Media after today's win. (I have also updated the original post with links for and info on tomorrow evening's game against Arizona.)
Article -
Direct link -
https://cubuffs.com/news/2022/3/10/mens-basketball-buffs-vs-ducks.aspx
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LAS VEGAS — Colorado made a statement Thursday in the Pac-12 tournament.
Now, the Buffaloes hope the NCAA Selection Committee is paying attention after
Evan Battey and
Jabari Walker each recorded double-doubles to lead the Buffaloes to an 80-69 Pac-12 quarterfinal win over Oregon at T-Mobile Arena.
Tad Boyle's fourth-seeded Buffs, who improved to 21-10 with the win, will face top-seeded and nationally second-ranked Arizona in a 7 p.m. semifinal Friday at T-Mobile.
The Buffs trailed by seven midway through the first half, but used a 12-0 run to take a 36-30 halftime lead and they never trailed again en route to posting their eighth win in their last nine games.
Walker finished with 18 points and 16 rebounds for his 17th double-double of the year while Battey recorded his first of the season, finishing with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Freshman
K.J. Simpson had 11 points, seven rebounds, six assists and a pair of steals and
Tristan da Silva chipped in 12 points.
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"We beat a really good program that's won a lot of games and is very, very well-coached," Boyle said. "We knew this wasn't going to be easy and it wasn't. I'm proud of our guys because we really struggled offensively out of the chute … We missed some shots but it didn't affect us on the other end and we hung in there. We found a way to break it open and beat a good team, and now we live to see another day."
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NOTEWORTHY: Colorado is now 18-10 in conference tournament play in the Boyle era — well more than half of CU's conference tourney wins in program history (29-44) … Colorado is 9-2 in the Pac-12 championships as the higher seeded team. Five of CU's nine Pac-12 tourney losses have come against the top two seeds … The Buffs have won at least one game in nine of their 10 Pac-12 tourney appearances.
TURNING POINT: Oregon looked ready to assume control after taking a 25-18 lead with just more than six minutes to play in the first half. But the Buffs put together a 12-0 run to regain the lead and they never trailed again.
WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffs kept their NCAA Tournament hopes alive. They could still gain the Pac-12's automatic berth by winning their next two and claiming the tourney title. They could also squeeze themselves into the at-large conversation with a win Friday against the Wildcats.
KEY STATISTICS: CU held Oregon to 34 percent shooting (24-for-70), including a critical 1-for-13 effort by the Ducks in the final 7:42 of the first half … The Buffs shot just 40.5 percent (30-for-74), but had a dominant 55-42 edge on the boards, giving Colorado a season-high in rebounds … CU's rebound total included 17 on the offensive end that produced 15 second-chance points … Colorado also had a 25-10 edge in points off the bench.
QUOTEWORTHY: "I think there's a big bias with the East Coast, and quite frankly, ESPN. They're talking about Virginia Tech (as an NCAA bubble team). They've got one quad 1 win. We've got three. They're squarely on the bubble and we're not even in the conversation. I hope the (NCAA) committee is smarter than the people putting that thing together … If you look at this Colorado team today relative to where we were in November or December, if you don't think we're one of the top 68 teams in the country, you are sorely mistaken." — CU head coach
Tad Boyle
NEXT UP: The Buffs face top-seeded and No. 2 nationally ranked Arizona (29-3) in a 7 p.m. semifinal Friday at T-Mobile Arena. The game will be televised by the Pac-12 Network with KOA carrying the radio broadcast.
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Box score -
https://cubuffs.com/documents/2022/3/10/CU_OU_P12_box.pdf