Colorado
12-2,1-0Pac-12
Oregon
11-3,0-1Pac-12
Wright Lifts Buffs Past No. 4 Oregon
January 02, 2020 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Point guard McKinley Wright IV sparked a decisive 10-2 Colorado run down the stretch and the Buffaloes collected a 74-65 win Thursday over No. 4 Oregon at a sold-out CU Events Center.
The Buffs improved to 12-2 (1-0 Pac-12) with their fifth straight win while Oregon dropped to 11-3, 0-1 this season and 0-9 all-time in Boulder.
The Buffs led by as much as 15 early in the second half before the Ducks cut the deficit to four, 57-53, with 4:34 to play.
But Wright then sparked a 7-0 run with a 3-pointer, an assist and a floater from the lane to push CU's lead to 11, 64-53, with just under three minutes to play. Oregon stopped the run momentarily with a Payton Pritchard basket, but Wright then found D'Shawn Schwartz open in the corner for a 3-pointer and 67-55 lead with 1:23 to play.
The Buffs then held on in the final minutes for the win, hitting just enough of their free throws — including six from Wright in the last 52 seconds — to keep the Ducks at bay.
Wright led the Buffs with 21 points, 11 in the final 4:10 of the game, along with eight assists and five rebounds. Tyler Bey collected his sixth double-double of the season and first since Nov. 30 with 15 points and 14Â rebounds and D'Shawn Schwartz added 13 points.
"We needed this one," Wright said. "We knew that they never win here and we wanted to keep it that way. When we are locked in and taking care of the ball and rebounding, we're a really good team."
Pritchard led Oregon with 21 points.
Defensively, the Buffs were outstanding. Oregon entered the game as the Pac-12's leading team in shooting percentage (49.7 percent) and 3-point shooting (41.7). But Colorado held Oregon to just 44.6 percent from the floor (25-for-56), including just 3-for-18 from 3-point range.
The Buffs, meanwhile, shot 25-for-57 from the floor, held a 36-34 rebounding edge and committed just eight turnovers while forcing 13 Oregon miscues. Colorado held a 13-6 edge in points off those turnovers.
"We beat a good team tonight," said CU head coach Tad Boyle, who collected his second win over a ranked team this season and 19th of his career in Boulder. "I would just say anybody that wasn't at the game tonight, you missed a heck of a game. And this Colorado basketball team is worthy of eight more games like the Event Center was tonight in terms of packed and enthusiastic. Our crowd helped us win this game. And I thank them for that …. It's nice to nice to get off to a good start against a really good basketball team."
HOW IT HAPPENED: Colorado led by six at intermission, 28-22, and quickly pushed the margin to 15 just five minutes into the second half, as Wright had a beautiful pair of assists to spark a 9-0 run. The first went to Bey, who cashed in a layup and ensuing free throw, and the second to Schwartz, who drained a long three from just in front of the CU bench.
Lucas Siewert then capped the run with another 3-pointer and Colorado led, 41-26, with 14:51 to play.
"Our guys are really sharing the ball," said Boyle after his team finished with 14 assists. "They're moving the ball. They're looking for each other. This team really has a connection on the floor and off the floor and I think I think that's key. They really, really love each other, they pull for each other and I thought you can see our offense getting better and better and better over the last three or four games."
But the Ducks didn't go away quietly. After enduring a particularly rough first half shooting, they finally began to find the basket and answered with a run of their own, using a 10-0 surge that ultimately shaved CU's lead down to four, 51-47, with 8:35 to play.
Colorado then briefly pushed its lead back to eight on a pair of Evan Battey free throws three minutes later, only to see the Ducks pull back to within four again, 57-53, on a pair of technical foul free throws.
The technical, called on Bay after he blocked an Anthony Mathis shot, resulted in two Mathis free throws.
"We have to play smarter," Boyle said. "Tyler Bey can't have that technical foul.There's no room for that. Unacceptable."
But the technical also seemed to spark the Buffs as Wright engineered the game's decisive run. He came down the floor on CU's ensuing possession and buried a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 4:10 to go, then found Schwartz wide open under the bucket on CU's next possession for a layup after CU's defense forced a turnover.
Then, following a missed Oregon 3-pointer, Wright hit a floater from the lane to give Colorado an 11-point cushion, 64-53, with just 2:32 remaining.
 "Big players make big plays," Boyle said. "McKinley Wright is as big-time of a clutch performer as I've ever coached."
The Buffs then put the game away with 1:23 remaining when Wright found Schwartz open again for a 3-pointer from just in front of the CU bench for a 67-55 lead. The Buffs managed to make it closer than necessary by missing some free throws in the final minute, but Wright hit all six of his to lock up the win.
"He's a big-time player," Schwartz said of Wright. "No other way to describe it. He thrives in big-time games like that. He feeds off the crowd's energy and gets them going and gets us going. That's what a good point guard does and he's a great point guard."
Bey was also outstanding. After seven straight games without double-digit rebounds, he came up big against the Ducks.
"I just wanted to pick it up, especially this game," Bey said. "We were playing Oregon, so I had to go to the hoop as much as I could."
After falling behind early, the Buffs battled back and finally took the lead midway through the first half on an Evan Battey bucket inside, 13-12. The Ducks came back to take the lead and then tie it up again at 16-16 before the Buffs put together an 8-0 run to give themselves some breathing room.
CU never trailed again.
Schwartz started the run with a 3-pointer from the right corner before Daylen Kountz hit a transition layup and free throw. Wright then connected on a drive down the lane to give CU a 24-16 edge with 4:24 to go in the half.
Oregon finally halted the run, and the two teams then traded buckets in the final two minutes to send Colorado into the locker room with a 28-22 halftime edge.
The Ducks, who entered the game shooting nearly 50 percent from the field, were held to just 34.6 percent shooting (9-for-26) while the Buffs were 12-for-25.Â
TURNING POINT: Just after the Ducks had pulled within four on a pair of technical foul free throws with 4:34 left in the game, momentum threatened to shift to the Oregon bench. But Wright ignited the crowd with a 3-pointer to start a 7-0 run and the Ducks never threatened again.
WHAT IT MEANS: In a matchup between the two teams picked to finish 1-2 in the Pac-12 preseason poll, the Buffs collected a huge conference-opening win. It is the type of win that will send a message that Colorado is indeed a contender for the conference title.
KEY STATISTICS: The Buffs held Oregon — the Pac-12's leading 3-point shooting team — to just 3-for-18 shooting from beyond the arc … CU committed just eight turnovers, the second-lowest total of the season, while forcing 13 Oregon turnovers. Colorado held a 13-6 lead in points off of turnovers ... The announced crowd of 10,770 was officially a sellout, CU's first since a 2016 game against Arizona.
QUOTEWORTHY: "I believe this team has a chance to do something special this year. But it's only going to happen if we take every opportunity as they come and cherish and relish it and get up for it. That's my that's my challenge as a coach." CU head coach Tad Boyle
NEXT UP: Colorado continues a three-game homestand Sunday with a 4 p.m. game against Oregon State. The Buffs then wrap up the homestand the following Sunday (Jan. 12) with a 4 p.m. game against Utah.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
Â
