8:00 PM MT
THE BUFFALOES: Colorado opened the Pac-12 Conference season with a 76-57 setback at Oregon State on Dec. 29. The Buffaloes finished off the nonconference portion of their schedule at 8-4 after falling to Iowa 80-73 in Sioux Falls, S.D. on Dec. 22. After a 6-0 start, the Buffaloes have dropped two straight and five of their last seven.
Colorado opens Pac-12 Conference play on the road for the third straight year and fourth time in the last six seasons. The Buffaloes are out for their first true road win in four tries this year (CU does have three neutral site victories) and looking to end an overall five-game road skid. Colorado’s last true road win came at Oregon State, a 60-52 decision on Feb. 16, 2017.
Colorado is averaging 75.3 points per game while shooting 44,6 percent from the field. Overall the Buffaloes have been balanced in scoring with three players averaging double-figures and six averaging between six and 16 points an outing. Defensively, Colorado is allowing 73.5 points per game while holding opponents to 42.6 percent shooting and 35.2 percent from 3-point range.
Colorado is second in the Pac-12 in rebounds at 39.4 per game while ranking third in offensive rebounds (11.1 orpg), fourth in defensive rebounds (28.3 drpg) and fifth in rebounding margin (+5.2).
McKinley Wright IV leads Colorado at 16.2 points, 4.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He dished out six assists along with six rebounds and seven points in his Pac-12 debut at Oregon State. It was his fifth game with at least six assists and with 62 he already ranks 10th in assists in a season by a Colorado freshman in just 13 career games.
He scored 21 points with six assists and a personal best three steals against Iowa. Wright logged his fourth 20-plus point game and with no turnovers it was his fourth game with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 6.0 or higher.
Wright also leads or is tied for the team lead in blocked shots (9), field goal percentage (.481) and 3-point percentage (.370) while ranking second in 3-pointers made (17) and rebounding at 5.2 per game.
He recorded his second double-double of the season, and first of the points-assists variety, with 30 and 11 respectively against South Dakota State. Wright nearly picked up the school’s fourth triple-double ending with nine rebounds. It was Colorado’s first points-assists double, and most assists in a game, since Askia Booker had 16 and 12 against UCLA on Feb. 13, 2014.
On the Pac-12 charts, Wright is third in assists, 10th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.7) and 14th in scoring. He tops all Pac-12 freshmen in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio and is third in scoring.
George King leads Colorado in rebounding at 8.2 per game while ranking second in scoring at 13.5 points an outing. King, who also has a team best three double-doubles, had five points and a team-high eight rebounds at Oregon State.
King had back-to-back monster games, scoring 25 points with identical 9 of 13 shooting performances (.692) in wins over Air Force and Mercer. King had a game-high 25 points against Mercer in the championship game of the 2017 Paradise Jam and added a career-high 15 rebounds against Air Force for his first double-double of the season. He scored back-to-back 20-point games for the third time in his career, the other two coming in 2015-16. His 50 points in a two-game span is a personal best.
On the Pac-12 charts King is fifth in overall rebounds, sixth in offensive rebounds (2.5 orpg), eighth in defensive rebounds (5.7 drpg) and 21st in scoring.
Junior guard Namon Wright is third on the team in scoring at 11.0 points and is second in steals (11), fourth in assists (13) and fifth in 3-point field goals (11). He scored 12 points and matched a season high with five rebounds against Iowa. Wright had personal CU-high and team-best 20 points in the loss at Xavier.
Wright’s six steals at Xavier was a personal best in 70 career collegiate games to that point (counting two seasons at Missouri) and the most by a Buffalo since Spencer Dinwiddie had six against Jackson State on Nov. 16, 2013.
At the Paradise Jam, Wright averaged 16 points while shooting 44 percent. He shot 83 percent from the free throw line, going 19 of 23.
Sophomore guard Deleon Brown is fourth on the team in scoring at 6.9 points per game and is third in both in assists (15) and steals (10). Brown made his fifth start of the season at Oregon State finishing with six points on a pair of 3-pointers. It was his fourth game with multiple 3-pointers in the last six outings. Brown had 10 points and dished out a pair of assists against South Dakota State. For Brown, it was his sixth career game scoring in double-figures and third this season. He matched a season high with 13 points in the Paradise Jam championship win over Mercer.
Dominique Collier is averaging 6.4 points and is second on the team in assists with 16. Collier had eight points and a season-high three rebounds at Oregon State. He is averaging 8.0 points over the last eight games after averaging just 3.8 over his first five. He had a game-high 16 points against New Mexico, his 19th career game in double figures.
Freshman Dallas Walton had five points, five rebounds and matched a team season-high with two blocked shots in a career-best 22 minutes at Oregon State. He is averaging 4.5 points and 3.0 rebounds per game while shooting 55.9 percent from the floor. Walton scored a personal-best 13 points against Iowa on 6 of 10 shooting.
