Oregon overcomes the absence of N'Faly Dante to get revenge win against Colorado
Oregon’s night got off to an ominous start when star center N’Faly Dante was injured during pregame warm ups.
As it turned out, his absence just gave some other players an opportunity to shine.
Nate Bittle had the best game of his career, Quincy Guerrier had his best games in several weeks, and the Ducks exacted some revenge against Colorado with a 75-69 Pac-12 men's basketball victory at Matthew Knight Arena.
The win was the third in four games for Oregon (12-9, 6-4 Pac-12), which had lost 68-41 to Colorado (12-10, 4-7) on Jan. 5 in Boulder, and set up an important game Saturday against Utah, the second-place team in the conference.
Whether Dante plays against the Utes remains to be seen.
The 6-foot-11 senior, who is averaging 13.2 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks, watched Thursday’s game from the bench with a wrap on his left knee and with a noticeable limp when he walked around.
It’s the same knee Dante had surgically repaired in December 2020 after suffering an ACL tear in a game against San Francisco.
“He tweaked the knee in warmups so we’ll check him out tomorrow,” Oregon coach Dana Altman said. “Dante’s a tough young man, if he can go, he’ll go. … I joked with him that tripping in the layup line is probably not a good way to start. I didn’t check with (trainer Clay Jamieson) but I’m sure there will be some tests today or tomorrow.”
Bittle played a starring role with Dante out. The sophomore center recorded his first double-double with career-highs of 11 points and 13 rebounds. He also tied his career high with four blocks.
It was Bittle’s fourth straight start since returning from a foot injury earlier this month that kept him out for eight games, though he made those previous three starts playing alongside Dante.
“When they came in and told me that Dante got hurt warming up, I challenged Nate and he did a great job,” Altman said. “I thought he and Quincy stepped up.”
It had been a rough couple weeks for Guerrier, who had been struggling on the court and was eventually replaced in the starting lineup by Bittle against Arizona on Jan. 14, ending a run of 52 straight starts at Oregon.
But with Dante out, Guerrier moved back into a starting role and had his most productive night in three weeks as he led Oregon with 16 points. It was his first time scoring in double digits since netting 10 against Colorado in Boulder seven games ago.
“He knew that he really wasn’t playing well,” Altman said. “He stayed ready, and that’s what you expect. He’s a good young man, a talented kid, and you expect him to stay ready.”
Guerrier finished 6-for-11 from the field and also had two 3-pointers and six rebounds.
He scored five straight late in the second half on a 3-pointer on a rebound basket off his own miss to put the Ducks up 68-62 with 3:35 to play.
That snapped a 7-0 run by the Buffaloes that had cut their deficit one point.
Oregon finished the game going 7-for-8 from the free-throw line in the final 1:08.
Keeshawn Barthelemy, who transferred from Colorado over the summer, also had 13 points with three 3-pointers against his former team.
The Ducks outrebounded Colorado 38-34 and shot 49.1% from the field and 36.8% from 3-point range. It was a massive improvement from their game in Boulder earlier in the month, when the Ducks trailed 37-19 at halftime and shot 26.9% from the field and made just one of their 14 3-point attempts.
“A different team here tonight,” Altman said. “We’re gonna have to really take it to another level against Utah.”
Follow Chris Hansen on Twitter @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com.
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Up Next
Oregon vs. Utah
5 p.m., Saturday at Matthew Knight Arena. TV: Pac-12 Networks. Radio: KUJZ-FM (95.3)
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Oregon Ducks overcome ominous start to beat Colorado Buffaloes
