Ducks Stumble and Fall 76-53

The Oregon Ducks ran into a road block on the way to securing an outright claim to the Pac-12 Conference Men’s Basketball title on Thursday night by falling to the Colorado Buffaloes 76-53 in Boulder. The Ducks shot a mere 37.5 percent in field goal shooting on 21-of-56 including an anemic 2-for-12 effort beyond the 3-point line.

(PHOTO) Colorado Buffaloes forward Josh Scott (40) and Oregon Ducks center Tony Woods (55) go up for a rebound in the second half of the game at the Coors Events Center. The Buffaloes defeated the Ducks 76-53. (Photo by: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports)

Colorado’s Xavier Johnson had a career-high 22 points while Spencer Dinwiddie contributed 17 for the winner’s cause. The loss marked a sweep of the series between the two schools for the season, even though the Ducks have held the top position in the conference nearly all season long.

Colorado shot a more respectable 48.1 percent on 25-of-52 field goal shooting but also recorded seven 3-pointers on 16 attempts. The Buffaloes were more effective from the free throw line connecting on 19-of-24 free throws while Oregon only converted 9-of-22 from the charity line.

Colorado had a slight advantage in rebounds, 38-to-35, though the Ducks did have more offensive boards, 9-to-5.

Oregon had three players, Arsalan Kazemi, Johnathan Loyd and Ben Carter in double figures with 10 points apiece. Carter seemed to be the only bright spot for the Ducks on what was otherwise a dreary night. The 6-foot-8 freshman was 5-for-6 in field goal shooting, pulled down six rebounds, four of which were offensive and had two steals.

Oregon will have another opportunity to wrap up the regular season crown next Saturday at 11:30 a.m. (Pacific) when the Ducks travel to Utah to take on the Utes in a game that will conclude the regular season competition for both teams.

POSTGAME NOTES

Oregon fell to 0-5 in Pac-12 play when scoring less than 60 points. The Ducks are 12-0 when scoring 60-plus.

SR F Arsalan Kazemi recorded his 60th steal of the season, one shy of Kenya Wilkins in 1995-96 for sixth all-time in a single season at UO. Kazemi is the all-time season leader among post players.

SR F E.J. Singler equaled his season-low for points with 2 (at UTEP, 12/19).

Official Box Score