4 takeaways from Colorado’s 82-78 win over Oregon

BOULDER — The Buffs are back!

The Colorado Buffaloes knocked off the Oregon Ducks Tuesday night by a score of 82-78 at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene. The win helps the Buffaloes to a 13-6 record, including 5-4 in conference play. The Ducks (11-6, 5-3) had won six consecutive games before Tuesday, including road wins over No. 3 UCLA and No. 5 USC. Colorado hadn’t won in Eugene since 2013.

Here’s what you need to know:

Colorado can’t keep up early

If you only saw the first five minutes of the game, you’d think the Buffs had no business winning. And maybe they didn’t.

Oregon scored the first 13 points of the game. The Ducks’ lead peaked at 20-5.

First of all, Oregon deserves plenty of credit for its hot start; they hit a couple of contested 3-pointers in the first few possessions and scoring on six of their first eight possessions is impressive regardless of how the defense performed.

But the CU defense helped the Ducks out. There were blow-bys, weak closeouts and mistakes trying to maneuver through screens. By halftime, CU had allowed 42 points.

Most of these mistakes came in the game’s early minutes, similar to the UCLA game on Saturday and plenty of others. CU’s youngsters look like they need to settle into each game, and that typically means giving up an early lead to their opponent.

Luckily, like the UCLA game, the Buffs made a run.

By halftime, that 15-point deficit was cut to 5. About halfway through the second half, CU pulled in front. The Buffs had a lead—which hovered around five points—for the game’s final 8:30.

These slow starts need to stop, but the Buffs were able to overcome the slow start on Tuesday.

Jabari makes a statement

Sophomore forward Jabari Walker was the star of the show on Tuesday.

He missed a 3-pointer that would’ve given CU its first points of the game.

He missed a layup that would’ve gotten the Buffs into double-digits.

Then he didn’t miss again all night in 24-point performance.

Walker was 9-of-11 from the field with 11 rebounds, two assists and a steal. He made all five of his free throw attempts. Tuesday was his ninth double-double of the season, the most in the Pac-12.

More importantly, Walker was the engine behind a massive comeback. He was a threat from deep and he was a monster at the rim. His two massive dunks early in the second half were crucial in the Buffs push to take control.

Tristan da Silva put together a very solid night, too. He scored 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting. He also grabbed two boards, blocked two shots and forced a turnover. He struggled to inbound the ball in the game’s final minutes but, for the most part, it was another good night for the German.

Kee and KJ close the game

Colorado’s point guard position is competitive. Head coach Tad Boyle calls it a three-headed monster.

The competition has become tighter in recent weeks, as starter Keeshawn Barthelemy has struggled and freshman backup KJ Simpson has provided solid contributions… in growing minutes.

Barthelemy sat the final 15 minutes against UCLA on Saturday, while Simpson closed the game out for the first time in his career. This was one piece of a trend that seems to point toward Simpson taking the reigns over at some point.

Well the trend used to point in that direction, at least.

On Tuesday, Barthelemy put together one of his most efficient outings of the season. He scored 19 points on 5-of-9 shooting, dished out four assists, forced two turnovers and only turned the ball over twice.

Simpson was solid, too. He scored eight points on 3-of-6 shooting with six assists and one turnover.

Both were on the court in the game’s final minutes.

The point guard spot is still one to watch, but big-time changes won’t happen as long as the Buffs are winning and both guards are playing good ball.

A couple of injury updates

Senior guard Elijah Parquet returned to the the lineup on Tuesday, after missing the previous two games. He didn’t start the game, though, and he only played 21 minutes.

In those 21 minutes, Parquet struggled on the offensive end of the floor. He scored two points and was 0-for-5 from the field. He also turned the ball over twice. Defensively, Parquet was just fine.

Head coach Tad Boyle has made it clear that Parquet will ease his way back into action but, at some point, Parquet will take back his starting job from Nique Clifford.

Backup center Lawson Lovering wasn’t on the bench on Tuesday. If he didn’t make the trip to Oregon, he won’t be with the team for games against Washington and Washington State this weekend, either.

Without Lovering, Colorado is shallow in the front court. Evan Battey and Jabari Walker are the starters but Lovering is the primary reserve. Tristan da Silva, who starts at small forward, can move to power forward or even play as a small-ball center.

Avoiding foul trouble will be crucial until Lovering returns.