Colorado University Athletics
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Oregon
Boyle's Buffs Set For Critical Game At Oregon
March 06, 2024 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — With two regular season games remaining and then the Pac-12 tournament, the Colorado men's basketball team has some work to do if the Buffaloes want to hear their name called on NCAA Selection Sunday.
Of course, the Buffs could guarantee themselves an NCAA tourney berth by running the table at next week's conference tournament and earning the automatic bid that goes with a tourney title.
But short of that, the Buffs need to collect some wins to improve their resumé — and there may be no better opportunity to burnish their qualifications than Thursday night's game at Oregon (7 p.m., ESPN2).
After that, the Buffs wrap up the regular season at Oregon State on Saturday in a 3 p.m. game (Pac-12 Network).
The Buffs (20-9 overall, 11-7 Pac-12) are currently tied with the Ducks (19-10, 11-7) for third in the Pac-12 standings. The top four teams in the standings earn a first-round bye in the conference tournament.
But of equal importance is CU's current NCAA Tournament status. Colorado is perched squarely on the tourney bubble, with a handful of bracket predictions having the Buffs in the field and others with CU on the outside of the party looking in.
Colorado's overall NET ranking — a critical evaluation metric for the NCAA Selection Committee — currently sits at 31, a solid number. The Ducks, meanwhile, are at 64. A win over Oregon on Thursday would give CU another much-needed Quad 1 win.
But Boyle and the Buffs aren't spending time studying bracketology.
Rather, they are taking aim at going into Eugene and collecting a road win — something that hasn't come easily this year for CU. The Buffs are just 2-7 in true road games this season.
"I just want to go out and play as well as we can," Boyle said. "We know that Oregon's a good team. They're a talented team that can really get out in transition and put points up. The best way to guard them is to not let them get out in transition. Get set and lock in. If we do that, we'll have a chance."
The Buffs won their first meeting with the Ducks this year, an 86-70 win in Boulder in mid-January. Freshman Cody Williams scored a career-high 23 points in the victory as the Buffs outscored UO 30-13 over the final 11 minutes.
The Ducks, 12-2 at home this year, are coming off a 103-83 loss at Arizona. Dana Altman's squad has experienced an injury-plagued, up-and-down season, but they are particularly dangerous on their home floor. Oregon boasts five players averaging double figures, led by guard Jermaine Couisinard (15.5 points per game) and big man N'Faly Dante (14.9 ppg).
The Ducks are also among the Pac-12's top teams in forcing turnovers and they are particularly adept in that area on their home floor.
"We have to take care of the ball, not let them turn us over and get out in transition," Boyle said. "When they get out in transition at home they get the crowd into it, start making threes and get dunks."
The Buffs will take a four-game win streak with them to Eugene, a streak that has seen them play some of their best offensive ball of the season. CU has scored at least 80 points in each of their last four games — and perhaps most importantly, has averaged less than nine turnovers per game over the last three contests.
The catalyst for the Buffs in their recent streak has been guard KJ Simpson, who has averaged more than 26 points and nearly six assists per game in the stretch.
For the year, Simpson is averaging 19.9 points per game (second in the Pac-12) and 4.79 assists (second) while shooting nearly 50 percent from the floor, including .462 from 3-point range (tops in the Pac-12).
It all adds up to what Boyle said is the best season by any Buff he's ever coached.
"Askia (Booker) could really score the ball," Boyle said. "Derrick White could obviously score, was a great defensive player and a good shot blocker. Obviously a phenomenal player. But KJ is doing offensively, defensively, rebounding the ball, distributing the ball and he's a great leader. He's led this team emotionally and verbally. When you put all those things in a pot, from that standpoint I think everything he's brought to this team is the best year of any player I've coached in a long, long time."
But the Buffs will need more than Simpson to get a win at Oregon.
The good news is that senior forward Tristan da Silva might be playing his best basketball of the season. Da Silva is coming off a 27-point, 11-rebound effort in Colorado's win over Stanford, and he's shot 18-for-31 in his last two games.
The Buffs still aren't sure if they will have the service of Williams against the Ducks. The freshman standout, who has been hampered by injuries for much of the season, has missed the last two games with an ankle injury.
