The Colorado Buffaloes look to get back into the win column with a little homecooking Saturday afternoon as they host the Oregon State Beavers. These two teams were orginally supposed to play their first matchup in Corvallis on January 1st, but it was postponed due to COVID-19.
This is the first time these two teams have met since the Pac-12 Championship Game back in March 13, 2021. The Beavers held off the Buffaloes late with a 70-68 win thanks to Maurice Calloo and his 15 points off the bench.
A lot has changed since then.
Oregon State enters Saturday’s game with a Pac-12 worst 1-8 in conference play while the Buffaloes sit at 5-7. The Beavers have lost six in a row while the Buffs have lost three straight.
Something has got to give.
Buffs head coach Tad Boyle announced Friday that senior guard Eli Parquet will be out for the rest of the season with a foot injury. That’s a huge blow for the Buffs, considering Parquet is the heart and soul on the defensive end.
The Buffs are coming off a letdown Thursday night, scoring just 16 second half points against Oregon who got revenge for the loss they suffered in Eugene. Oregon captured their first ever win in Boulder while forcing the Buffs to turn the ball over 19 times, resulting in 23 points off of turnover.
Oregon State is coming off an absolute drubbing in Utah against the Utes, losing by the final score of 84-59. Utah went 15-of-35 (42.9%) from three while out-rebounding the Beavers 39-32. Beavers guard Jarod Lucas and center Roman Silva scored a team-high 12 points apiece for Oregon State.
We are going to keep an eye on the turnover battle and the glass for this game. Colorado needs to do a better job of taking care of the ball and eliminating second chance points. We are going to sound like a broken record preaching that but it must be done in order for the Buffs to win.
Buffs guard play featuring Keeshawn Barthelemy, KJ Simpson, and Julian Hammond III need to take care of the ball. This is one of those games where I expect Jabari Walker to take over, perhaps notching another double-double en route to victory.