The Buffs don’t need luck in Vegas playing the Ducks
Getting a first round bye, finishing fourth in the conference’s regular season, the Buffs took on the No. 5 seeded Oregon Ducks at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The Buffs found their flow late first, taking a lead they never gave up, winning 80-69.
K.J. Simpson highlighted the first half, flying high through the Ducks defense, tomahawking a jam to give the Buffs a 28-25 lead. The Buffs strong 15-2 run pushed them to a halftime lead.
Throw it 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣 🔨💥 @KSimpsonJr https://t.co/OSpoUenfGt pic.twitter.com/0Zi0Vms37F
— Colorado Men's Basketball (@CUBuffsMBB) March 10, 2022
Quincy Guerrier held the Buffs accountable early putting down 10 points in the first 10 minutes of the game. Guerrier finished with a season-best 25 points and added 13 rebounds. The Ducks also held a consistent, but so too did the Buffs defense. After Battey’s three pointer, Luke O’Brien finished the half, hitting from downtown. Simpson found O’Brien wide-open. It was one of Simpson’s six assists, as he finished with 11 points and added seven rebounds.
“We always stress finish half strong and that was just something we went into doing,” Simpson said. “We executed a play, especially for Luke, we executed that play to perfection, and Luke hit a wide-open big shot.”
The Ducks chipped away at the Buffs entering the second, Jacob Young stepped up with 12 points and Guerrier right behind him added 11.
The Buffs did well on the boards in the second, totaling 55 to 42 on the glass for the game, “We got beat on the boards, and that was a big thing,” Guerrier said. “We got beat by 13, and I think we made some mistakes defensively, we’re not communicating, and I think that was the biggest point of the game.”
Foul trouble for four Buffs became an obstacle in the second, many fouls were contested by the fans.
“Why are you so bad at what you do?” I heard a Buff fan in the stands say about the officials.
Tristan Da Sliva accumulated four fouls as well as Nique Clifford. Battey and Walker received three personal fouls, but they both had double-doubles ending the game. Da Silva’s four slowed what was a solid night, as he notched 12 points.
“Foul trouble was a challenge for us tonight,” head coach Tad Boyle said. “Coach (Mike) Rohn did a good job, and we collaborated at timeouts and that sort of thing. But we found a way to fight through that foul trouble and finished it off.”
Every CU player contributed with the few minutes left in the game, as the Buffs lead kept growing. he Ducks’ dreams of advancing in the tournament and in March were dashed
CU will play again on Friday, matching up against the class of the Conference of Champions; the Arizona Wildcats.
“They will be ready to play the Buffs,” Boyle said “They will be emotionally ready, mentally ready. I know Tommy Lloyd, he’s a competitive dude. They got competitive players. But we’re going to be ready too. It’s what makes this time of year so fun.”
Tip time is at 7 p.m. and the Buffs will have their hands full, as the Wildcats seek revenge on CU. The Buffs handed the ‘Cats one of their three losses this season about two weeks ago.
