The top two PAC-12 men’s basketball teams will face off in Eugene, Oregon as the Colorado Buffaloes travel to take on the Oregon Ducks.
WHO: Colorado Buffaloes (19-5, 8-3) at Oregon Ducks (18-6, 7-4)
WHEN: Friday, February 13th, 2020 at 9:00 PM EST
WHERE: Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Oregon
TV SCHEDULE: ESPN
The Colorado Buffaloes and Oregon Ducks are at a fork in the road and appear to be taking different paths. Colorado is, arguably, the best team in the PAC-12 followed by the Oregon Ducks. However, the Ducks have lost two in a row while the Buffaloes are on a three-game winning streak. Both of the Ducks’ losses have come against unranked teams; Stanford and Oregon State. In early January, Colorado lost to Oregon State at home by almost double digits. Despite that, these two teams are ready to take the next step down different paths.
The Ducks want to change direction and do it quickly. However, they must get past two blown second-half leads over their last two games. What has been the problem? It’s a myriad of issues but one issue is losing Francis Okoro for a period of time due to the death of his father. The Ducks expect Okoro back. The 6’9” forward is not necessarily a force within the Oregon lineup but he does provide size and 18 valuable minutes per game.
The leader of the Ducks is senior guard Payton Pritchard. On the season, Pritchard has averaged almost 20 points per game along with 4.3 rebounds per game, 6 assists per game while shooting 46% from the floor (38.6% from three-point range). Pritchard’s usage may be affecting his shooting in some games. Against Stanford, Pritchard played 39 minutes and only made two of 11 shots. He followed that poor shooting performance with a 6-13 night from two-point range but only 1 for 8 from three-point range against Oregon State in 38 minutes of playing time.
In the matchup against Stanford, Pritchard hit on 3 of 10 attempts from three-point range. Over his last two games, Pritchard has averaged 38.5 minutes per game but has only shot 28.6% from the field including a pedestrian 22.2% from three-point range. It’s a difficult situation for head coach Dana Altman. His team is preparing for the stretch run and their star player may be tired. Altman will need to find him rest but the game against Colorado is not the time.
The Colorado Buffaloes are led by three junior guards; McKinley Wright IV, Tyler Bey and D’Shawn Schwartz. Bey and Schwartz measure in at 6’7’’ while Wright, the team’s leading scorer, is 6 foot even. Wright and Bey have led the Buffaloes in scoring with 13.8 and 13.6 points per game respectively while filling up the stat sheet in other categories. Wright has also averaged 5.2 rebounds per game and 5.2 assists per game. He is the conductor of the offense but is able to contribute in more ways than one providing the Buffaloes with versatility from their point guard spot.
Bey has averaged 9.1 rebounds per game and increased his assist average from his junior year (0.6 assists per game to 1.6 assists per game) and steals per game (0.8 steals per game to 1.7 steals per game). Schwartz has greatly improved his three-point shooting this year. In his sophomore season, Schwartz only shot 31.3% from three-point range on almost 4 attempts per game. This year, Schwartz has increased his percentage to 40.6% on 4.4 three-point attempts per game. His ability to provide the Buffaloes offense with another three-point threat should not go unnoticed or ignored.
The Ducks have the ingredients to win this game. They are coming off of two losses. Their star player has had two sub-par games. They are facing the number one team in their conference on their own court. The theme of the season has been unpredictability which means Pritchard will go off this game and the Ducks will stifle the Buffalo attack on their way to a huge conference win.
PREDICTION: Oregon Ducks 73, Colorado Buffaloes 70