Buffs Knock Off No. 17 Ducks
Story by Neill Woelk, Contributing Editor, CUBuffs.com
BOULDER — Colorado’s McKinley Wright IV and Evan Battey recorded double-doubles Thursday to lead the Buffaloes to a 79-72 win over No. 17 Oregon at the CU Events Center.
The Buffs improved to 8-3 overall and 2-2 in Pac-12 play while Oregon fell to 8-2, 3-1. The victory also improved Colorado to 10-0 all-time in games in Boulder.
Wright finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for his 12th career double-double while Battey had 12 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for his sixth career double-double. Jeriah Horne added 17 points and D’Shawn Schwartz had 12 for the Buffs.
While the Buffs did not shoot particularly well — 29-for-63 for the game — they did hit 55% of their shots after intermission (16-for-29, including 5-for-12 from 3-point range). CU also held a commanding 40-28 edge on the boards, including 13 offensive rebounds that produced 16 second-chance points.
Defensively, the Buffs held Oregon to 48% shooting (29-for-63) and Colorado also hit 14 of its 15 free throw tries, including an 8-for-8 afternoon from Battey.
Chris Duarte led Oregon with 27 points.
“It’s a quality win over a quality program,” head coach Tad Boyle said. “We rebounded the ball well. We competed … When you don’t shoot the ball well and you still can figure out a way to win a game against a quality opponent, that says a lot about your team.”
HOW IT HAPPENED: After a first half that featured four lead changes, Colorado took a 33-31 lead into intermission and never trailed again.
CU quickly built a 14-point cushion early in the second half with a 14-2 run. Horne and Wright had 3-pointers in the surge, Eli Parquet added a pair of buckets and Schwartz had a drive to the hoop to give Colorado a 47-33 edge barely three minutes into the half.
Wright started the game missing his first five shots, but was 7-for-9 from that point on. His 3-pointer came after Boyle told him at the half to look for an opening from long range.
“I forced a couple early instead of letting the game come to me,” Wright said. “My teammates kept telling me they were gonna get me the ball so I wasn’t too concerned. My teammates kept believing in me.”
But almost as quickly as Colorado built its big lead, the Ducks rallied with a 9-0 surge to cut the Buffs’ margin to five. With [11:13] to play, Colorado’s edge was down to 49-44.
The Buffs, though, never let the Ducks completely close the gap. CU put together a 7-0 run that started with a Schwartz 3-pointer to push the lead back to 12, and another Schwartz trey started a 10-2 surge that included five straight points from Horne to give the Buffs a 13-point lead, 66-53, with [4:23] to go.
“This was a team victory,” Boyle said. “You have to have multiple guys making plays.”
Wright came up with those plays in the final minutes. He hit a drive to the rim with [3:15] to go to give CU an 11-point lead, 68-57, then answered a 4-0 Oregon burst with a three-point play with [2:26] to play.
Then, when the Ducks made one more run in the final minutes to cut Colorado’s lead to four, CU answered with baskets from Parquet and Wright for an eight-point cushion, 77-69, with just 28 seconds remaining.
The victory was Colorado’s 20th over a ranked team in the Boyle era.
“It was a big time win for us,” said Wright. “We knew we had to bounce back after a tough loss at UCLA. It was a big time win for us today and we have to keep it rolling.”
After a first half that featured four lead changes, the Buffs erased a five-point deficit to produce a 33-31 lead at intermission.
Colorado trailed for much of the last 10 minutes of the half before closing with a 10-5 run in the final [2:26]. Wright started the run with a defensive rebound and coast-to-coast layup before Horne hit a second-chance bucket and a 3-pointer. Wright then closed the surge with a three-point play.
While Colorado shot just 38% from the floor in the first half — including 2-for-14 from 3-point range — the Buffs helped themselves with six offensive rebounds that led to 10 second-chance points.
TURNING POINT: After a close first half, the Buffs seized control with a 14-2 run to open the second half. While Oregon managed to cut the gap to five several times and four in the final minutes, the Buffs never let momentum completely slip away.
