Two takeaways from the Buffs' 69-47 victory over Oregon State

It is time to move on from the Oregon loss in Eugene.

It was in a hostile environment where the Ducks had a 75% chance to win according to ESPN’s metrics. It was a tough game, but it is time to move on.

Colorado showed they still have the firepower to win on the road against a quality opponent, as although Oregon State is not a national powerhouse by any means, they do still have victories against the Pac-12’s leaders (CU, Oregon, Arizona).

The Buffaloes came out with a dominant performance that should keep them highly rated nationally, as their blowout win against the Beavers boosted them to 11 in NET rankings and still has them sitting atop the conference.

Here’s what happened on Saturday night:

Colorado’s stars returned

For the first time all season, both McKinley Wright and Tyler Bey were coming off of one of their worst games. After the disappointing loss in Oregon, Wright and Bey knew they had to play better to lead the team into the Beaver Dam and come away with a victory.

Wright ended up with one of his most impressive stat lines of the season, finishing with a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds along with six assists and zero turnovers. Although he still had some struggles from the field (41.6% shooting), he made up for it with a consistent game on both ends of the floor.

Although Wright came back consistently, it was Tyler Bey who exploded to lead the Buffs. On another double-double evening for the junior forward, his 21 points and 15 rebounds led both teams. Furthermore, he shot an efficient 6-10 from the floor and an incredible 9-13 from the charity stripe.

The Buffs are still in control in the conference

Ok, so here is where Colorado sits: currently alone in 1st, but can be tied if Oregon takes care of Utah later today.

Colorado has five games remaining, with three of them on the road. The good news is that the three road games are winnable for sure (Cal, Stanford, and Utah). It is a good bet that if Colorado can win four of its final five games, they will be crowned regular-season victors in the conference of champions.

The two games that will present the biggest challenge will be USC on Feb. 20 and Stanford on Mar. 1. USC is a strong team with only a few blemishes on their record and will make some noise to claw back into the conference standings. Although they sit at 5th currently, the top of the conference is all within a few games.

Stanford will be tough on the road, but the team has fallen off tremendously as of late. Colorado was able to take care of business at home and should be able to capitalize on its recent fall. The Cardinals have lost four in a row, seven of their last eight. While this may be the Buffs’ toughest road opponent to close the year, it is a winnable one for sure.

Overall, Colorado simply has to avoid a catastrophic collapse over the next three weeks to maintain control in the conference. At this point, CU should be looking past the conference tournament rankings and hope the NCAA is paying attention, as the difference between a No. 3 and No. 5 seed is huge in the bracket but will be between a small crop of teams on Selection Sunday.

Looking ahead

Colorado will return home for the final time this season on Thursday and Saturday as they take on the LA schools. First up is a nationally televised, primetime matchup with the USC Trojans who will be looking for revenge on a Buffs team that routed them back on Feb 1.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Thursday, televised on ESPN2 in the CU Events Center.