Colorado @ Oregon preview
Matthew Knight Arena
Last Meeting ( Jan 2, 2020 ) Oregon 65, Colorado 74
No. 15 Colorado has leap-frogged No. 18 Oregon in the coaches’ poll, in the NET rankings and in the Pac-12 standings where the Buffaloes currently stand alone in first place. The Ducks, though, have a prime chance to pull even Thursday night when they host Colorado in a nationally-televised showdown.
Colorado beat Oregon 74-65 in Boulder to tip off Pac-12 play on Jan. 2 and has won five of its last six to surge to the top of the conference. “It’s a bigger challenge (now),” Buffs coach Tad Boyle said earlier this week. “… We’ve put ourselves in good position, but it’s also a very small margin. If we don’t win on Thursday, we’re not in sole possession of first place anymore. We know that, and that’s the challenge.” Two weeks ago, Oregon was rolling, riding a four-game win streak, but 10-point losses at Stanford (70-60) and rival Oregon State (63-53) have followed, dropping the Ducks a game behind Colorado and only a half-game ahead of Arizona and Arizona State. “I don’t think we’ve gone backward,” Oregon coach Dana Altman recently told the Oregonian. “People are getting better, and we’re not.”
TIME: 9 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN
ABOUT COLORADO (19-5, 8-3 Pac-12): In a matchup of premier point guards and Pac-12 Player of the Year front-runners opposite Oregon’s Payton Pritchard, the Buffs feature junior McKinley Wright, who leads the team in scoring (13.8 points per game) and assists (5.2) while also collecting 5.2 rebounds per outing. Forward Tyler Bey (13.6 points) and guard D’Shawn Schwartz (11.2) also are averaging double figures for the Buffs, who lead the conference in scoring (73.4 points), field-goal percentage (46.7) and assists (14.3) in Pac-12 play. Bey ranks second in the conference in rebounding (9.1) and is coming off back-to-back doubles-doubles in last week’s homestand sweep of California (71-65) and Stanford (81-74).
ABOUT OREGON (18-6, 7-4): The Ducks shot 32.8 percent in the loss to Stanford and 40 percent in the loss at Oregon State as they posted their two lowest point totals of the season. Pritchard leads the conference in scoring (19.5) and assists (6.0) while leading the team with 59 3-pointers in 153 attempts (38.6 percent). Guards Chris Duarte (14.2 points) and Will Richardson (10.0) also are averaging double figures but the Ducks have been hurt by the absence of a consistent inside scoring threat with 6-11 N’Faly Dante sidelined since Jan. 18 with a knee injury.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Colorado has won nine of the 15 meetings versus Oregon since entering the Pac-12 in 2011, but only one of those wins came in Eugene with the Ducks riding a four-game home win streak in the series.
2. Wright and Pritchard each scored a team-high 21 points in the first meeting, with Wright adding eight assists and five rebounds while Pritchard finished with three assists and six boards.
3. Oregon is the Pac-12’s only undefeated team at home, boasting a 12-0 record – including 4-0 in conference play – while Colorado is 3-3 in true road games, including 2-2 in Pac-12 play.
PREDICTION: Oregon 74, Colorado 70