No. 3 Colorado Hits the Road: Five Things To Know

CORVALLIS, Ore. – No. 3 Colorado heads off to the Beaver State for a pair of road battles at No. 25 Oregon State (Friday, 8 p.m. MT) and Oregon (Sunday, 1 p.m. MT).

Colorado (16-2, 6-1 Pac-12) remained at No. 3 this week in the Associated Press rankings for the second consecutive week. It matches the team's highest ranking this season. The No. 3 designation also marks the team's highest ranking since finishing the 1994-95 season at No. 2 in the country.

Oregon State (15-5, 4-3 Pac-12) cracked the top 25 for the first time this season. The Beavers split last week with a win over Cal before dropping the Sunday contest against Stanford. OSU is 0-3 this season against AP-ranked opponents. Colorado native Raegan Beers ranks fourth in the NCAA in field goal %, shooting 67.5% this season.

Oregon (11-9, 2-5 Pac-12) swept the Arizona schools at home two weeks ago but got swept last week by Stanford and Cal. The Ducks open the weekend with No. 16 Utah on Friday and are 0-4 against AP-ranked opponents this season. Phillipina Kyei leads the Pac-12 and is seventh in the NCAA with her 12 double-doubles this season.

Five things to know

Ranked Games Continue – Friday's matchup pits No. 3 vs No. 25. It will be CU's fourth consecutive game against ranked opponents, having gone 2-1 in the stretch so far. It is the first time the Buffs have played four consecutive ranked teams since Feb. 16 – 28, 2020 (No. 8 Stanford, No. 24 Arizona State, No. 11 Arizona & No. 9 UCLA). Colorado went 1-3 in the last stretch.
Ranked Wins x5 – With a win on Friday, Colorado will have five ranked wins on the season. CU is 4-1 this season against top-25 opponents. Colorado also had four ranked wins last season. It will be the most ranked wins for CU since recording six in the 2001-02 season (6-10).
Close Calls – Colorado is 4-1 in games decided by five points or less since the start of the 2022-23 season. CU is 2-0 this season and have and has won four straight games decided by five points or less (last, 63-59, USC).
Strong Open – CU's 16-2 record through 18 games matches its best start through 18 games since the 2003-04 season. The Buffs went 18-2 before suffering their third loss that season at Kansas State (Feb. 8).
Road Buffs – Colorado is 4-0 on opponent's floors this season. CU is a combined 14-5 in true road games since the 2022-23 season. Gill Coliseum has proven to be a tough place to play for CU with a 2-8 record in Corvallis. The Buffs own a 3-9 record in Eugene. The two games are a part of CU's longest road trip of the season. Colorado will play on the road at Washington State and Washington next week.

Both games this weekend will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network. Ann Shatz and Mary Murphy will call Friday's action. Rich Burk and Jennifer Mountain will be on the mic vs Oregon on Sunday.

Cory Lopez and Carol Callan will have pregame coverage starting 30 minutes before tip-off on the Colorado Radio Network.

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