BOULDER — 10 up, 10 down.
The Colorado Buffaloes have never lost at home against Oregon in their 10 matchups.
Thursday’s win helped the Buffs tremendously, as it gave them a four-point bump in NET rankings and gave them a signature win over a tremendous basketball program.
Not only that, but the starting lineup all contributed significantly in different ways.
While the win does not come without lessons to be learned, Colorado has positioned itself well. Let’s dive into everything we learned.
The stars shined bright
The Buffaloes’ starting lineup played well across the board, starting with point guard McKinley Wright.
The star senior grabbed a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds, as well as five assists, on an efficient night from the floor and deep. Evan Battey also had a double-double, as he scored 12 points, 10 boards, and five assists as well as posting an impressive 8-8 from the free-throw line.
Jeriah Horne again started in place of the injured Dallas Walton and did so in fashion. His 17 points and six rebounds came at pivotal times, putting Oregon in a hole just when they tighten the margin. D’Shawn Schwartz had similar plays and led Colorado with three makes from deep.
On the whole, Colorado’s stars filled up the box score. The return to dominance at the free-throw line was pivotal, as Colorado made four more shots than Oregon attempted and shot at 93%.
However, tonight still highlighted two areas of growing concern.
Paint defense, 3-point percentage need improvements
Let’s work inside out here.
The paint defense improved against Oregon but has still been borderline terrible since Dallas Walton stepped outside the rotation. Tonight, Colorado again found themselves on the wrong end of paint points but was able to overcome this.
Still, in a four-game stretch against more talented opponents, the paint defense is a growing concern. Getting Dallas Walton healthy will help with rim protection, but until then, Tad Boyle needs to get more creative with his rotations if he wants to eliminate this deficit.
Another potential area of improvement is the 3-point percentage, as Colorado shot just 27% from deep on Thursday night. While they were still able to win, percentages like that will not fly on the road.
This is a bitter-sweet statistic, as although shots were not falling, the Buffs defense kept them in the game.
Oh, and it goes without saying that the team needs to practice press breaks. However, Colorado has three straight days to turn this weakness into an abundant strength.
What’s Next?
Colorado will play three games next week, beginning with a road trip at Utah.
Originally scheduled for mid-March, the Buffs were able to move this game up to add more schedule flexibility down the road. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. MST on Pac-12 Network.
