Oregon @ Colorado preview

Oregon at Colorado

Last Meeting ( Dec 31, 2017 ) Colorado 62, Oregon 77

Oregon has suffered some difficult Pac-12 home losses, but the Ducks have found ways to get a couple of wins back on the road. They now have their sights on another one Saturday night when they visit struggling Colorado.

On Thursday night in Salt Lake City, Oregon didn’t flinch after falling behind by 14 points to Utah midway through the first half. Instead, the Ducks dialed up some extra defensive pressure and stormed back to take a 14-point lead of their own before settling for a 78-72 win, gaining 29 points off 17 Utes turnovers in the process. “This was huge for us to get this one on the road,” Oregon senior guard Ehab Amin said in a post-game news conference. “Especially after we gave a couple away at home.” On the subject of frustrating home defeats, Colorado’s 76-74 loss to visiting Oregon State on Thursday certainly qualifies as the Buffaloes couldn’t hold a nine-point first-half advantage or a 40-35 halftime edge against the Beavers.

TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network

ABOUT OREGON (13-8, 4-4 Pac-12): Freshman guard Will Richardson stepped up with his best game of the season Thursday, scoring a career-high 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting and adding five rebounds, three blocked shots and a pair of steals. Paul White (14 points), Amin (13) and Payton Pritchard (12) also scored in double figures as the Ducks notched their fourth straight win in Salt Lake. With leading scorer Bol Bol (21 points per game) lost for the season with a foot injury, freshman forward Louis King is the team’s active leader with 11.5 points per contest, but he scored seven on 2-for-8 shooting Thursday to finish in single digits for the first time in Pac-12 play this season.

ABOUT COLORADO (11-9, 2-6): The Buffs’ loss Thursday was their fourth in their last five games, and their only two conference wins have come against Pac-12 cellar-dwellers California and Washington State. A failure to close out games is the latest issue for Colorado, which has been outscored by a combined 85-59 in the second half in its last two games against Oregon State and Stanford. Guards McKinley Wright (12.9 points) and Tyler Bey (11.6) and forward Lucas Siewert (11.6) are averaging double figures for the Buffaloes, who are averaging only 69 points while shooting 43.6 percent from the field and 31.3 percent from 3-point range in Pac-12 play.

TIP-INS

1. Oregon has won three of the last four meetings, including a 77-62 home win in their lone matchup a season ago.

2. The Ducks rank second in the conference, allowing 64.8 points per game on 41.3-percent shooting while owning the Pac-12’s top 3-point field-goal percentage defense at 30.5.

3. Colorado has played five of its eight conference games on the road so far but closes out the season with six of its final 10 in Boulder.

PREDICTION: Oregon 72, Colorado 71