WHAT IT MEANS: Colorado no doubt improved its resume´ with a win over a ranked team, and managed to stay within striking distance of the Pac-12 leaders as well.
KEY STATISTICS: The Buffs won the rebound battle, 40-28, including 13 offensive rebounds that produced 16 points … CU shot 55 percent from the floor in the second half … The Buffs also had a 26-11 lead in fast break points.
QUOTEWORTHY: “McKinley Wright’s been doing what he did for us tonight for four years. He’s one of the most consistent players I’ve ever coached, one of the most dependable players. Even when he doesn’t play well, he’s going to give you everything he’s got. His teammates love him, he loves his teammates. I’m just running out of things to say about the kid. To do what he’s doing, he deserves any kind of recognition and accolades he gets. But the one thing I love about McKinley is all he cares about is winning. That’s what makes him so special.” — CU head coach Tad Boyle
NEXT UP: A reshuffling of the schedule will now see the Buffs hit the road next Monday for a 4 p.m. game at Utah (Pac-12 Networks) before returning home Thursday for a noone game vs. Cal (Pac-12 Networks), followed by a Jan. 16 home matchup against Stanford at 1 p.m. (Pac-12 Networks).
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
Postgame Quotes
Colorado Head Coach Tad Boyle
General
“It was a quality win over a quality program. We rebounded the ball well. I thought we competed. We didn’t handle the press and the pressure that came late that we knew was going to come. Oregon pressures you the whole game. I thought we handled it really well for the first 34 or 35 minutes. Down the stretch we have to be better. We missed a lot of good looks in the first half. I thought both teams were a little sluggish in that first half to be honest with you. When you don’t shoot the ball well and you can still figure out a way to win the game against a quality opponent that says a lot about your team. I told them at halftime, ‘We are shooting 38% from the field, we are shooting 14% from three and we are up two. We are doing something right. We are competing.’ (Chris) Duarte obviously is a heck of a player, but I thought we made him work for every shot he got and every point he got tonight. (Eugene) Omoruyi is a terrific player. Obviously, we know how good of a defender Evan (Battey) is, but he got himself in foul trouble as a result of a technical foul which he has to be better at. I thought our defense on the interior on Omoruyi was really good too. He is a terrific player down there.”
On Being 20-34 Against Ranked Teams At Colorado
“It is a testament to our players from the last 11 years. We have had the opportunities and we have taken advantage of it 20 times. The 34 I don’t like, but when you play a ranked team it is hard to win. Our guys love challenges. Colorado basketball, I don’t think, gets enough national respect or recognition. The only that is going to happen is to win games like this against teams like Oregon. We have to continue to do that. There are not a lot of ranked teams in the Pac-12 this year, but there are a lot of good teams in the Pac-12. I am proud of that stat more so for our players. It gives you a testament to the kind of kids we have had in this program over the last 11 years that love to rise to challenges. Tonight was another opportunity and we took advantage of it.”
On What He Told The Team At Halftime
“I talked to them about the fact that we shot 38% percent, 14% from three and we are still up two. (I told them) ‘Let’s continue to make them work for everything on defense. We have to string together some stops.’ I don’t know what it was in the second half, but I know in the first half we only had one kill. We consider a kill when you get three stops in a row. We only had one of those. Our goal is to get three of those each half. We talked about that. (I said), ‘The only way you are going to make a run and expand this lead is to get stops.’ We were able to do that. We got stops and we converted. We talked about taking care of the ball against their pressure. That was a key for the whole game. We did a good job of that in the first part of the second half. The last part of the second half we didn’t do so good of a job. We need to be better against that press. I thought we got a little tight and made some questionable decisions when we had timeouts. We have to make better use of those when we have them in our pocket.”
On Being Undefeated Against Oregon At Home
“I am proud of it but every year is a new year. This year’s game had nothing to do with last year’s game. Next year, if we play them here, will have nothing to do with today’s game. We have never won at Arizona. I don’t get too bent out of shape about that other than trying to say, ‘Okay, we would like to end that streak.’ Just like I am sure Oregon would like to end this streak. Every year is a new year. Every game is a new game. I don’t put a lot of stock into it because it doesn’t do a lot of good unless we win the game at hand, which for us now becomes Utah on Monday.”
