BOULDER – McKinley Wright IV scored 11 of his 21 points in the final 5 minutes, and Colorado beat another ranked team, taking down No. 4 Oregon 74-65 on Thursday night.
Tyler Bey added 15 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as the Buffaloes (12-2, 1-0 Pac-12) improved to 9-0 all-time against the Ducks (11-3, 0-1) in Boulder.
Colorado also moved to 2-1 against ranked teams this season. The Buffaloes are 19-32 under coach Tad Boyle versus teams in the AP Top 25 since he took over in 2010-11. He accounts for 30% of Colorado’s 63 wins over ranked opponents since 1949-50.
This was a matchup between the teams picked to finish first (Oregon) and second (Colorado) in the Pac-12 preseason media poll. Round 1 went to Colorado, which despite being unranked was a 1½-point favorite. The noise level was at a frenzied level despite the students being on winter break, and the fans ran onto the court after the final buzzer.
The Buffs held Oregon to 3-of-18 shooting from 3-point range.
Colorado built a 15-point lead early in the second half on an alley-oop, fast-break dunk by Bey. But Oregon began to steadily chip away.
Bey had a big block with 4:34 remaining, but was given a technical foul for taunting. Anthony Mathis made both free throws to make it 57-53. Wright hit a 3-pointer to restore some breathing room and then took over down the stretch. He also had eight assists.
The Ducks had their five-game winning streak halted on a night when they struggled at times to run their offense.
Payton Pritchard had 21 points to lead Oregon, while Chris Duarte added 10.
Boulder continues to haunt the Ducks, who were out-rebounded 36-34.
Defense has been the Buffs’ calling card all season. They fed off of it all evening as they led for over 30 minutes.
Colorado will host Oregon State at 4 p.m. Sunday.
