Oregon avenges earlier loss, takes down Colorado in 6-point win

After a more-than-disappointing loss to last-place Stanford on Saturday, Oregon bounced back at home. 75-69, against Colorado without star and key defensive presence N’Faly Dante.

Nate Bittle recorded his first career double-double (11 points, 13 rebounds, four blocks) and ate up space all game long which freed up lanes for Oregon’s guards to run the show.

“There’s no doubt without [Bittle’s] performance tonight, we don’t get it done. He was really good” head coach Dana Altman said.

A balanced offensive attack led by Quincy Guerrier (16 points, 6-11 FG) and Keeshawn Barthelemy paved Oregon’s path to victory with six different Ducks scoring at least eight points.

The last time these teams matched up on Jan. 5, forward Tristan da Silva dropped a career-high 30 points in a 27-point home win for the Buffalos.

To start the action on Thursday night, it seemed like it was going to be more of the same after he scored Colorado’s first five points and ended the contest with a game-high 23 points.

Oregon’s most significant concern this time was the Pac-12’s second-leading scorer with 17.4 points per contest, guard K.J. Simpson.

Though the 6-foot-3 sophomore didn’t have the offensive rhythm in Thursday's game (8 points, 2-13 FG) that he’s seen all season.

“[Simpson] is a tough check. He can do a lot of things out there for their team,” Barthelemy said. “We bought in defensively to the gameplan and we corralled him.”

Five steals and eight blocks restricted Simpson and Colorado’s offense to tough shots and only six second-chance points.

Oregon (12-9, 6-4 Pac-12) held Colorado to 24 of 65 field goals as the Buffalos scored 3 points below their season average without the Ducks' most important defensive presence in N’faly Dante.

“[Dante] tweaked a knee in warmups so we’ll go check that out tomorrow,” Altman said. “I thought Nate and Quincy stepped up. Nate with 13 rebounds and Quincy got six but he kept a couple alive for us.”

Will Richardson and Cousinard combined for nine assists and did a fantastic job of facilitating the Ducks’ offense with the use of Bittle in pick-and-rolls that kept Colorado on its heels.

The Buffaloes (12-10, 4-7) clawed their way back into the game thanks to a full-court press they implemented to start the second half that gave the Ducks all sorts of trouble.

“We looked like we’ve never seen a press,” Altman said. “We weren’t moving very well. We didn’t execute there.”

Richardson (2-8 FG) didn't have his most impressive offensive performance, but he consistently made the right play on both ends of the floor.

His lob to Kel’el Ware, who finished the and-one play erupted the crowd after the Buffaloes went on a 5-point scoring run.

In the second half, da Silva picked up his scoring by converting on all of his free throws and several hook shots.

But Guerrier sparked Oregon’s offense in the second half with a timely three to beat the buzzer on the shot clock and multiple second-chance layups.

Whatever the Ducks did, it seemed like da Silva along with Nique Clifford (17 points, 7-11 FG) kept making shots to keep Colorado within a score or two.

But key free throws from Rivaldo Soares and Cousinard helped seal the victory for the Ducks down the stretch and the Buffalos weren’t able to march back.

Up next: The Ducks, which have won three of their last four games, look to sweep the season series as they take on the Utah at home on Saturday at 5 p.m. PT.