On McKinley Wright IV
“I have such confidence in McKinley Wright. He is such a good player that I try not to put too much on his plate. I want him to play his game because McKinley’s game is pretty darn good. The one thing I did say to him at halftime was, ‘You have to look for your three point shot a little more. You have to be shot ready on the perimeter.’ He is shooting the ball so well in practice. He got an open look in the early part of the second half in front of our bench and he knocked it down. You could just see that once that went in, he got his juices flowing. McKinley Wright has been doing what he did for us tonight for four years. He is one of the most consistent players I have ever coached and one of the most dependable players. Even when he doesn’t play well he is going to give you everything he’s got. His teammates love him. He loves his teammates. I’m running out of things to say about the kid. To do what he is doing he deserves any kind of recognition and accolades he gets. The one thing I love about McKinley is the only thing he cares about is winning. That is what makes him so special in my mind.”
On Playing Without Dallas Walton
“He’s fine, he’s just going to be out for a little bit. We’ll get him back when we get him back but he probably won’t be here for Utah either, which we could really use him. Tonight wasn’t a game, you know with their lack of size, I mean we could have used him on offense for sure, but man we could use him against Utah but I don’t think we’re going to have him.”
On The Rebounding Margin
“We talked about it in practice. I stopped practice yesterday and laid into them a little bit. We’ve been outrebounded three of our last four games. That’s got to stop. Oregon came into this game I think plus seven on the boards against their opponents. Even though they may not have the height, they have guys with long arms that are athletic and you got to battle those guys on those boards. They had six offensive rebounds, they had a couple in the second half. Duarte had one in the lane and went up and scored it. Those are the things we need to take away, those second chance points. Even though they weren’t too bad tonight, any time it happens it’s like a knife to your gut. I thought we battled on the boards, it was a big key to the game coming in and I was proud of our guys. McKinley got ten and Evan got ten. We needed our guards to help rebound and Kin certainly did that tonight.”
On D’Shawn Shwartz
“I thought he played aggressive on offense and he played confident. He hit a big three in front of our bench there in the second half. He made some really good plays in the lane and finished better. D’Shawn played really confidently tonight and was aggressive, and that’s what we need from him. I thought Jeriah Horne, you know everyone talks about McKinley, Evan, and D’Shawn, and boy I thought Jeriah played big tonight. He keeps getting more comfortable in our system and he knows how to get his own shots. Eli Parquet made a big play in the second half off a ball screen. This is a team victory because you have to have multiple guys make plays. Because when McKinley was giving it up, they were really trying to deny him the ball back and keep the ball out of his hands. It was one of those nights where other guys needed to make plays for us; like D’Shawn, like Eli, like Jeriah, and they did that tonight.”
McKinley Wright, Sr., G
Opening thoughts on the game
“It was a big time win for us man. I know we knew Oregon has never won here but we also knew the game wasn’t going to be easy. And we knew we had to bounce back after a tough loss at UCLA. It was a big time win for us today and we have to keep it rolling.”
On his tough fall early in the game
“Yeah, I got a little knot on my neck right now. It’s a little red but yeah, I hit my neck on the back of the chair.”
On his tough start shooting
“I missed a couple floaters that I normally make but I forced a couple early instead of letting the game come to me which was my issue. One of my coaches told me to let the game come to me and that I was going to get shots and how valuable I was to the team and my teammates kept telling me they were going to get me the ball so I wasn’t too concerned. It is what it is. It happens but my teammates kept believing in me.”
On finding their identity
“We base ourselves off defense and rebounding. At Arizona and UCLA we struggled in that area but it was important for us to come in and get stops. We have room for improvement. We try to hang our hats on no layups and make them shoot tough two’s but at halftime Coach Boyle told us they had 7 layups and 14/21 shots were in the paint. In the second half, we did a better job of taking control and started getting stops down the stretch.
On their goal of making the NCAA Tournament
“This win is huge. Oregon is a really talented team. They started the season at #1 in the conference and started the season 3-0 in conference play and 8-1 overall. They have the leading scorer in Chris Duarte and one right behind him in Eugene Omoryui. Both of those guys are averaging 18.5 points a night. To be able to come in and get this win was huge for us, our program and Selection Sunday when it does come.
