The Colorado Buffaloes came up short in the Pac-12 championship against the Oregon Ducks on Saturday, capping off a wild day of hoops and leaving teams on the bubble anxiously awaiting their fate. The no. 4 seed Oregon Ducks secured a hard-fought 75-68 victory over the no. 3 seed Colorado Buffaloes, becoming yet another bid thief in the postseason. With Florida Atlantic’s loss to Temple 74-73 earlier in the day, there were three fewer at-large spots available for teams vying for a spot in the NCAA tournament, intensifying the pressure on the bubble teams.
Photo Cred: USA Today
Colorado (24-10, 13-7 Pac-12) finds itself among those teams on the bubble, nervously awaiting the selection show after failing to secure the conference’s automatic bid. While some bracketologists have the Buffaloes safely in the tournament, others have them on the outside looking in as one of the first four teams left out. The Buffaloes had been on an impressive eight-game winning streak before falling to the Ducks.
Their recent victories included a crucial win against Oregon on Mar. 7 with a score of 79-75, and a hard-fought battle against the Washington State Cougars in the Pac-12 tournament, winning 58-52. On the other hand, Oregon (23-11, 12-8 Pac-12) showcased their strength by defeating the heavily favored no. 1 seed Arizona in the Pac-12 semifinals with a score of 67-59. This victory came after trailing by as many as 14 points and losing to the Wildcats twice during the regular season.
Colorado’s point guard KJ Simpson continued his impressive performance, leading the team with 23 points on 6-12 shooting overall, including 3-8 from beyond the arc, and a perfect 8-8 from the free-throw line. However, Simpson lacked significant support as forward Tristan Da Silva failed to reach double-digit points for the first time this season, contributing only nine points on 3-10 shooting overall.
Photo Cred: The Press Democrat
In a game where both teams shot decently overall, Oregon managed to capitalize on opportunities, scoring 23 points off of 13 Colorado turnovers while committing only three turnovers themselves. The Buffaloes took an early 20-11 lead in the first half, but Oregon responded with a 15-6 run to tie the game at 26-26. Oregon carried a slim 33-30 lead into halftime, and the game remained tightly contested throughout the second half. Oregon’s N’Faly Dante proved to be a dominant force, scoring 25 points on a perfect 12-12 shooting while also grabbing nine rebounds.
Dante, who had previously scored 20 points in the earlier loss to Colorado, continued his impressive form in the championship game. Colorado head coach Tad Boyle acknowledged Dante’s impact, stating, “I thought N’Faly Dante, he was the difference in the game. We were trying to double him tonight, and he scored out of double-teams, he played extremely well.”
Despite the efforts of Colorado’s Luke O’Brien, who scored 11 points, and the struggles of Oregon’s Jackson Shelstad and Jermaine Couisnard from the field, the Ducks managed to secure their first Pac-12 championship since 2019. Oregon will now comfortably await Selection Sunday as the final Pac-12 champion, while the Buffaloes will anxiously hope that their impressive metrics and late-season run will earn them a spot in the NCAA tournament.
