LAS VEGAS — The Buffs have an opponent.
The Oregon Ducks beat the Oregon State Beavers 86-72 in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas on Wednesday. They’ll meet the the Colorado Buffaloes in the quarterfinals on Thursday in the fourth-seed vs. fifth-seed matchup. The game is slated to tip off at 2:30 PST on Pac-12 Network and Oregon opened as a one-point favorite.
Colorado and Oregon split the season series with both teams winning on the road. The Buffs have won seven of their last eight games and Oregon lost five of six to close out the regular season. But while the momentum is swinging in different directions for the two teams, the big story is the Ducks’ loss of second-team All-Pac-12 guard Will Richardson to an “illness.” Richardson finished the regular season as a top-10 scorer in the Pac-12 while leading the Ducks in points per game. He also finished seventh in the conference in assists.
Oregon was able to withstand Richardson’s absence against the Beavers, as Jacob Young scored 23 points on 10-of-19 shooting. But the Beavers’ defense is the worst in the conference in most metrics and they didn’t provide much resistance. The Ducks, including Young, were able to blow by whoever was matched up against them at will.
In particular, center N’Faly Dante dominated the Beavers in the paint. He was bailed out by several surprising misses on his defensive end, but for the most part Dante set the tone in the post from start to finish. His seven rebounds and five blocks were both the best mark in the game. He was explosive around the rim and made noise as a put-back threat. It’ll be up to Evan Battey to provide some resistance on Thursday, while Jabari Walker figures to be the Buffs’ best option to match his energy around the rim. It’s worth noting that Dante only managed eight points in the two regular-season games against the Buffs combined.
Oregon jumped out to an 11-0 lead in the game’s early-going and held the lead for the rest of the game. Oregon State made a couple of runs, cutting the margin to about four or six points regularly, but the Beavers blew their chances to regain control every time they came close. They couldn’t finish around the rim or rebound and while their 13 turnovers won’t catch your eye, most of them came at inopportune times.
It would be unfair to say the Beavers beat themselves on Wednesday, but they made all of the mistakes you would expect from a team with a 3-28 record this season. They had opportunities to take control but never seized one.
The emphasis for Colorado will be taking care of the ball and cleaning up on the glass. As long as the Buffs’ don’t have another 17+-turnover game, they should be in good shape. Look for Julian Hammond to retain the starting point guard job for the third time in his career and the third game in a row.
