3 takeaways from Colorado's 66-51 loss to Oregon

BOULDER — The streak is over.

The Colorado Buffaloes fell to the Oregon Ducks 66-51 Thursday night in Boulder. Oregon had lost all 10 of its games in Boulder, dating back to 1960. The Buffs are now 5-7 in conference play and 13-9 overall. They’ve lost five of their last six. CU head coach Tad Boyle wasn’t in the arena because of a positive COVID-19 test.

Here’s what went down on Thursday:

Keeshawn puts his stamp on the first half

The Buffs’ offense was rolling early and point guard Keeshawn Barthelemy was the reason.

Barthelemy made six of his seven first-half shots and scored 16 points. He notched two steals and didn’t turn the ball over. It was the best half of his career. After his 16th point, Barthelemy flexed his muscles in front of the crowd.

The Buffs were within one point of the Ducks at halftime, despite the fact that no  Buffalo other than Barthelemy had scored more than five points. To win the game, CU would need one of two things: either another big half from its point guard or somebody else to step up and score.

Neither happened.

Barthelemy missed all four of his second-half shots and didn’t make a trip to the free throw line. He finished the night with 16 points.

Jabari Walker scored seven second-half points. Evan Battey scored five. Nobody else scored more than two. Oregon won the second half 30-16.

The starting point guard job has been the subject of some controversy in recent weeks, as Barthelemy struggled. His statement first-half will go a long way. His statement would’ve been louder if he could have kept it going, but his performance was easily the best on the team regardless.

The turnovers come in bunches

Speaking of the point guard position, it was a rough night for freshman KJ Simpson.

Simpson scored three points on five field goal attempts, grabbed three rebounds and dished out three assists. But his night will be remembered for his six turnovers.

As a whole, CU started out well turnover-wise, seeming to bounce back from a string of poor performances when it came to holding onto the ball. With three minutes left in the first half, CU had only turned the ball over four times. But Colorado’s three turnovers in the final three minutes were a sign of things to come.

By the end of the game, CU had turned the ball over 20 times. Oregon outscored the Buffs 25-6 in points off of turnovers.

Simpson led the way with six, but Battey had five of his own. Walker, Tristan daSilva and Nique Clifford all turned the ball over twice. Barthelemy and Hammond registered on a piece.

Turnovers have doomed the Buffs repeatedly this season and the team still its without an answer.

The Buffs can’t make their free throws

Colorado is third in the Pac-12 in free-throw shooting and just one season removed from nearly breaking the all-time free throw percentage record.

But the Buffs couldn’t convert their opportunities from the charity stripe on Thursday.

CU made eight of its 16 attempts, good for 50%.

If the Buffs would’ve made their first-half free throws, they could’ve carried a four-point lead into the second half. The outcome of the game probably wouldn’t have changed, but the free-throw shooting was one of many problems that caused the Buffs to fail, along with poor 3-point shooting, a measly four points from the bench, an inability to find any answer to the zone defense, and plenty of others.