Perhaps the 84-69 loss at Stanford was inevitable. After all, the Ducks have lost 24 straight times at Maples Pavilion.

Tougher to explain was their lifeless performance in an 89-57 thrashing at Cal two days earlier, on Jan. 21, matching Oregon's worst loss ever to the Golden Bears.

"We've got to find ourselves again," reserve forward Jeremy Jacob said. "We still have it in us, we've just got to find it."

It's going to be an exhaustive search. The Ducks (10-9, 2-5) have lost five in a row after beating Washington State and Washington on the road to open the Pac-10 schedule.

And they have rarely been competitive. When they took a 2-0 lead at Cal -- and held it for 25 seconds -- it was the only time since the Jan. 2 win at Washington that they have been ahead of an opponent.

The Ducks' margin of defeat over the past five games: 17.4 points.

"We've got to find a way to win," sophomore center Michael Dunigan said. "Our team spirit seems to be dropping. We're like stuck in the mud right now."

Coach Ernie Kent, whose 13th season might be his last if he can't orchestrate a turnaround, said the Ducks simply must play through this rough patch.

"It's not about yelling at anybody," he said. "You've just got to hope they figure some things out."

Copyright (C) 2010 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.