Colorado University Athletics
Buffs Play Host To No. 10 Oregon
January 28, 2017 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Two days after collecting their first Pac-12 win of the season over Oregon State — a team still without a conference win — the Colorado Buffaloes will see the level of competition go up a notch Saturday.
Make that several notches. When the 11-10 Buffs (1-7 Pac-12) tip it off against No. 10 Oregon in a 7:30 p.m. game at the Coor Events Center, they'll see a team CU coach Tad Boyle calls "a legitimate Final Four contender."
Boyle isn't exaggerating. The 19-2 Ducks (8-0 Pac-12) are outstanding on both ends of the floor.
In conference play, the Ducks lead the conference in scoring defense, scoring margin, field goal percentage defense, blocked shots, steals, 3-point percentage and turnover margin. They are second in scoring offense, field goal percentage and assists; and third in 3-point defense.
In fact, the only place the Buffs have a statistical edge is on the boards, where CU is out-rebounding opponents by 4.9 per game while the Ducks have a 1.6-rebound edge.
Offensively, the Ducks love to get up and down the floor. "This team runs off mades, they run off misses, they put pressure on you with their 3-point shooters and their bigs are as fast as any bigs in the country in terms of running," Boyle said.
Defensively, "This is absolutely the best defensive Oregon team we've played since we've been in the Pac-12. They've got a terrific defense."
The Buffs have already seen one excellent transition team in UCLA — and the Bruins knocked out a 104-89 win over the Buffs in Boulder earlier this month.
Colorado does, however, have history on its side. CU holds a 9-6 edge all time in the series, including a 6-4 mark since joining the Pac-12 — and a 6-0 record all time in Boulder, including last year's 91-87 win at the Events Center.
"We have to play consistent play hard and play with pride," said CU junior George King, who is coming off a season-high 24 points in Thursday's win over Oregon State. "They're a better team than last year, but they're still running the same stuff offensively. We have to do what we did last year. We can't slack defensively against them."
For the Buffs, that will be easier said than done. While a variety of maladies have plagued CU this year, defense has been the biggest deficiency. Oregon State, which was averaging just more than 56 points in league play, scored 78 against Colorado, and the Buffs are yielding 83.1 points per game in conference play — 11th in the league.
What makes the Ducks so dangerous offensively is their balance. Their leading scorer, Dillon Brooks, is only No. 14 in the league in conference play (15.1 per game), but three other starters average at least 11 a game. They also have the league's leading shot blocker in Chris Boucher.
Offense hasn't been a problem for the Buffs, at least not recently, as they've surpassed the 80-point mark in four of their last five games. King's effort against the Beavers was a particularly good sign, as it was his first 20-point game of the season after posting eight a year ago — and he did it coming off the bench for only the second time this season.
Friday afternoon, Boyle said he wasn't sure yet what his starting lineup would be Saturday. Against the Beavers, he opened with three freshmen — Deleon Brown, Bryce Peters and Lucas Siewert — along with junior Tory Miller and Thomas Akyazili. The group responded well, providing CU with a lead at the beginning of both halves.
"I don't know who's going to start tomorrow night, to be honest with you," Boyle said. "It doesn't matter who starts, it's about who plays and who plays well. We've got 11 guys that are in our rotation and we've got to be ready to go."
ALTITUDE ADVANTAGE: The trip to the "mountain schools" (Colorado and Utah) is one Pac-12 schools never enjoy, mostly because of the altitude. The elevation, though, didn't seem to bother the Ducks in their 73-67 win at Utah on Thursday. "The one thing about Oregon is the altitude is much less of a factor because they're in better condition than most teams and they're deeper," Boyle said. "Although it helps us and works for us, it doesn't help us as much. (Oregon forward) Jordan Bell is not going to be huffing and puffing as much as Drew Eubanks was last night."
BROADCAST: The game will be televised by the Pac-12 Network with Ted Robinson, Bill Walton and Jill Savage. Newsradio 850 AM and 94.1 FM will carry the game with Mark Johnson and Scott Wilke.
NEXT UP: The Buffs head back on the road next week with games at Stanford on Thursday (9 p.m.) and Cal on Sunday (2:30 p.m.).
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