Freshman forward Tyler Bey, making his second career start, had a team-high 14 points on 5 of 8 shooting in his Pac-12 debut at Oregon State. He is averaging at team best 7.3 rebounds over the last four games. Bey had the best all-around game of his young career with 12 points, on a perfect 4 of 4 from the field, and nine rebounds against SDSU. Overall, Bey has jumped up to third on the team in rebounding among active players at 4.2 per game while pitching in 4.8 points a contest.
Freshman forward D’Shawn Schwartz is averaging 3.1 points and 2.2 rebounds while shooting 42 percent from the field. He matched his season high with seven points against Air Force and had a personal best six rebounds vs. New Mexico.
Sophomore forward Lucas Siewert had a season-high 14 points against South Dakota State, his third career double-figure scoring game an just one off his personal best of 15 set last year against Stanford. His six field goals made against the Jackrabbits were also a career high. He is fourth on the team among active players in rebounding at 3.4 per game while also pitching in 4.5 points a contest.
Freshman guard Lazar Nikolic, made his first collegiate start against New Mexico responding with seven points and eight rebounds - both career highs. He’s made 10 of his last 18 from the field after starting 3 of 9 over his first six games.
THE DUCKS: Oregon is 10-4 overall after opening its Pac-12 season with a 66-56 loss to Utah on Dec. 29. The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for the Ducks entering conference play. Oregon sports the fourth-best scoring offense in the Pac-12 at 83.2 points per game on 48 percent from the field. Defensively, the Ducks allow 70.5 points per game and lead the conference in field goal defense at 38.7 percent. Oregon also leads the Pac-12 in rebounding margin (+7.7) and is second in blocked shots at 6.0 per game.
Sophomore guard Payton Prtichard, the lone regular returner from Oregon’s 2017 NCAA Final Four team, leads the Ducks at 15.6 points and 4.4 assists per game. He is shooting 48 percent overall from the field and tops the Ducks in 3-pointers with 34. Guard Elijah Brown, a graduate transfer from New Mexico, is averaging 13.2 points and is second on the team in steals with 14. Freshman forward Troy Brown tops Oregon in rebounding at 7.6 per game while averaging 12.1 points an outing. Brown led the Ducks in the loss to Utah with 16 points and six rebounds. Mikyle McIntosh is averaging 9.1 points while shooting 51 percent from the field.
Dana Altman is in his eighth season as the head coach at Oregon with a record of 197-74. He is in his 29th season overall as an NCAA Division I head coach with a mark of 607-317.
THE SERIES: This will be the 18th meeting between Colorado and Oregon with the Buffaloes holding a 10-7 series lead. Oregon has won four of the last six overall, but the Buffaloes lead the series 7-5 since joining the Pac-12 for the 2011-12 season. The Ducks lead the series 5-3 in Eugene, including wins in the last three.
Tad Boyle is 7-6 against Oregon as a head coach, 7-5 while at Colorado. Dana Altman is 10-10 against Colorado as a head coach. He is 5-7 with Oregon and was 5-3 while at Kansas State from 1990-94.
WRIGHT IN DOUBLE FIGURES: Freshman McKinley Wright IV scored in double figures in each of his first 12 games after his 21 point performance against Iowa. During that span he hit the 20-point mark four times, including a team season-high 30 points against South Dakota State. Wright’s string of double-figure games ended with only seven points at Oregon State.
His 12 double-figure games to begin his career are the most by a Buffalo since 2011 NBA lottery pick Alec Burks scored at least 10 points in his first 20 games in 2009-10.
SENIOR EXPERIENCE vs. FRESH FACES: Colorado has nine players on its roster (eight active) that had never played a regular season minute in a Buffaloes uniform prior to this season. That list includes six true freshmen and three red shirts who spent 2016-17 with the program.
Colorado’s three senior regulars - George King, Tory Miller-Stewart and Dominique Collier - have combined for 311 career games and 151 starts. The other 12 players on the roster (11 active) have a combined 45 starts and 185 career games. Out of those 185 games, 19 of those belong to senior walk-on Josh Repine accounting for a total of 26 career minutes played.
KING’S COURT: Senior guard George King became the 34th player in Colorado history to reach 1,000 points during the loss at Xavier, hitting that milestone with a drive to the basket at the 8:29 mark of the first half. He is now 30th in career scoring at 1,056 points. He is 27th in rebounding with 537.
King is seventh in career 3-pointers made with 137. His 39.7 percentage from 3-point range is second on CU’s all-time list.
DOM’S DIMES AND SWIPES: Senior guard Dominque Collieris 25th in career steals with 88 and 27th in assists at 191. He is on pace to become the 16th Colorado player with 200 assists and 100 steals.
