Colorado is alone in first place in the Pac-12 with an 8-3 conference record but Oregon will have the chance to change that on Thursday night in Eugene. The Ducks, which were alone in second place, one game back, entering Tuesday, will seek to avenge at 74-65 road loss to the Buffaloes on Jan. 2 in their Pac-12 opener.
Colorado at Oregon: Time, TV channel
Oregon will host Colorado at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday, Feb. 13. The game will be broadcast on ESPN and WatchESPN. Click or tap here for live stats.
Colorado at Oregon: Preview
When these two Pac-12 squads met after the start of the New Year, Colorado's offense became increasingly prolific through the game. The Buffaloes scored 11 points in the first 10 minutes, then 17 in the next 10, followed by 21 points in the first half of the second half and 25 points in the final 10 minutes of the game.
Colorado point guard McKinley Wright IV scored a team-high 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting, along with eight assists and five rebounds. Both teams were efficient inside (each making more than half of their 2-point attempts) and sub-par from outside, but Colorado's seven 3-pointers at a 31-percent clip exceeded Oregon's three 3-pointers at a 17-percent rate.
Wright is scoring a team-best 13.8 points per game, along with 5.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game.
Expect a strong point guard matchup on Thursday because Wright's counterpart, Oregon's Payton Pritchard, is averaging 19.5 points, 6.0 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game.
This game could help determine who wins the Pac-12 regular season title and potentially play a role in NCAA tournament seeding.
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The Buffs have the most efficient offense in conference play as they're scoring 109.8 points per 100 possessions. They're shooting 52.3 percent from two in conference play and 37.6 percent from three. The Ducks are fourth in offensive efficiency in Pac-12 play and eighth defensively.
Oregon is forcing a turnover on a higher percent of its opponents offensive possessions (12.1 percent) than any other team in the conference but it's hard to find another statistical category in which the Ducks are elite.
But a perfect home record in conference play and a 3-4 road record has left them in second place.
Colorado has a tough road ahead. Even though the Buffaloes are 2-2 on the road in the Pac-12, they still have five road games remaining in conference play, compared to just two home games.
Colorado at Oregon: Prediction
Colorado def. Oregon.
