Las Vegas — Survived and advanced.
The Colorado Buffaloes knocked off the Oregon Ducks 80-69 Thursday afternoon to advance to the semifinals of the Pac-12 Tournament. The win is Colorado’s eighth in its past nine games, and the Buffs will try to build on that success when they take on the #2 Arizona Wildcats on Friday with a trip to the Pac-12 championship game on the line.
Jabari Walker and Evan Battey led the way on the score sheet, with Walker picking up 18 points and Battey 19. But the real impact from the Buffs’ front court was on the glass. CU won the rebounding battle 55-42 and Walker had 16 of those while Battey had 12.
Colorado shot poorly in the first half but the work on the glass kept them within reach of the Ducks. When the Buffs were trailing 18-11 about halfway through the first half, Walker grabbed a missed Keeshawn Barthelemy shot and laid it in. Two possessions later, Tristan da Silva grabbed a board and drew a trip to the free throw line.
A few minutes later, Colorado found its scoring touch and went on a 12-0 run. Most of the work came in the paint, but a 3-pointer from Walker drew the second biggest roar after a massive dunk from K.J. Simpson. By halftime, the Buffs had built a 6-point lead despite shooting worse than 35% from the field.
But the shots fell in the second half and the Buffs pulled away.
Colorado shot half as many threes in the second half and focused on getting to the rim instead. While the Buffs actually scored more paint points in the first half than the second, they earned 16 free throw attempts in the second half after shooting three in the first. The Buffs got downhill and earned easy opportunities—though they didn’t convert their free throws as often as they’d like—while also forcing the Ducks into foul trouble.
Center N’Faly Dante was a driving force behind Oregon’s win over Oregon State in the first round of the tournament, but he picked up his fourth foul early in the second half and was only on the floor for 20 total minutes in the game. His fourth foul came can be attributed to Battey, who recognized Dante was in foul trouble and drove right into his chest on his way to the rim.
On Colorado’s side, Tristan da Silva and Nique Clifford both struggled with fouls. Da Silva drew a variety of defensive assignments throughout the night on his way to four fouls. Clifford only played 18 minutes because he was stuck in foul trouble. Da Silva added 12 points, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals. Clifford provided 6 points and three boards.
Oregon forward Quincy Guerrier was the game’s high scorer. He put up 10 points in the first 10 minutes of the game and 15 more points the rest of the way. He and Jacob Young, who put up 18 points on Thursday, were the other key pieces in the Ducks’ win over Oregon State.
Colorado kept freshman Julian Hammond III in the starting point guard spot for the third consecutive game and earned its third consecutive win. His two points came on a pair of free throws with less than four minutes to play in the game, but he still put together a solid performance. While he struggled when guarding Young on occasion, he was efficient distributing the ball and didn’t put himself in bad situations. Expect him to continue to hold down the starting job throughout this tournament.
Sophomore Keeshawn Barthelemy, the starter up until a couple of weeks ago, and freshman K.J. Simpson provided the scoring punch off the bench for Colorado, as they have since the change to the starting lineup was made. Barthelemy put up nine points in 25 minutes and Simpson posted 11 in 28. Simpson also added seven rebounds and six assists.
The bench was a three-man unit, with Luke O’Brien as the third sub. The three-man rotation has been a trend in recent weeks.
The Buffs will take on the #2 Arizona Wildcats, the top-seeded team in the tournament, Friday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The game is scheduled for 6 p.m. PST and will be broadcast on Pac-12 Network. The Wildcats will attempt to avenge its loss to the Buffs in Boulder from two weeks ago. Arizona opened as a 10.5-point favorite.
