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Oregon Exits in Pac-12 Quarterfinals With 80-69 Loss to Colorado

Originally posted on FanNation Ducks Digest
By Joe Zochert | Last updated 3/10/22

First Half

The third-ever meeting between Oregon and Colorado in the Pac 12 tournament began as a defensive battle as the first points were not scored until Quincy Guerrier made a jumper one minute and 26 seconds into the game.

It was back and forth as Franck Kepnang scored a layup to get the Ducks to double digits at 10-9. Guerrier extended the lead with Oregon’s first three to extend it to 13-9 as he had seven of Oregon’s 13 points.

N’Faly Dante's dunk capped off a 7-0 run, while Evan Battey snuck behind the defense for a layup to make it a 15-11 deficit for the Buffs. The senior scored seven of his team’s first 11 points.

Guerrier continued his brilliant showing as he grabbed an offensive rebound and scored three the hard way to make it 18-11. The Ducks were capitalizing on the Buffaloes' slow start.

Jabari Walker was able to get on the board with a putback for his first points, and then the sophomore energized the team by running the floor for a transition bucket to make it 18-15 Oregon.

After his career night against Oregon State in the first half, Jacob Young got going with a drive to the basket for a layup to make it 24-18 with 7:44 left in the first half.

Jacob Young

Keeshawn Barthelemy broke a mini-scoring drought for both teams with an and-one bucket in transition to make it 25-21.

Walker knocked down a three to cut it to 25-24. The Buffaloes looked like as if they were about to take the lead but Kepnang flew in for a highlight block on Barthelemy.

On the next play, Tristan da Silva had a sweet fake in the post and a layup, giving Colorado back the lead. K.J. Simpson threw down a nasty one-handed dunk to continue the Buffaloes' 10-0 run.

After Oregon missed 10 field goals in a row, Guerrier scored an and-one to close a monster first half with 14 points and 8 rebounds.

Colorado had a late surge with three-point shooting to end the first half, heading to the locker room with a 36-30 lead. Battey paced the Buffaloes with 12 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks.

The biggest takeaway was the outside shooting as Oregon went 1-12 (8.3%) from behind the arc compared to Colorado’s 4-16 (25%). Battey, the Pac-12's leader in three-point percentage, had two of the four makes for the Buffaloes.

Keeshawn Barthelemy vs. De'Vion Harmon

Second Half

Oregon started the second half by trimming the lead down to 40-39. The mini-run was highlighted by Young and Dante’s excellent two-man game in the pick and roll.

Oregon's offense began to hum, but the defense couldn’t capitalize as Colorado maintained a lead at 48-50.

Battey kept the Buffaloes in front by forcing his way to the free-throw line as he went 5-6 for the game from the charity stripe. With 11:58, the Colorado senior drew the fourth personal foul on Dante, and Oregon's rebounding efforts suffered as he went to the bench.

After sporadic play by both teams, Simpson knocked down a three to extend the lead to 56-51 with 9:45 left in the game.

Young began inserting himself on the offensive end as he scored seven straight points for Oregon to make it 60-56.

The game had its momentum changed for good when Guerrier was called for an offensive foul after he scored a basket. The play had Oregon Head Coach Dana Altman irate at the call.

Things got even worse as Guerrier fouled Walker on an and-one as Walker joined his teammate, Battey, with a double-double.

The Buffaloes began ramping up the pressure on both ends of the floor as their lead ballooned to 69-60 — the biggest lead for either team at that point.

The Buffaloes made five of their next six shots and momentum was swinging their way after a fastbreak Da Silva dunk put them up 76-63.

The Ducks showed their final signs of life as Rivaldo Soares and Guerrier hit consecutive threes to pull within 69-77 with 2:18 remaining.

It was too little too late as the composed Buffaloes played the clock well to eliminate the Ducks in the Pac-12 quarterfinals with a 80-69 win.

Despite Guerrier's season highs in both points (25) and rebounds (13), it wasn’t enough to match the monster performances by Colorado’s big man tandem of Battey (19 points, 12 rebounds) and Walker (18 points, 16 rebounds).

Quincy Guerrier

Conclusion

With its elimination from the Pac-12 Tournament, Oregon will have to wait until Selection Sunday to see if its season will continue. If the Ducks are not an at-large team, which is unlikely given their 19-14 record, they will likely earn a bid into the NIT.