Just like that, the dream was over.
With the third overall seed in the Pac-12 Tournament, the Oregon men’s basketball team was widely considered a threat to run the table and earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Instead, the Ducks (22-9) will go home early after a 63-62 loss at the hands of sixth-seeded Colorado (21-11). @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=235&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205392690@@
The Ducks got off to a solid start in the early going, as E.J. Singler and Garrett Sim hit back-to-back threes to give Oregon a 6-0 lead. The Buffaloes bounced right back, however, and took off on an 11-2 run to take a 17-15 lead at the 11:55 mark of the first half. @@http://espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=320682483@@
At one point, both teams were shooting better than 50 percent from the field, but Oregon would cool off as time wound down before intermission. By the 3:49 mark, as the Ducks’ shots started hitting iron, Colorado had built its largest lead of the game at 34-29. Four quick points from junior center Tony Woods brought the Ducks to within one, and a steal by senior Tyrone Nared ignited a fast break that could have given Oregon the lead heading into the break. Yet Joseph missed the layup, and two additional attempts by Sim also fell short as the buzzer sounded. @@http://espn.go.com/ncb/playbyplay?gameId=320682483@@
Both Sim and Woods totaled eight points to lead Oregon in the first half, but leading scorer Joseph had just two points on 1-8 shooting. While the Ducks shot just 37.8 percent from the field, the Buffaloes came in a 51.1 clip. Eleven first-half offensive rebounds — five of which came from Olu Ashaolu alone — helped Oregon stay in the game, but the defense would have to be shored up if the Ducks were going to win.
It didn’t, at least for much of the second half. Time and again, the Buffaloes were able to convert open looks and looked to be in control with an eight-point lead at the 7:28 mark. But Oregon wasn’t going down without a fight, and on the heels of Singler and Woods used a quick 10-0 spurt to take a 60-58 lead. Just 2:45 remained at that point, and the Ducks held onto a one-point lead until the waning seconds, when Andre Roberson grabbed an offensive rebound and laid the ball in. Oregon would have one last shot to win the game at the buzzer, but Joseph’s three-point attempt went wide. @@http://espn.go.com/ncb/playbyplay?gameId=320682483&period=2@@
All of a sudden, the run had ended.
Devoe Joseph struggled for much of the game, shooting 6 of 19 from the field and finishing with only 12 points. Joseph attempted and air-balled the potentially game-winning and buzzer beating shot at the end of regulation. (Michael Ciaglo/Oregon Daily Emerald)
With the loss, any chance that Oregon had for an NCAA Tournament bid went out the window, and the Ducks are likely to receive an National Invitation Tournament bid instead. With top-seeded Washington also losing on Thursday, the possibility looms that the Pac-12 will send just one team to the Big Dance.
In the end, Woods led the way for Oregon with a career-high 14 points, four rebounds and four blocks. Joseph offset his poor shooting night to some extent with eight rebounds and four assists to go along with his 12 points, while Singler and Sim combined for just 17 points. The Ducks shot just 39.7 percent from the field, and converted only four of their 22 three point attempts. @@http://espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=320682483@@
In Colorado’s side, it was a two-man show between Roberson and Carlon Brown. While Roberson hit the game winner to punctuate his 12-point, 10-rebound performance, Brown scored a game-high 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting. The Buffaloes shot 45.5 percent overall, which helped make up for their being outrebounded 38-25.
Colorado moves on to play California today in the semifinals at 8:30 p.m.
