Oregon Breaks Boulder Curse, Defeats Colorado 66-51 Behind Dominant Second Half

The Ducks held the Buffaloes to just 16 points in the second half en route to their first ever win in Boulder.

Author:
Graham Metzker
Publish date:
Feb 4, 2022 12:16 AM EST

First Half

It was a high-flying start in Boulder. De’Vion Harmon stripped the ball and let Jacob Young take it the distance for a left-handed finish. Colorado’s Evan Battey knocked down a corner three, only for Will Richardson to knock down his own three-pointer right after.

The Buffaloes found success above the rim early, with Nique Clifford and Jabari Walker throwing down dunks. But Young kept the Ducks ahead with a three-pointer and a pull-up jumper on back-to-back possessions. The Ducks took a narrow 11-9 lead into the first media timeout five minutes in.

Both offenses had trouble getting going after the timeout. Oregon’s offense looked out of tune, only scoring on second-chance opportunities. Colorado had a few good shots that just wouldn’t go in, outside of a deep three-pointer from Keeshawn Barthelemy that kept Colorado ahead 15-11.

Oregon’s offense found some breathing room thanks to Quincy Guerrier’s triple on the elbow. Richardson used his post-moves for a floater and Oregon’s first lead of the night. But Barthelemy caught the Oregon defense sleeping and cashed in another deep three to grab the 24-22 lead.

Things started to look dire for the Ducks. Barthelemy grabbed three fast-break buckets off of turnovers. Richardson hit a huge three-pointer off of a mean crossover, but he turned the ball over twice in a row. The Ducks were down five with three minutes left in the first.

The Ducks got the last laugh thanks to Young beating the buzzer from downtown. Young’s 16th point of the half put the Ducks up 36-35 at halftime.

Second Half

It was a quick start again, as Harmon and Walker opened up the half with three-pointers. The referees quickly slowed the pace with some foul calls, with 25 fouls called in total.

N’Faly Dante finally scored his first points of the game after grabbing the offensive rebound, then Richardson stole the ball and found the speedy Young for the layup. Oregon was finally finding its rhythm.

Harmon dove in his bag of tricks for a spin-move into a pull-up jumper at the free-throw line. Oregon forced back-to-back turnovers, then Eric Williams Jr. knocked down a huge triple to give Oregon the first double-digit lead of the night at 54-43 halfway through the second.

Oregon’s defense was crucial. The Ducks earned 25 points off of 20 Colorado turnovers, while holding Colorado to 27.3% field goal shooting in the second half. Oregon was always active and moving on defense, whether it ran man-to-man or a zone.

Colorado went ice cold near the end of the game, failing to score for six minutes straight. Meanwhile, Oregon showed no mercy. Young hit a turn-around shot for his 21st point and the 15-point lead.

The CU Events Center was all but empty for the last three minutes. Colorado couldn’t seem to put the ball in the hoop, only making two of its last 12 field goals. Oregon finished off Colorado in Boulder for the first time for the 66-51 win.

Young led all scorers with 21, and Guerrier chipped in nine points and nine rebounds. Walker filled the stat sheet as always for Colorado with an 11-point, 12-rebound double-double.

The Ducks improve 14-7 overall and 7-3 in Pac-12 play. They will face the skidding Utah Utes (9-14, 2-11 Pac-12) in Salt Lake City on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. PT.

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