offseason.”

Next up — an offseason full of unanswered questions.

To name a few: Will Richardson and Williams Jr.’s decision on their final year of eligibility that they earned due to last year’s COVID season; The mysterious nature of recruit Dior Johnson, who none will believe is actually a Duck until he steps onto Oregon’s campus in the fall; And what other faces will Altman inevitably add to the mix as he tries to work his magic in the transfer market?

“I only want guys who want to be at Oregon and buy into our program,” Altman said.

We’re in for a long and dramatic offseason, but one that a Ducks’ program definitely needed after a disappointing 20-15 season.