CU Buffs men’s basketball gets back on track by routing Oregon – The Denver Post

The Colorado men’s basketball team has put together some of its finest performances of the season immediately after a few of the worst.

Thursday’s Pac-12 Conference showdown against Oregon was no different.

Coming off an ugly loss at lowly Cal last week, the Buffaloes dominated the visiting Ducks from the opening tip to post a 68-41 victory at the CU Events Center.

The Buffs played shorthanded, with Jalen Gabbidon missing his second consecutive game due to a knee injury and starting point guard KJ Simpson sidelined due to an illness. But Simpson’s replacement in the starting lineup, Julian Hammond III, knocked down a 3-pointer out of the gate to set the tone, and the Buffs never trailed throughout the contest.

CU (10-6, 2-3 Pac-12) broke it open quickly, unleashing a 22-5 run during the first half to take a 19-point lead. The Buffs led 37-19 at halftime and kept adding to the advantage throughout the second half.

The Buffs defense, which was torched for a 58% shooting percentage by Cal less than a week earlier in the best performance by a CU foe in five years, held the Ducks to a 26.9% mark overall and a 1-for-14 effort on 3-pointers. Oregon missed its first 12 3-point attempts didn’t connect from long range until the waning minutes.

CU junior forward Tristan da Silva shook off his rough two-game trip through the Bay Area by going 11-for-17 for a career-high 30 points. Hammond responded in his first start of the season, recording a career-high 16 points to go with four rebounds and three assists. Luke O’Brien grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds as the Buffs dominated Oregon on the glass 46-28.

Nique Clifford scored 13 points but also took the defensive lead in shutting down Oregon standout guard Will Richardson, who was coming off consecutive 20-point games but was held to five points on a 1-for-9 showing.

Colorado 68, Oregon 41

OREGON (8-7)