Dana Altman calls lack of fouls against N'Faly Dante vs. Colorado 'embarrassing'

As Oregon and Colorado battled it out Thursday night, N’Faly Dante played a key role in keeping the Ducks in the game. He made every shot he took from the field as Oregon fell 79-75 in a back-and-forth affair.

However, Dana Altman thought there were times the officials could’ve called a foul on Colorado. He noticed the Buffaloes pushing Dante throughout the game, and he had to fight through it as part of his 20-point, 12-rebound performance.

“I hate it for Dante,” Altman said. “He played so hard, he played so well. Again, I’m gonna say it, they push on him all night. It’s embarrassing what he has to endure. They have two hands on his back, pushing on him. Those things are part of the game. He played a great 36 minutes, we rested him four. You can see on the plus-minus, when he was in there, we were plus-7. So he had pretty good minutes.”

Dante went a perfect 10-for-10 from the field while putting together a complete performance against Colorado. In addition to his 12 rebounds, he also added five blocks, four assists and three steals to keep Oregon in the game. Ultimately, it wasn’t enough as the Buffaloes held on to get their 21st victory of the year and their 12th in Pac-12 play.

Dana Altman on Oregon’s defense vs. Colorado: ‘Just gave them baskets’

Colorado’s offense was firing on all cylinders as the Buffs shot 55.2%, including an 8-for-17 showing from three-point territory. Altman said Oregon had some lapses on defense that helped open the door for CU’s big night, and he voiced his frustration afterward.

“We made so many defensive mistakes for — what is today, March 10th? Whatever the hell it is,” Altman said, via ScoopDuck’s Jarrid Denney. “Just, gave them baskets. We had seven turnovers and they had 13 points on them. Just layups. … Just made a lot of defensive mistakes. Especially in the second half.”

As for the Ducks, they fell to 19-11 overall and 11-8 in conference play heading into Sunday’s regular-season finale against Utah. That will set the table for the Pac-12 Tournament next week in Las Vegas. Oregon will be the No. 4 seed in the field, meaning the Ducks will play their first tournament game against the No. 5 seed. Utah and UCLA sit tied for that spot, and the Utes hold the tiebreaker – adding to the stakes of Sunday’s matchup.