Portland, Ore. ? Nick Collison dressed quickly and silently, his voice barely louder than a whisper as he fielded questions from reporters late Saturday afternoon.

All was not rosy at the Rose Garden for Collison and fellow Kansas University senior Kirk Hinrich, who three weeks ago never would have imagined theyâÂÂd be 3-3 six games into their final collegiate season.

Yet thatâÂÂs where they stand – with No. 14-ranked Kansas off to its worst start since the 1979-80 season – after an 84-78 loss Saturday to No. 7-ranked Oregon before 20,762 fans.

âÂÂItâÂÂs hard for Nick, because heâÂÂs a senior and heâÂÂs leading the team and realizes the team needed a lift to bounce back from some poor play in New York,â KU coach Roy Williams said, referring to the Jayhawksâ 0-2 showing in the final two games of the Preseason NIT. âÂÂIt (foul trouble) affected him, but itâÂÂs part of the game. You have to be able to fight through those kind of things, be able to step up and be a big player on big-game days. The biggest players have to step up and do the job.âÂÂ

Collison scored just seven points off 3-of-9 shooting. He had eight rebounds, no assists and four turnovers in 24 foul-plagued minutes

Dismayed that the Jayhawks have lost more regular-season games than they did all last year, Collison was equally disturbed about a small sequence of the game in crunch time.

KU sophomore guard Michael Lee, who was sensational in his return game to his hometown – he scored 11 points in 20 minutes – made the first, but missed the second, of two free throws at 2:55 with KU down, 76-75.

Hinrich kept possession, tapping the ball out of bounds off an Oregon player. LeeâÂÂs best buddy and fellow Portland native, Aaron Miles, then passed in-bounds to the 6-foot-9 Collison, who missed a layup, banging his hands together in disgust.

Asked if he should have dunked the ball, Collison glumly replied, âÂÂYeah.âÂÂ

KU did maintain possession after the miss.

Keith Langford, who finished with 21 points, was tied up, then committed a foul on Luke Jackson, who swished two free throws at 2:25 to boost OregonâÂÂs lead to 78-75.

Collison committed a turnover on KUâÂÂs ensuing possession after making a move with the ball in the lane.

OregonâÂÂs Luke Ridnour – who had 25 points to JacksonâÂÂs 26 – blazed in for a layup on the other end for a 80-75 OU advantage.

KU didnâÂÂt cut the gap under four points again.

âÂÂI mean, thatâÂÂs how it goes. We all did some things (to contribute to the loss),â said Hinrich. âÂÂI missed four free throws, you know.âÂÂ

Hinrich, who scored 24 points off 8-of-19 shooting and added six rebounds in 39 minutes, showed few ill-effects of his recent back strain, but he missed four free throws in 11 attempts.

âÂÂI donâÂÂt think so,â Williams said, asked if heâÂÂs seen a player any tougher than Hinrich, who suffered some cramps during the game but still played all but one minute, taking advantage of long CBS time outs.

âÂÂHe feels real bad now because he missed some free throws that heâÂÂd normally make. We missed some opportunities,â Williams added. âÂÂWeâÂÂve got to cash in on those opportunities if we want to be the kind of basketball team we say we do.âÂÂ

Williams did see some positives in defeat.

The Jayhawks trailed by a game-high 14 points, at 39-25 with 5:21 left in the first half, but closed on an 18-8 run despite the fact Collison and Wayne Simien were on the bench with three fouls apiece.

Lee hit a three and two free throws , while Jeff Graves had a point and was active defensively and on the boards.

âÂÂMichael Lee did some good things for us. We tried to get him involved again today, not just because he was home, but I thought heâÂÂd play a little better. He did some nice things for us.âÂÂ

KU showed some moxie in the second half, cutting a 55-46 deficit to 57-56 at 13:29. At that point, little-used Jay Anderson, a 6-foot-9 junior, scored five straight points – a three-pointer and a deep two – in helping the Ducks to a 62-56 lead at 12:59.

âÂÂThe Anderson kid stepped up and made some big shots,â Williams said. âÂÂWhen you are trying to guard Luke Jackson and Luke Ridnour, to concentrate on them and Anderson steps up and makes big shots, thatâÂÂs big for them.âÂÂ

KU hit a lull shortly after the Anderson barrage.

First, Miles was stripped of the ball, and Ridnour converted on the other end.

Next, Hinrich missed a shot, then cramped up. Miles had another shot blocked, and Robert Johnson cashed a layup off a feed from Jackson, giving Oregon a 68-58 lead at 10:41.

Miles missed 10 of 11 shots and committed seven turnovers against four assists in 36 minutes.

It was not the kind of return the Portland native envisioned.

âÂÂI was probably more disappointed with our handling of the basketball than anything else we did today,â Williams said.

KU committed 22 turnovers to the Ducksâ 17.

âÂÂI think I got a little out of my game,â Miles said, asked if he was too keyed up playing in his hometown. âÂÂI tried to get back in it, but Oregon played a good game.

âÂÂThe matchup thing didnâÂÂt concern me,â added Miles, matched against Ridnour, who had nine assists, two turnovers to go with his 25 points in 39 minutes. âÂÂThe fact we lost is what IâÂÂm worried about.âÂÂ

The Jayhawks could and did take some solace in the fact they battled back from the 14-point deficit to tie the game at 74.

But Oregon took the lead for good on a stickback by Jackson, who scored off a Ridnour miss with three minutes left.

âÂÂThey competed their tails off,â Williams said. âÂÂThey competed like a lot of the great Kansas teams weâÂÂve had. For them to hang in there, make some plays was good for us. WeâÂÂre not into moral victories, never have been, never will be.âÂÂ

The players echoed their coach.

It gets no easier for the Jayhawks, who will travel to Tulsa on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. tipoff.