Contact CU Independent sports staff writer Jake Mauff at jacob.mauff@colorado.edu
The University of Colorado Buffaloes men’s basketball team fell to the No. 16 Oregon Ducks in Eugene, 76-56, snapping the Buffs’ three-game winning streak. The Buffs are 17-6, while the loss drops them to 6-4 in conference play. Oregon retained first place in the Pac-12 , improving to 19-4 and 8-2 in Pac-12 play.
It was going to be a challenge all night if Colorado wanted to win. They were on the road against the top team in the Pac-12 and the team ended up falling well short of pulling off the upset.
The game wasn’t a high-flying offensive game, like when the teams last met on Jan. 17. In that game, both teams converted on at least half their shots. Tonight, the Buffs looked lethargic all game, and Oregon barely eclipsed 40 percent shooting.
Oregon seemed to know exactly what Colorado’s offense was doing. The Buffs looked lost for a fair amount of the game. It didn’t help that Oregon brought full-court pressure throughout the contest as well. Colorado was unable to control the pace and faltered on offense. All these factors contributed to the team shooting a lowly 33.8 percent from the field.
Shooting wasn’t the only thing hurting the team offensively. The Buffs had 14 turnovers in the game. It not only prevents the team from scoring, but it directly led to the Ducks notching more points. Oregon had 21 points off turnovers. It was one of the reasons Colorado faced a 19-point deficit at halftime.
The second half saw Buffs try to claw themselves out of their grave. At one point, the team closed the gap to 10 points, only to see Oregon pull away. From there, the comeback was futile; the last nail had already been struck.
Colorado turned the ball over early and often. Trying to dig themselves out of the hole, the Buffs played aggressive defense. This led to more fouls. The Buffs were whistled 18 times, even picking up two technicals. Due to the Buffs’ lack of discipline, the Ducks took 21 shots at the line.
On the other hand, Oregon had 17 fouls, but these did not turn into as many free throw attempts for Colorado. The Buffs had 14 tries at the charity stripe and only made six. No one suffered more than senior forward Josh Scott. He went to the line eight times and only converted on three attempts.
Scott did lead the team with 17 points. He was followed by sophomore guard George King, who scored 16. King did have a rough night, though. He took 19 shots and only made six.
Oregon, even on its slow night, had four players score in double digits. A fairly balanced offensive attack allowed senior forward Elgin Cook to lead the team with 18 points. No Duck who took a shot scored fewer than seven points.
Tonight’s win came with a price for Oregon. Senior forward Chris Boucher was helped off the court with an injury. Boucher was coming off of the best game of his career against Arizona State, where he scored 26 points, grabbed 10 boards, and blocked seven shots. Tonight, he led the team with 12 rebounds but scored seven points while making two of eight shots from the floor. There is no update on his condition.
Colorado will look to rebound against Oregon State on Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. (MST). The game can be seen on Pac-12 Network.