On coming back his senior season and scoring clutch points
“Yeah, that’s a huge reason I came back. I want to win. Coach Boyle has put me in a position to win and at the end of the clock he [Coach Boyle] told the team to clear it out for me and make a play. It goes back to having that support and belief from my teammates and my coaching staff. I always say the same thing, when you have 100% confidence from your coaches, it makes my job so much easier. I came back because of moments [final layup at the end of the game] like this.
On the fast second half start and what was said at half time
“We talked about turning our defense up. We saw they had 7 layups in the first half so we wanted to take those away and continue to get stops. I think we started off the second half with five straight stops. So you know when you get stops like that and get out in transition we’re a tough team to beat.”
On both teams going on scoring runs in the second half
“We have to clean up the little areas. Eli and I (Parquet) had a miscommunication late in the game that led to a LJ Figueroa three. They beat us to a loose ball, Chris Duarte got it, missed his shot, got the rebound and laid it back up. It’s a bunch of little things we have to fix. If we’re able to take care of the ball and limit them to one shot and have better communication, we’re in better shape.
On not having C Dallas Walton and F Evan Battey stepping up “Evan (Battey) is a force down there man and he’s huge for us every night. We’re going to need him every day and throughout the season. He’s a guy who can bring the ball up for us or give him the ball on the block and we’re confident he’s going to make the shot or get fouled. He can also step back and make the three. He’s one of our best defenders. He’s one of our best all-around players and with Dallas (Walton) being out, he stepped up to the challenge of guarding one of their best players and did a good job. He’s huge for us and this team. And eh didn’t miss a free throw either which is huge”
On learning from last year
“Last year, we learned we can’t take any games for granted. Especially with the COVID-19 situation right now and even into the end of last season and in the postseason. Now we never know when we’re going to have a game. There are teams around the country who found out two hours before the game that it was cancelled so you have to make the most out of the opportunities you get. That’s the biggest takeaway I see from last season. We let a couple games slip away last season that we shouldn’t have lost. Maybe it was our energy or because we overlooked the team but this year we’ve done a better job of taking the opportunities and running with them. We have to continue taking these opportunities and running with them. No games are guaranteed.”
Evan Battey, Jr., F
On re-establishing their identity
“Yeah, definitely on the rebounding part. Our identity is two things, defense and rebounding. So you know, we have to lower our FG % on defense and hopefully that will bring back our identity. We want to hold teams to below 40% and that’s our goal every week.”
On G McKinley Wright IV falling hard in the first half and his overall play
“I was scared of course because that’s my brother and I was just scared for his health. Secondly, I’m like you guys when I watch him play. I’m in awe of him on the court except I’m in the play as it is being run. He’s special to watch and to be in awe while you’re in the action.”
On what was said at halftime
“Coach Boyle just said that we were shooting 35% from the field and we aren’t getting as many stops as we liked. It’s our game and we have to believe it, think it, and go do it.”
On his technical foul
“Yeah, I have to do a better job of handling my emotions. I think this is my first technical. The team really stepped up, Jeriah Horne took a huge job of guarding their best player and really sat down and came up big for us. All credit to my teammates man, their unbelievable guys and unbelievable players so I love them to death and they deserve all the credit.
On the uncertainty of the season with COVID\
“I think our team has done an unbelievable job of sticking together and always focusing on the next game and the next bit of practice. We evolve as a team, we set goals for ourselves and we try to establish and work at those goals. I love those guys so much and I love that we are able to stay focused for each other.
On F Jeriah Horne
“Yeah, first of all, Jeriah is a little bit shorter than Dallas Walton but he brings a much needed versatility to the offense. He takes challenges defensively. He may not all be the most athletic or the quickest, but he’s going to get challenged and really battle with the other guy, That is huge because that is what we’re all about as a team. He came uop huge tonight and when I was out of the game, he took on their best player and held them down. He brings to this team what we embody. Defense, rebounding and toughness. He brings those characteristics.
