BOULDER- Colorado Buffaloes finally found the momentum they’ve been looking for at the Coors Events Center Saturday night.
The Buffs upset the No. 10 Oregon Ducks 74-65 in the most thrilling game of their season thus far. Although it did not look like it on the night, it was only Colorado’s second conference win all season, and in the process they ended a 17-game winning streak for Oregon.
The Coors Events Center continued to be a house of horrors for the Ducks, as this loss marked their seventh consecutive in “The Keg.” The win finally gave Buff fans a taste of what could have been or maybe even what could be.
“I think that’s the Colorado Basketball team we all know and love,” head coach Tad Boyle said. “I couldn’t be more proud of a group of guys. As a head coach, I’ve never been through something like this, with a team like this. Those guys in that locker room, the joy and happiness after the four tough losses we’ve endured, they handled the line-up shift the other night like men, I was really proud of them for that, and tonight we flipped it back and everybody responded.”
On Derrick White night, with fans wearing white shirts throughout the crowd, the fifth-year senior led the Buffs upset with 23 points, five rebounds and four assists, but his presence was felt in more than just the box score.
“A lot of stuff that he did that was great doesn’t show up on the stat sheet,” George King explained. “I’m not sure if we could have won that game without him tonight.”
King complimented White’s performance literally and figuratively, adding 13 points and eight rebounds of his own. All in all, the Buffs came out with a sense of urgency that has not been seen in a long time.
“I think they just maybe got to the point where enough is enough,” Boyle told the media. “We haven’t played with that kind of passion, energy, and effort on defense for 40 minutes all year so hopefully we can build from this.”
For 38 minutes and 15 seconds on Saturday, the Colorado Buffaloes held the lead over the 10th ranked team in the nation. The Buffs controlled the game on the defensive end, holding the Ducks nearly 15 points under their season average as well as on the offensive end, becoming just the third school this season to score over 70 points on their defense.
“They beat us. They out rebounded us, outfought us and made more plays than we did,” expressed Oregon head coach Dana Altman.
Colorado now finds themselves with two consecutive wins on their hands, finally feeling like they are reaching the potential so many thought they had. While Saturday night’s win was a great moment for a team that struggled all year, everyone in black and gold is hoping it will lead to something more.
“The joy and togetherness in that locker room is something we can build on, it’s not going to be easy,” Boyle concluded. “We’re halfway through the conference season, the first nine games are in the rearview mirror… I just want these guys dialed in, if they dial in we can play with anyone in this league and there is a lot of basketball left to be played.”
The Buffs will have their chance to prove that this game was more than just a fluke when they head to Palo Alto to take on the Stanford Cardinal on Thursday.
