The opening moments resembled Oregon’s dismantling of rival Washington. The closing minutes were more akin to the Ducks’ last second losses to Arizona State and Stanford. 

After blowing a 15-point first half lead, the Ducks (12-7, 5-3 Pac-12) sputtered in the game’s final stretch, falling 82-78 to Colorado (13-6, 5-4 Pac-12) Tuesday night in Matthew Knight Arena.
The Buffs’ took their first lead, 62-61, with 9:22 to go in the second half and led for all but 30 seconds of the remaining game time. Oregon’s Quincy Guerrier — who led the Ducks with a season-high 22 points — nailed his third 3-pointer of the night with 1:35 left to bring the Ducks within 3, but despite two missed free throws from Colorado, which shot 20-for-22 from the line, and several key deflections late, Oregon never came any closer. 

“Really disappointed,” Oregon head coach Dana Altman said. “I thought we had put some things together, but we got outworked tonight.”

The loss, The Ducks’ first since Dec. 18, 2021, terminated their six-game win streak.
Colorado outrebounded Oregon 30-22, and the Buffs’ eight offensive rebounds led to 18 second chance points. 

“That was the difference in the game,” Altman said.

Colorado’s trio of Tristan Da Silva, Jabari Walker and Keeshawn Barthelemy combined for 58 points on 19-for-26 shooting and the Buffs’ shot 50% from the field, 53% from deep and 90% from the line. 

“You score 78 at home, you should win,” Altman said. 
The Ducks’ improved ball movement and offensive flow which had been a leading reason for their recent success, continued in spades through the game’s opening moments. By way of a trio of early 3’s, Oregon shot out to a 13-0 lead within the game’s first three minutes, reminiscent of the Ducks’ opening sequence from their 28 point win against the Huskies just two days prior. 

Oregon hit just four 3’s over the next 37 minutes. As its perimeter shooting waned and ball movement slowed, the Ducks’ offense stagnated and eventually came to a full stop. A four minute stretch without a field goal rolled out the red carpet for a hot-shooting Buffs’ team which snuck within 5 with 4:55 to go in the half. 

Colorado punctuated the half with a 7-0 run, reducing a 12-point Ducks’ lead to 5. 

As the second half wore on, the Buffs’ separated themselves on the glass. Both Franck Kepnang and Eric Williams Jr. were held without a rebound and N’Faly Dante, who finished with five, was neutralized offensively. 

Shortly after Colorado knotted the game at 57 with 12:03 left, The Ducks suffered a second stretch of nearly four minutes without a field goal. 

“It was a bad stretch,” Altman said. “I should’ve taken every timeout we had there. The ball movement was poor. Our spacing was poor. It looked like we were out of gas.

Altman elected to go small with 2:35 to go as he inserted Williams Jr. for Dante and while the lineup showed an uptick in defensive activity, the offense remained hard to come by despite several good looks, ultimately leading to the Ducks downfall. 

“We were trying to stay with them on the boards,” Altman said. “We just got to rebound better… We went small in desperation there.”  

Oregon’s six-game surge came on the back of their high-flying offense and a revitalized defense. The Ducks reverted to old habits Tuesday as their ball movement came to a grinding halt and their defense had holes poked in it.

Altman and his squad now turn towards Saturday when Oregon State comes to town in what has quickly become a must-win for a Ducks team with post-season aspirations.