Three takeaways from Oregon's historic win at Colorado
For the first time in program history, Oregon went into Boulder and defeated Colorado 66-51 on Thursday.
Jacob Young led the way with 21 points, but it was Oregon’s defense that was the bright spot in this matchup. Oregon now moves to 14-7 on the season and 7-3 in Pac-12 play.
Here are three takeaways from the Ducks’ historic win at the CU Events Center.
Second half defense
Oregon’s defense was absolutely shut down in the second half. Colorado struggled to get any easy looks and the Ducks did a great job at applying constant pressure.
They were forcing turnover after turnover and capitalized on them. Oregon’s defense in the paint really stood out as it looked like the more physical team for much of the game.
Colorado wasn’t able to get a lot of penetration in the paint and the bigs did a solid job at meeting people at the rim without drawing too many fouls. Oregon allowed just 16 points in the 2nd half and delivered an incredible defensive showing over the last 20 minutes.
Points off turnovers
The Ducks did a fantastic job at capitalizing off of Colorado’s turnovers. They finished the game scoring 25 points off turnovers while Colorado scored just six.
They have struggled at times in this key stat, so it was great to see Oregon finally take advantage of sloppy basketball by their opponent. They were able to get quick breakaway baskets if they had a man advantage, but they also weren’t afraid to slow things down off a turnover and try to get a good look.
It’s a great sign for Oregon as we near the end of the regular season, and it will be a key stat for the Ducks to continue to win in moving forward.
Oregon’s Guard play
Will Richardson and Jacob Young both had solid first halves but stepped up in a massive way in the second half. The two combined for 34 points and six steals in the game.
Oregon had a couple of stretches where they couldn’t buy a bucket, but either Richardson or Young would take over for a possession and get a quick bucket to help the Ducks out of their funk.
These two are going to be key for how this Oregon team finishes the season as they’re the two most consistent scorers on the team. They both played great tonight.
