Quick break
Why the Buffs received: CU overcame a sluggish begin to shoot .552 general and outrebound the Geese 36-24.
Three stars:
1. CU’s J’Vonne Hadley: Made all 4 of his 3-point makes an attempt earlier than ending with 20 factors and a CU career-high 12 rebounds.
2. CU’s Tristan da Silva: CU senior hit three 3-pointers and posted a team-high 22 factors.
3. Oregon’s N’Faly Dante: Geese huge man went 10-for-10, recording a double-double with 20 factors and 12 rebounds.
Up subsequent: CU will try to finish a much-needed highway sweep on Saturday at Oregon State (3 p.m. MT, Pac-12 Community).
EUGENE, Ore. — Dealing with a must-win scenario on the highway, the Colorado males’s basketball workforce got here by way of within the clutch.
In a stirring effort in a high-stakes showdown, it was the Buffaloes who made the essential performs down the stretch, as CU prolonged its late-season profitable streak to 5 video games with a 79-75 victory on Thursday night time at Oregon.
The Buffs clinched third-place within the Pac-12 Convention, in addition to a primary spherical bye at subsequent week’s convention event in Las Vegas. Extra importantly, the win gave CU a key Quad 1 victory because it makes an attempt to solidify its NCAA Match credentials throughout the last weekend of the common season.
CU additionally accomplished simply the second two-game, regular-season sweep of the Geese in 13 seasons within the Pac-12.
A much-anticipated season has maybe not unfolded the way in which the Buffs and their followers would have most popular. A season-long wrestle with accidents continued in Eugene, as CU as soon as once more performed with out freshman Cody Williams (ankle) and key reserve Julian Hammond III (knee). But with 5 consecutive wins, plus simply the third win at Oregon in 11 Pac-12 video games in Eugene, all the Buffs’ postseason targets stay firmly on the desk.
“It’s a testomony to how laborious we work and the way deep we actually are,” CU guard J’Vonne Hadley mentioned. “We battled accidents all season. Completely different guys popping out, however we even have a bunch of fellows stepping up.”
The Buffs scored the sport’s first basket however endured a tough begin, as Oregon reeled off the following 11 factors whereas ultimately pushing its result in 12 factors. CU answered with its personal 11-0 run to get again within the sport, and after battling to inside some extent on seven totally different events, the Buffs lastly took their first lead at 33-32 on a Tristan da Silva bucket.
The sport was tied 37-37 at halftime and the back-and-forth affair remained tied at 61-61 with lower than 5 minutes remaining when CU put collectively a commanding 9-0 run, capped by a driving layup from Hadley, that pushed the Buffs’ result in 70-61 with 3:22 left.
CU needed to face up to a last assault, as Oregon’s Jermaine Couisnard adopted a driving layup with a 3-pointer off a Buffs turnover on an inbounds play, a sequence that took just some seconds but left the Geese inside 4. One other Couisnard 3-pointer received Oregon inside 76-75 with 37.4 seconds remaining, however Hadley transformed a tricky layup in site visitors off an inbounds move from KJ Simpson to provide the Buffs a three-point cushhion within the waning seconds.
Couisnard’s last-chance effort at a tying 3-pointer was off the mark, sparking the CU celebration.
“It exhibits the resiliency of this group,” CU head coach Tad Boyle mentioned. “It exhibits the toughness, the competitiveness. Which I’ve not questioned at any level this season. I’ve by no means questioned their competitiveness. I’ve by no means questioned their toughness. I’ve questioned their execution. I’ve questioned their capability to handle the basketball. To win on Oregon’s dwelling flooring, with what was at stake…it’s not like Oregon performed dangerous. They got here out and performed nicely from the get-go. We received down early, our guys didn’t put their heads down. They simply saved preventing, saved battling and clawing again.”
Hadley had maybe his most interesting sport with the Buffs, setting career-highs with 4 3-pointers (on 4 makes an attempt) and 12 rebounds whereas including 20 factors for his third double-double of the season. Da Silva hit three 3-pointers and scored a team-high 22 factors, and whereas Simpson weathered a tricky night time from lengthy vary (0-for-5 from the arc), he nonetheless recorded 17 factors, six rebounds and 6 assists.
“It says lots, particularly the psychological toughness half,” da Silva mentioned. “Since we’ve been struggling a lot, up and down, it messes along with your confidence a little bit bit all through the season. After which when you begin to get into the mode you’re alleged to be in, that you recognize you’re able to, that you just’ve received the expertise for, it feels good and it reassures you of all of the work that you just’ve put in, all of the belief you’ve put in your teammates.”
COLORADO (21-9, 12-7 Pac-12)
da Silva 9-17 1-1 22, Lampkin 3-6 1-4 7, Hadley 8-11 0-0 20, O’Brien 2-4 2-4 6, Simpson 7-17 3-4 17, Ruffin 1-1 0-0 3, Dak 2-2 0-0 4, Diop 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-58 7-13 79.
OREGON (19-11, 11-8)
Evans 3-4 0-0 6, Dante 10-10 0-2 20, Couisnard 6-16 2-2 17, Shelstad 10-15 0-0 23, Tracey 2-7 0-0 5, Rigsby 0-5 0-0 0, Oquendo 1-2 2-2 4, Diawara 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 32-60 4-6 75.
Halftime — 37-37. 3-point area targets — Colorado 8-17 (Hadley 4-4, da Silva 3-6, Ruffin 1-1, O’Brien 0-1, Simpson 0-5), Oregon 7-24 (Shelstad 3-7, Couisnard 3-9, Tracey 1-5, Evans 0-1, Oquendo 0-1, Rigsby 0-1). Rebounds — Colorado 36 (Hadley 12), Oregon 24 (Dante 12). Assists — Colorado 16 (Simpson 6), Oregon 14 (Shelstad 6). Turnovers — Colorado 13 (da Silva 4), Oregon 7 (Shelstad 4). Whole fouls — Colorado 9, Oregon 16. Attendance — 7,794.