THE BUFFALOES: Colorado opened the Pac-12 Conference season with a 76-57 setback at Oregon State on Dec. 29. The Buffaloes finished off the nonconference portion of their schedule at 8-4 after falling to Iowa 80-73 in Sioux Falls, S.D. on Dec. 22. After a 6-0 start, the Buffaloes have dropped two straight and five of their last seven.
Colorado opens Pac-12 Conference play on the road for the third straight year and fourth time in the last six seasons. The Buffaloes are out for their first true road win in four tries this year (CU does have three neutral site victories) and looking to end an overall five-game road skid. Colorado’s last true road win came at Oregon State, a 60-52 decision on Feb. 16, 2017.
Colorado is averaging 75.3 points per game while shooting 44,6 percent from the field. Overall the Buffaloes have been balanced in scoring with three players averaging double-figures and six averaging between six and 16 points an outing. Defensively, Colorado is allowing 73.5 points per game while holding opponents to 42.6 percent shooting and 35.2 percent from 3-point range.
Colorado is second in the Pac-12 in rebounds at 39.4 per game while ranking third in offensive rebounds (11.1 orpg), fourth in defensive rebounds (28.3 drpg) and fifth in rebounding margin (+5.2).
McKinley Wright IV leads Colorado at 16.2 points, 4.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He dished out six assists along with six rebounds and seven points in his Pac-12 debut at Oregon State. It was his fifth game with at least six assists and with 62 he already ranks 10th in assists in a season by a Colorado freshman in just 13 career games.
He scored 21 points with six assists and a personal best three steals against Iowa. Wright logged his fourth 20-plus point game and with no turnovers it was his fourth game with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 6.0 or higher.
Wright also leads or is tied for the team lead in blocked shots (9), field goal percentage (.481) and 3-point percentage (.370) while ranking second in 3-pointers made (17) and rebounding at 5.2 per game.
He recorded his second double-double of the season, and first of the points-assists variety, with 30 and 11 respectively against South Dakota State. Wright nearly picked up the school’s fourth triple-double ending with nine rebounds. It was Colorado’s first points-assists double, and most assists in a game, since Askia Booker had 16 and 12 against UCLA on Feb. 13, 2014.
On the Pac-12 charts, Wright is third in assists, 10th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.7) and 14th in scoring. He tops all Pac-12 freshmen in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio and is third in scoring.
George King leads Colorado in rebounding at 8.2 per game while ranking second in scoring at 13.5 points an outing. King, who also has a team best three double-doubles, had five points and a team-high eight rebounds at Oregon State.
King had back-to-back monster games, scoring 25 points with identical 9 of 13 shooting performances (.692) in wins over Air Force and Mercer. King had a game-high 25 points against Mercer in the championship game of the 2017 Paradise Jam and added a career-high 15 rebounds against Air Force for his first double-double of the season. He scored back-to-back 20-point games for the third time in his career, the other two coming in 2015-16. His 50 points in a two-game span is a personal best.
On the Pac-12 charts King is fifth in overall rebounds, sixth in offensive rebounds (2.5 orpg), eighth in defensive rebounds (5.7 drpg) and 21st in scoring.
Junior guard Namon Wright is third on the team in scoring at 11.0 points and is second in steals (11), fourth in assists (13) and fifth in 3-point field goals (11). He scored 12 points and matched a season high with five rebounds against Iowa. Wright had personal CU-high and team-best 20 points in the loss at Xavier.
Wright’s six steals at Xavier was a personal best in 70 career collegiate games to that point (counting two seasons at Missouri) and the most by a Buffalo since Spencer Dinwiddie had six against Jackson State on Nov. 16, 2013.
At the Paradise Jam, Wright averaged 16 points while shooting 44 percent. He shot 83 percent from the free throw line, going 19 of 23.
Sophomore guard Deleon Brown is fourth on the team in scoring at 6.9 points per game and is third in both in assists (15) and steals (10). Brown made his fifth start of the season at Oregon State finishing with six points on a pair of 3-pointers. It was his fourth game with multiple 3-pointers in the last six outings. Brown had 10 points and dished out a pair of assists against South Dakota State. For Brown, it was his sixth career game scoring in double-figures and third this season. He matched a season high with 13 points in the Paradise Jam championship win over Mercer.
Dominique Collier is averaging 6.4 points and is second on the team in assists with 16. Collier had eight points and a season-high three rebounds at Oregon State. He is averaging 8.0 points over the last eight games after averaging just 3.8 over his first five. He had a game-high 16 points against New Mexico, his 19th career game in double figures.
Freshman Dallas Walton had five points, five rebounds and matched a team season-high with two blocked shots in a career-best 22 minutes at Oregon State. He is averaging 4.5 points and 3.0 rebounds per game while shooting 55.9 percent from the floor. Walton scored a personal-best 13 points against Iowa on 6 of 10 shooting.