Oregon Head Coach Dana Altman
On Chris Duarte’s solid performance
“I thought he did some good things. There was bad turnovers; but other than that, I thought offensively he tried to move the ball a little bit. He also shot it well. He tried to give us some good things. In an otherwise disappointing effort, he was a bright spot.”
On offensive and defensive struggles
“I didn’t like the ball movement. We had some bad turnovers but we still shot the ball 48%, 36% from three-point range. Defensively, only 46 in the second half of the rebounds. You know those are little things, those are the things that we’ve got to do better job on. So it starts with those things, but we do have to get better offensively.”
On implementing man-to-man press
“In a lot of cases it was our bench. You know, we played seven guys. It’s a little difficult. Luke (Osborn) I gave a couple minutes to and he struggled a little bit there. If we’re going to press more, we’re going to have to play more than seven guys. Right now I do like some of the things were doing pressing wise, but we would have to figure out a plan to get some more players to play.”
On preparing for today’s game, given past difficulties
“We came in, we thought we had what we wanted to do. We don’t change the way we play in 20 conference games, this is particularly one that gives us problems. But we don’t look at one particular game as destroying our effort. We have been able to win a few conference championships. We’ve been able to win two tournaments playing the way we play. But here in Colorado we have had problems, but we have also had problems in CAL and we have had problems at Stanford, but that’s why college basketball is a home and road sport. Colorado has only won one time at our place. It’s a tough matchup, Tad does a great job. (McKinley) Wright has been a pain in our rear. I hope he goes on and does not stay around another year because he has been a pain in our rear. It’s just one of those places that has given us problems and there has been a few of them, this isn’t the only one.”
Postgame Notes
Colorado improves its series lead over Oregon to 13-9 and remains undefeated against the Ducks all-time in Boulder (10-0). The home team has won the last 12 regular season games in this series.
Colorado improves to 1-1 against ranked opponents this year. The win is the 20th for head coach Tad Boyle against a ranked team, by far the best in team history. Boyle coached teams, with a record of 20-34 have accounted for 31 percent of CU’s wins over ranked opponents (64) since 1949-50.
It’s the sixth time in the Pac-12 era Colorado has defeated a ranked Oregon team; five of those have been at the CU Events Center.
Colorado improved to 3-0 at home and has won 31 of its last 36 and 43 of its last 51 at the CU Events Center.
Colorado made 14 of 15 from the line, marking the ninth time in 11 games the Buffaloes have made at least 80 percent from the line; and the other two are plus-70 percent. Colorado’s 93.3 percentage tied the season’s best; Buffs had the same numbers in the opener over South Dakota.
Colorado improves its season performance to 85.6 percent (167-195) from the line.
After being a combined minus-13 on the boards the previous four games, Colorado had a 12-rebound edge over the Ducks (40-28)
Colorado enjoyed a 26-11 edge in fast break points.
McKinley Wright IV (21 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists) recorded his 12th career double-double and fifth of the points-rebounds variety. It was his fourth 20-point game of the season and the 21st of his career. His five assists moved him to 558, four away from Jay Humphries school record of 562 (1980-84).
Evan Battey (12 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 8-8 FT) recorded his sixth career double-double and first of the season. His five assists are a career high and tied Wright for the team lead. It’s the first time this season someone other than Wright had at least a share of the game high in assists. His eight free throws were a season high and he has made 30 of his last 33 from the line.
Colorado had two players with double-doubles in the same game for the first time since Wright and Tyler Bey did in at Oregon State on Feb. 15, 2020. CU had just two double-doubles for the entire team in the first 10 games.
Jeriah Horne (17 points, 6 rebounds) season highs in points, field goals made (seven) and 3-pointers (three).
TROY ANDRE | ASSOCIATE SID/MANAGING EDITOR CUBuffs.com
Department of Intercollegiate Athletics | University of Colorado Boulder | 357 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309
(Shipping Address: Champions Center #574 (Fifth Level), 2150 Stadium Drive, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0357)
Office: 303-492-4672 | Cell: 303-903-3654 | troy.andre@colorado.edu
