Colorado @ Oregon preview

Colorado at Oregon

Last Meeting ( Feb 18, 2017 ) Colorado 73, Oregon 101

For the first time in four seasons, Oregon has lost more than once on its homecourt. And following Friday’s disappointing 66-56 loss to Utah, the Ducks are focused on bouncing back Sunday night against visiting Colorado.

Oregon took a 31-23 lead into halftime against the Runnin’ Utes, but shot 38.1 percent and scored only 25 points over the final 20 minutes to easily finish with a season scoring low and see its 25-game Pac-12 home win streak come to an end. Utah finished with a 16-4 advantage in points off turnovers and an 11-3 margin in second-chance points in winning in Eugene for the first time since 1951. “Those are two key stats so I’m very disappointed in how we performed,” Ducks coach Dana Altman said in his post-game news conference. “I always look at those as indicators of who’s determined and who’s getting things done with their activity, and we obviously didn’t get much done in those two areas.” Meanwhile, in Corvallis, it was much the same story for the Buffaloes who shot 34.5 percent from the field, including 7-of-25 from 3-point range, and lost 18 turnovers in scoring a season-low 57 points

TV: 10 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network

ABOUT COLORADO (8-5, 0-1 Pac-12): With Friday’s loss, the Buffaloes fell to 0-3 in true road games this season, and all three losses have been by nine or more points. Freshman forward Tyler Bey (14 points) was the only CU player to reach double figures Friday, meaning that leading scorer, freshman guard McKinley Wright (7 points, 16.2 per game), failed to reach double digits for the first time as a collegian. Senior swingman George King (13.5 points, team-most 8.2 rebounds) and guard Namon Wright (11.0 points) also are averaging double figures for the Buffaloes, who rank second to last in the conference in scoring (75.3 points) and last in field-goal percentage (44.6).

ABOUT OREGON (10-4, 0-1): Friday’s loss was a stunner for the Ducks, who had averaged nearly 90 points in winning eight of their first nine home games this season. Guards Payton Pritchard (15.6 points) and Elijah Brown (13.2) are the team’s leading scorers, but they combined for 19 points and five turnovers on 6-of-21 shooting vs. the Utes. Freshman forward Troy Brown scored a team-high 16 points Friday to up his season average to 12.1, but fourth-leading scorer Paul White (11.1) missed his second straight game as he recovers from a concussion.

TIP-INS

1. Oregon has won four of the last six meetings and has taken three straight in Eugene, winning by an average of 20.3 points.

2. Colorado ranks second to last in the Pac-12 in 3-point accuracy (32.6 percent) and have hit only 23-of-78 long-range attempts (29.4 percent) in their three road losses.

3. Oregon freshman F Kenny Wooten has blocked five or more shots in three of his last five games and is leading the Pac-12 with an average of 3.3 per outing.

PREDICTION: Oregon 82, Colorado 70