Colorado
16-12, 6-9
Oregon
24-4, 13-2
Buffs Fall To No. 7 Ducks
February 18, 2017 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
EUGENE, Ore. — Colorado's hopes of collecting a much-needed road win over a ranked foe lasted for roughly 16 minutes Saturday.
With 9:45 to go in the first half, the Buffs had matched No. 7 Oregon punch for punch and held a 25-23 lead over the Ducks on their home floor. With 3:57 to go in the half, the Buffs still trailed by just three after a Lucas Siewert 3-pointer pulled Colorado to within 35-32.
But from that point on, the two teams went in decidedly different directions. Colorado went ice cold, the Ducks put together a 10-0 run to close the half and continued the onslaught after intermission. By the time the dust had cleared, the Buffs were on the short end of a long afternoon, 101-73.
The loss dropped Colorado to 16-12 overall and 6-9 in Pac-12 play. Oregon, which collected its 42nd straight home win, improved to 24-4,13-2, while avenging a 74-65 loss in Boulder in late January.
George King led Colorado with 18 points and Dominique Collier added 13. Oregon's Dillon Brooks led all scorers with 23.
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs kept it close in the early going and actually led with less than 10 minutes to go in the first half. Oregon hit its first five 3-point tries to take an early 19-11 lead, but the Buffs responded with a 10-2 run to tie the game at 21-21, then took a 25-23 lead with 9:45 to go in the half on a pair of Deleon Brown free throws.
The Buffs fueled their comeback by hitting six of seven field goal tries, including a 3-pointer and short jumper from Derrick White. At that point, the Buffs were shooting better than 50 percent from the floor, including from behind the 3-point line.
But after taking the two-point edge, the Buffs went cold and the Ducks stayed hot. Oregon built its lead to 35-27 before Colorado managed to close the gap to 35-32 on buckets from King and Siewert, only to see the Ducks close the half on a 10-0 run. CU began taking ill-advised 3-pointers and missed its last six shots of the half, allowing Oregon to carry a 45-32 lead into the locker room at intermission.
"It's senior night here and they were loaded for bear," CU head coach Tad Boyle said. "We knew that coming in, that they would be ready for us, and they were. But I tell you what, we came out of the chute ready, too. We were toe to toe with them there for the first 15 minutes. But then our offense got very very stagnant and we kind of became '3-dependent.' They just kept rolling for the whole 40 minutes"
Any hopes the Buffs had of coming back in the second half were quickly snuffed as the Ducks opened the period with a 19-2 surge for a 64-34 lead with 13:13 still to play. The Buffs never closed the gap to less than 26 the rest of the game.
CU's Derrick White, who had 23 points in the Buffs' win in Boulder, was held to just 10 points on 4-for-10 shooting.
"You have to give them some credit," Boyle said. "They played extremely well. They're legit. We knew that when they were in Boulder and they showed it tonight. Part of this you have to tip your hat to Oregon, the other part you've got to learn from if you're Colorado."
The Buffs were dominated in virtually every statistical category. Colorado shot just 43.3 percent from the field (26-for-60), including a 9-for-27 effort from beyond the arc. The Ducks shot 57.6 percent for the game (34-for-59), including 16-for-29 on 3-point attempts.
CU was also outrebounded 38-24, and while the Buffs committed just 12 turnovers, the Ducks converted those miscues into 21 points.
"We've got to learn from this," Boyle said. "We've got to put it behind us quickly and we have to turn our attention to Utah and whatever it's going to take to win that game next Thursday night. That's what we're going to focus on as a staff and what I want our players to focus on."
TURNING POINT: After the Buffs had pulled to within three with just under four minutes to go in the first half, the Ducks closed the period with a 10-0 run to take a 45-32 lead into the locker room at intermission, then opened the second half with a 19-2 surge. Colorado never threatened again.
WHAT IT MEANS: A road win over a ranked team would have gone a long way in boosting the Buffs' slim NCAA Tournament hopes, but they still have a chance to finish with a .500 record in conference play. Colorado now needs to put together a strong finish that would include a run in the Pac-12 tourney to catch the selection committee's eye.
CU STANDOUTS: George King had 18 points, four rebounds and a pair of assists. … Dominique Collier had 13 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist.
KEY STATISTICS: The Buffs shot just 43.3 percent from the field, including 9-for-27 from 3-point range. The Ducks hit 57.6 percent of their shots, including 16 of their 29 3-point tries. … Oregon also held a commanding 38-24 edge on the boards.
NOTEWORTHY: The Buffs' string of games with at least 10 steals came to an end at three, as Colorado managed just five in the game. … It was the second time this season the Buffs have given up at least 100 points in a Pac-12 game, as UCLA took a 104-89 win earlier this season. … Josh Fortune finished with 11 points for Colorado, his first double-digit scoring game since totaling 13 against Eastern Washington. … Xavier Johnson and King led the Buffs with four rebounds — the lowest leading rebound total for CU this season. … Johnson endured an 0-for-7 day from 3-point range.
QUOTEWORTHY: "We can play with anybody in this league when we play the way we're capable of playing. But we have to do it together, we can't go off on our own, especially on the offensive end. We don't have anybody good enough to carry us. … We've got to do it together." — CU head coach Tad Boyle
"They just came out the second half and wanted it more." CU senior Derrick White
NEXT UP: The Buffs return home for the final three games of the Pac-12 regular season, beginning with a 9 p.m. matchup with Utah next Thursday, CU's only game of the week. Colorado closes the regular season with a March 2 game with Stanford (7 p.m.) and a March 4 game vs. Cal (noon) before heading off to the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
