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Sports

Ducks eye up share of Pac-12 crown as they take on Buffaloes

By Sports Network
Published | Updated

Boulder, CO – After already having locked up a bye in next week's Pac-12 Tournament, the No. 19 Oregon Ducks will keep striving for a regular-season title when they take on the Colorado Buffaloes at Coors Events Center.

There are two games left in the Pac-12 season for Oregon which at 12-4 in league play and holds a half game lead over No. 23 UCLA in the race for the Pac-12 title. Oregon has risen to No. 19 in the national rankings with wins in five of the last six games. The regular season will end at Utah on Saturday for the Ducks and if the team wins out, it claims the outright Pac-12 championship.

Colorado got tripped up at California on Saturday, 62-46, to end a stretch where the Buffaloes won five of their previous six bouts. Colorado is a team that is on the edge of NCAA Tournament eligibility and could really use a win against Oregon to pump up its resume. The Buffaloes are 19-9 overall and 9-7 in league action. Colorado is an impressive 11-2 at Coors Events Center where it will be again on Saturday in the regular-season finale against Oregon State.

Andre Roberson's tip-in with 23 seconds left was the difference when Colorado stunned Oregon for its first home loss of the season in early February. The Buffaloes' 48-47 win increased their all-time series lead to 6-3.

Arsalan Kazemi posted a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds and Carlos Emory had 21 points off the bench as the Ducks swept the Civil War season series with Oregon State, 85-75, last time out. The Ducks shot over 50 percent from the field and forced 18 turnovers from the Beavers.

Kazemi (9.4 ppg, 9.9 rpg, 2.2 spg) has really excelled after transferring from Rice. The 6-foot-7 forward is a constant double-double threat that has quick hands on defense as he is second in the league in steals. Kazemi is approaching the school record for field-goal percentage (.595) as well. E.J. Singler (11.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 3.0 apg) is a versatile forward that can handle the ball on the perimeter as well, while Emory (11.2 ppg) fills it up effectively off the bench. Damyean Dotson (11.0 ppg) is another double-figure scorer, while Dominic Artis (9.9 ppg, 3.6 apg) just returned from injury after a nine-game absence.

Colorado was absolutely terrible on the offensive end of the floor against California. The Buffaloes registered just 15 field goals and shot 23.1 percent from the field in the 16-point setback. Xavier Johnson scored 14 points as the only scorer in double figures.

The Buffaloes are also a team with a lot of varied production from the starting five. Colorado is led by Spencer Dinwiddie (15.2 ppg, 3.0 apg), who has been the leading scorer for the team this season. The 6-foot-5 guard had a really tough time against California as he managed just nine points on 2-of-15 shooting. Andre Roberson (10.8 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 2.2 spg) is one of the best defenders in the country as well as the nation's best rebounder. Askia Booker (12.8 ppg) has scoring ability but has shot just 37.2 percent from the floor this season and has netted double figures just twice in the last eight games. Josh Scott (11.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg) had a game-high 14 rebounds against California in his return to the rotation after missing two games with a concussion.