Colorado beats No. 10 Oregon 74-65, ends Ducks' streak at 17 (Jan 28, 2017)
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) An early barrage of 3-pointers caught No. 10 Oregon by surprise. What really rattled the Ducks was Colorado's steady, stifling defense.
''We haven't played with that kind of passion and energy and effort on defense for 40 minutes all year,'' Colorado coach Tad Boyle said after the Buffaloes' 74-65 Saturday night stunner that snapped the Oregon's 17-game winning streak.
''So hopefully we can build on this.''
Derrick White led the Buffaloes (12-10, 2-7 Pac-12) with 23 points, including 17 in the second half.
He had a pair of 3-pointers that put the Buffaloes ahead 45-39 while Colorado's defense was keeping the Ducks out of rhythm. And he had a 3-pointer, a three-point play and two free throws in an 11-1 run that gave Colorado a 64-52 lead.
''Derrick was great tonight,'' teammate George King said. ''He made plays down the stretch, made some clutch shots. He got a lot of deflections and key plays. A lot of stuff that he did that was great doesn't show up on the stat sheet.''
And plenty of it does, like his four steals, four assists and a block.
''It was a team effort all the way,'' White demurred. ''We all made big plays. We all guarded. That's the big reason why we won this game.''
Payton Pritchard's 19 points led the Ducks (19-3, 8-1), who were seeking to snap an 0-6 record in Boulder and instead lost for the first time since Nov. 21.
The crowd sensed an upset when Buffs hit four consecutive 3s to surge to a 14-5 lead , and the building was abuzz the rest of the night.
''That set the tone for the game,'' Oregon coach Dana Altman said. ''We were never ready to play and that's on me. We came out flat and played from behind. I thought their energy level was better. We forced them into some turnovers in the first half. We only had one in the second.''
The Buffaloes' defense forced the Ducks to settle for too many jump shots, and Oregon shot just 38 perfect from the field and 32 percent from long range while only getting to the line 16 times.
''Our ball movement was bad,'' Altman said. ''We took 34 3s out of 57 shots. That's not us, either. A lot of them were quick and not good. We got off keel there and made some bad decisions. Just fired up way too many of the long shots.''
Pritchard lamented the lack of Oregon's usual inside-outside game as Chris Boucher and Jordan Bell didn't get enough chances inside.
''We played a little selfish,'' Pritchard said. ''All of us. Every one of us. We weren't moving the ball very well.''
TIDE-TURNER
The Buffs had lost four close games in their 0-7 league start and viewed this win as a game-changer .
''This could be how we turn it around,'' King said. ''Going forward, looking at our schedule, we can beat anybody. But we have to consistently guard for 40 minutes. This is definitely how we can turn this ship around.''
BAD OMEN:
The Ducks trailed 35-34 at halftime, just the fourth time they've trailed at the break this season. All the other times came back in November, in losses to Baylor and Georgetown and in an overtime win against Boise State.
BIG PICTURE
Oregon: Unable to shake off their dry spells, the Ducks failed to close out a perfect January to go with their perfect December and in doing so probably blew a chance to rise in the rankings.
Colorado: After snapping their seven-game skid - their longest of the Boyle era - with an 85-78 win over Oregon State, the Buffs played an inspired game that left the Pac-12 with just one unbeaten team in league play: Arizona.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Just when it looked like the Ducks were primed to rise higher in the rankings, this setback could keep the Ducks standing pat for now as New Mexico State now owns the nation's longest winning streak, at 18 games.
UP NEXT
The Ducks return home to Matthew Knight Arena, where they've won a school-record 38 consecutive games - second-longest in the nation to Kansas' 50-game streak - and will host Arizona State on Thursday night.
The Buffaloes visit Stanford on Thursday night seeking to snap a five-game road losing streak since their last win away from home, on Dec. 19 at Air Force.
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