Ducks Face Another Test in No. 3 Colorado

EUGENE, Ore. — The Oregon women's basketball team faces its second straight ranked opponent Sunday, as the Ducks match up with third-ranked Colorado at Matthew Knight Arena at 12 p.m. PT on Pac-12 Oregon.

GAME #22
Oregon (11-10, 2-6) vs. No. 3 Colorado (16-3, 6-2)
Sunday, Jan. 28 | 12 p.m. PT | Matthew Knight Arena (Eugene, Ore.)
TV: Pac-12 Oregon
Play-by-play: Rich Burk | Analyst: Jennifer Mountain
Radio: Oregon Sports Network (Eugene: KUGN 98.1 | Portland: KPAM 860 AM)
Play-by-play: Chris Clayton | Analyst: Bev Smith
Listen Online | Live Stats

AT A GLANCE
Oregon continues a three-game homestand at Matthew Knight Arena Sunday against No. 3 Colorado. Including Friday's game against No. 16 Utah, the Ducks are in the midst of seven straight games against teams currently ranked in the Associated Press top-25 poll.

The Ducks saw their six-game home winning streak snapped Friday in a 58-48 loss to the Utes, and look to improve their record at Matthew Knight Arena to 9-2.

Oregon leads the all-time series with the Buffaloes 19-10, with a 9-3 mark in Eugene. The Buffs claimed the only meeting between the teams a season ago, a 63-53 win at Matthew Knight Arena.

LAST TIME OUT
The Ducks' upset bid of 16th-ranked Utah fell short Friday, as the Utes were able to pull away late despite UO leading for nearly 25 minutes of game time.

Oregon scored the game's first eight points and took a 29-21 lead into halftime. Utah outscored UO 22-7 in the third quarter, including a 12-0 run to take its first lead.

Phillipina Kyei paced the Ducks with her 19-point, 16-rebound double-double to go with two assists. Chance Gray added 18 points, as the duo accounted for 37 of Oregon's 48 points.

Oregon held the potent Utah offense 28 points below its season average of 86.0, as the Utes' 58 points equaled their season low. Additionally, UU shot a season-low 35 percent from the floor.

a win would...
» Be Oregon's seventh win in the last ninth game against Colorado, and 10th in the last 13 games overall.
» Give UO a 20-110lead in the all-time series with the Buffaloes and a 10-3 home record (7-3 at Matthew Knight Arena).
» Extend the Ducks' home winning streak to seven games and improve their home record to 9-1.
» Improve head coach Kelly Graves' record against Colorado to 10-4.
» Give UO its first ranked win of the season and snap its five-game losing streak to ranked teams.
» Be Oregon's 46th ranked win in the Graves era and first against a top-five team since Feb. 25, 2020 over No. 4 Stanford.

SCOUTING COLORADO
Colorado (16-3, 6-2) has matched its highest ranking of the season, entering Sunday's game at No. 3 in the nation. The Buffaloes have won 10 of their last 12 games after suffering a 68-62 loss at 25th-ranked Oregon State on Friday. The Buffaloes only loss in that span coming against fifth-ranked UCLA, while they have four top-25 wins this season.

CU's roster features four players averaging double-digit points, led by Jaylyn Sherrod's 14.4 a game. She is joined by Aaronette Vonleh (14.3), Frida Formann (13.3) and Quay Miller (10.3). Miller leads the Buffaloes with 7.6 rebounds a game while Vonleh is shooting 61.1 percent from the floor.

As a team, Colorado is second in the Pac-12 in field goal percentage (47.8), assists per game (19.0), steals per game (10.7) and turnovers forced per game (18.2).

Formann is the league leader with 50 made 3-pointers and 2.6 made 3-pointers per game while ranking second in 3-point percentage at 42.0. Vonleh is No. 4 in the conference with her 61.1 field goal percentage.

INSIDE THE SERIES
In a series that dates back to 1981, Oregon holds a 19-10 lead in the all-time series with Colorado. The Ducks are 9-3 at home all-time against the Buffaloes, with a 6-3 mark at Matthew Knight Arena after CU earned a 63-53 victory in the only meeting a season ago. Oregon has claimed six of the last eight meetings and nine of the last 12 overall, and has won five of the last six in Eugene. Head coach Kelly Graves is 9-4 against the Buffs in his Oregon career and since Colorado joined the Pac-12 in 2011-12, Oregon is 11-7 in the series.

In last season's only meeting, the Ducks got 15 points and six rebounds from Grace VanSlooten. Colorado was led by Aaronette Vonleh's 22 points and eight rebounds. The Ducks shot a combined 0-for-16 from the 3-point line and 36 percent from the floor overall while CU shot 44 percent from the field and 28 percent from three. Sunday's game will mark the first time UO has faced a ranked Colorado team since the 2012-13 season and the first time facing a top-five Buffaloes squad since the 1994 NCAA Tournament.

OREGON vs. RANKED TEAMS
No. 3 Colorado is the second straight and sixth top-25 team Oregon will face this season - and fifth in the Ducks' last nine games after facing 16th-ranked Utah on Friday night. UO is 0-5 against top-25 teams this season with an average scoring margin of minus-19 points. The Buffaloes will be the third top-10 opponent UO will meet this season and second in the top five (No. 2 UCLA). Oregon is 8-49 all-time against top-five teams, with the last victory coming at No. 4 Stanford on Feb. 24, 2020 and the last top-five win at home coming against No. 3 Stanford on Jan. 16, 2020 (87-55).

Last season, Oregon went 2-8 against the nation's top 25, picking up wins over No. 17 Arkansas (85-78) and No. 14 Arizona (73-59. In Graves' tenure, the Ducks have piled up 45 ranked wins over his previous nine seasons. The Ducks are 42-72 all-time at home against ranked teams and 20-27 at Matthew Knight Arena. Oregon is in the midst of seven games against teams currently ranked in the Associated Press top-25 poll.