Freshman forward Tyler Bey, making his second career start, had a team-high 14 points on 5 of 8 shooting in his Pac-12 debut at Oregon State. He is averaging at team best 7.3 rebounds over the last four games. Bey had the best all-around game of his young career with 12 points, on a perfect 4 of 4 from the field, and nine rebounds against SDSU. Overall, Bey has jumped up to third on the team in rebounding among active players at 4.2 per game while pitching in 4.8 points a contest.
Freshman forward D’Shawn Schwartz is averaging 3.1 points and 2.2 rebounds while shooting 42 percent from the field. He matched his season high with seven points against Air Force and had a personal best six rebounds vs. New Mexico.
Sophomore forward Lucas Siewert had a season-high 14 points against South Dakota State, his third career double-figure scoring game an just one off his personal best of 15 set last year against Stanford. His six field goals made against the Jackrabbits were also a career high. He is fourth on the team among active players in rebounding at 3.4 per game while also pitching in 4.5 points a contest.
Freshman guard Lazar Nikolic, made his first collegiate start against New Mexico responding with seven points and eight rebounds - both career highs. He’s made 10 of his last 18 from the field after starting 3 of 9 over his first six games.
THE DUCKS: Oregon is 10-4 overall after opening its Pac-12 season with a 66-56 loss to Utah on Dec. 29. The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for the Ducks entering conference play. Oregon sports the fourth-best scoring offense in the Pac-12 at 83.2 points per game on 48 percent from the field. Defensively, the Ducks allow 70.5 points per game and lead the conference in field goal defense at 38.7 percent. Oregon also leads the Pac-12 in rebounding margin (+7.7) and is second in blocked shots at 6.0 per game.
Sophomore guard Payton Prtichard, the lone regular returner from Oregon’s 2017 NCAA Final Four team, leads the Ducks at 15.6 points and 4.4 assists per game. He is shooting 48 percent overall from the field and tops the Ducks in 3-pointers with 34. Guard Elijah Brown, a graduate transfer from New Mexico, is averaging 13.2 points and is second on the team in steals with 14. Freshman forward Troy Brown tops Oregon in rebounding at 7.6 per game while averaging 12.1 points an outing. Brown led the Ducks in the loss to Utah with 16 points and six rebounds. Mikyle McIntosh is averaging 9.1 points while shooting 51 percent from the field.
Dana Altman is in his eighth season as the head coach at Oregon with a record of 197-74. He is in his 29th season overall as an NCAA Division I head coach with a mark of 607-317.
THE SERIES: This will be the 18th meeting between Colorado and Oregon with the Buffaloes holding a 10-7 series lead. Oregon has won four of the last six overall, but the Buffaloes lead the series 7-5 since joining the Pac-12 for the 2011-12 season. The Ducks lead the series 5-3 in Eugene, including wins in the last three.
Tad Boyle is 7-6 against Oregon as a head coach, 7-5 while at Colorado. Dana Altman is 10-10 against Colorado as a head coach. He is 5-7 with Oregon and was 5-3 while at Kansas State from 1990-94.
WRIGHT IN DOUBLE FIGURES: Freshman McKinley Wright IV scored in double figures in each of his first 12 games after his 21 point performance against Iowa. During that span he hit the 20-point mark four times, including a team season-high 30 points against South Dakota State. Wright’s string of double-figure games ended with only seven points at Oregon State.
His 12 double-figure games to begin his career are the most by a Buffalo since 2011 NBA lottery pick Alec Burks scored at least 10 points in his first 20 games in 2009-10.
SENIOR EXPERIENCE vs. FRESH FACES: Colorado has nine players on its roster (eight active) that had never played a regular season minute in a Buffaloes uniform prior to this season. That list includes six true freshmen and three red shirts who spent 2016-17 with the program.
Colorado’s three senior regulars - George King, Tory Miller-Stewart and Dominique Collier - have combined for 311 career games and 151 starts. The other 12 players on the roster (11 active) have a combined 45 starts and 185 career games. Out of those 185 games, 19 of those belong to senior walk-on Josh Repine accounting for a total of 26 career minutes played.
KING’S COURT: Senior guard George King became the 34th player in Colorado history to reach 1,000 points during the loss at Xavier, hitting that milestone with a drive to the basket at the 8:29 mark of the first half. He is now 30th in career scoring at 1,056 points. He is 27th in rebounding with 537.
King is seventh in career 3-pointers made with 137. His 39.7 percentage from 3-point range is second on CU’s all-time list.
DOM’S DIMES AND SWIPES: Senior guard Dominque Collieris 25th in career steals with 88 and 27th in assists at 191. He is on pace to become the 16th Colorado player with 200 assists and 100 steals.
