Oregon's offensive struggles lead to 27-point road loss against Colorado
The first game of 2023 for Oregon was one that needs to be quickly forgotten. From sloppy turnovers to bad shot attempts, nothing worked well for the Ducks in a place that hasn’t been kind to kind to them over the years.
Colorado never trailed in Thursday's game after scoring the first basket at CU Events Center in Boulder. The 10-6 Buffs looked more like a top-10 opponent and handed Oregon a 68-41 blowout loss to begin the new year.
The inconsistency in the rotation has slowly stabilized with more players returning from their respective injuries. Just four Oregon players have appeared in all 15 games this season, with Will Richardson taking on the majority of the workload.
The team’s leading scorer and assist man was held to just 5 points and 1 assist in a game that saw no Ducks player achieve much offensively.
Colorado also started slow to begin the 2022-23 season, but recently went on a five-game win streak. Playing in Boulder, a place where the Ducks (8-7, 2-2 Pac-12) have only ever won one time, the Buffaloes came out eager to get back into the win column after suffering an uncharacteristic loss to Cal in their last game.
The Buffs used stifling defense to hold Oregon to multiple scoring droughts early in the game which proved to be a common theme throughout. The lack of buckets gave Colorado the path to take a 21-8 lead with nothing seeming to work offensively for the Ducks.
The 2-15 start from the field led to different rotations as Altman tried to find someone who could get his team a basket. Eight Ducks players received at least 10 minutes with reinforcements returning from injury.
Jermaine Couisnard made his Oregon debut after missing the beginning of the season with a knee injury. The South Carolina transfer was on a minutes restriction and came off the bench with the job of trying to create any offensive rhythm. He contributed 9 points in 20 minutes of action.
Nate Bittle also returned after missing significant time with an ankle injury and played 11 minutes.
With Altman’s squad trying to find a way to get the ball through the net, Colorado’s Tristan Da Silva could hardly miss on the other end. The Buffs’ second-leading scorer passed his season average of 14 points in the first half and ended the night with 30. Without their leading scorer K.J. Simpson, Silva and the rest of Colorado’s roster stepped up to make sure the Ducks' chances of getting back into the game ended before even getting a chance to begin.
The 18-point halftime deficit only grew when play resumed. Oregon continued to miss shots and turn the ball over while Colorado’s lead expanded to as many as 27. Quincy Guerrier made the Ducks’ first and only three-pointer of the night, on a shot with 3:29 left in the game, and finished with 10 points. Oregon shot 1-14 from beyond the arc as a team while facing an insurmountable Buffs' lead.
Oregon has now lost two of its last three games and is one loss away from falling back to .500 on the year. The ups and downs this season can be attributed to the health of Altman’s roster, but nonetheless, the path to postseason play is already growing slim at the start of January.
The Ducks will need an overall improved effort if they hope to turn the season around. A trip to Utah on Saturday is next on the schedule before the Arizona schools come to town next week.