Three takeaways from Oregon's home loss to Colorado

The Oregon Ducks came up just short of the Colorado Buffaloes, led by Tristian da Silva, battling to the end in a 79-75 loss.

Oregon started out hot, but when it came down to it, the Ducks were unable to execute on the defensive end and capitalize on the Buffs’ mistakes. Despite Cody Williams being out, and two 20-plus point performances from N’Faly Dante and Jackson Shelstad, the Ducks still fell flat. Here are three takeaways from tonight’s top performers.

Dante’s dominance

Dante played one of his more active and well-rounded games this season. His legs looked as fresh as they’ve been all year long, as he seemed to get up and down the floor with ease. He was perfect from the floor tonight, shooting 10-for-10, which included a “grenade” ball jump shot that he hit from the right nail with the shot clock expiring. He finished the game with a double-double, 20 points,12 boards, four assists and five blocks. Multiple of those blocks were empathic volleyball spikes into the crowd.

Head coach Dana Altman had a hard time taking him off the floor, as he played a team-high 36 minutes along with Jackson Shelstad. Despite the loss, he was needed for all of those minutes, as the Ducks desperately needed his size on the boards where they were outrebounded 36-24. 

With Oregon’s at-large NCAA tournament hopes long gone, its only hope at a tournament berth is through standing atop the Pac-12 tournament, a conference that is loaded with talented big men. Dante seems to be peaking at the right time if the Ducks will have any chance at winning in Vegas next weekend. 

Colorado’s da Silva looks NBA-ready

Without his running mate tonight, Cody Williams, who is respectively viewed as a top-five NBA draft pick in this year’s draft, the impressive senior Tristian da Silva was able to showcase his skills on the court.

The 6-foot-9-inch forward from Germany was able to flex all aspects of his game vs the Ducks. He had 22 points on 9-of-17 shooting, to go along with 3–of-6 from 3. His ability to get his shot off at his size makes him a threat from anywhere on the floor. Pair that with his guard-like handle and floor vision, da Silva will make for a talented, plug-and-play player for any NBA team. 

Defensively he is a force as well. Given his size, he is capable of guarding up on other forwards and even select centers at times. But maybe more impressively, he showed that he has the quickness and agility to stay in front of smaller, quicker guards.

Da Silva proved to us tonight that he was the best player on the floor, and is undoubtedly ready for the next level.

Shelstad’s shaky surge

Oregon’s freshman point guard had a team-high 23 points Thursday night, along with three three-pointers. However, despite his offensive production, he continued to remind us that he is a freshman. One of Shelstad’s greatest weapons is his speed, but it can often be one of his largest faults. 

You can tell when he is dialed in. He reads the floor better than anyone on the team, and is capable of making the right basketball play, while also taking calculated risks. Tonight was one of those nights where he looked rushed. He had four turnovers, most of which felt forced due to his too-quick play. 

One thing every basketball player is taught is to never leave your feet with the ball unless you’re going up into a shooting motion. This is because you become vulnerable to turn the ball over as soon as you leave the floor, and that Shelstad did. 

Rightfully so, he will get credit for leading his team in scoring, but it was hard not to notice that he didn’t play his best overall game. Sometimes, players’ scoring and shooting ability can mask their overall play, and tonight I felt that was the case with Shelstad. 

Forward look

The Utah Utes come to town on Saturday afternoon for what will be the last home game of the regular season for the Ducks. It will be senior night, meaning it will be the last home game for a number of guys, barring a home game in a potential NIT tournament berth. Dante will certainly receive his flowers, but as he always says, he wants to win the game first, then let the emotions of the game come after. Oregon will look to cap off their regular season with a W in the win column and have some sort of momentum heading into the Pac-12 tournament.