Major offensive deficiencies in the first lead to Oregon trailing 40-17 at halftime. Fewest points scored by Ducks in first half this season.

Troubles came early and often for the Ducks to begin play Saturday night. Looking to complete the two-game sweep on the road in Boulder, Colorado, Oregon might as well have shot themselves in the foot to open the first half.

Colorado’s activity on defense created turnovers and transition opportunities on the offensive end. Fast-forward roughly seven minutes later and Oregon’s inability to produce anything on offense puts them on the wrong side of a 22-3 run led by the Buffalo’s Tyler Bey.

Oregon’s disfunction made it impossible for them to set up their press, Dana Altman’s sole response this season for an offense that struggles to find a rhythm. And in common-like fashion that Ducks fans have come to expect from this group, Oregon went into halftime trailing. This time by 23 (40-17).

The 17 points in the first for the Ducks is the fewest points scored in a half yet this season. It looked like Altman may have found an answer to Oregon’s problem scoring, inserting Will Richardson into the starting lineup against Utah, but that wasn’t the case in Boulder.

The only thing colder than the polar vortex that swept through the US was Oregon’s shooting Saturday night. In the first half the Ducks were 6-29 FG (20.7%) and 1-12 3PT (8.3%). Colorado’s Bey entered the half with 18 PTS outscoring Oregon’s entire roster in the first.

Again and again this young group has banded together to make some kind of an attempt at a comeback, but Colorado had Oregon’s number and shot them down before they could ever really take flight. The Buffalo’s defense wreaked havoc creating turnovers and the Ducks had no answer offensively, or defensively. Colorado’s Bey ended his night with 27 points.

Struggling to begin games has possibly been Oregon’s single greatest crutch this season, finding themselves trying to dig their way out of an early deficit time-and-time again. This game however proved to be too much for the Ducks to handle.

Oregon (13-9) drops to 4-5 in the conference after falling to Colorado, 73-51. If there is still any glimmer of hope for the Ducks to make it to the big dance, it wont come during this last stretch of conference games to close out the regular season.

It would be in poor taste to not include the few highlights Oregon was able to produce, so here’s your weekly dose of Kenny Wooten Jr, well, being Kenny.

Take-aways from the game:

• First half struggles ended the game by halftime.
• O points off turnovers in first half.
• 1-12 3PT shooting in first half. 4-25 (16%) from beyond the three-point line all game.
• Without any kind of offensive efficiency Oregon was never able to get into a rhythm and set up the press, Oregon’s only answer to teams with an above average offense.
• What happened to Paul White?
• Ducks 4-5 in conference play.
• Cold shooting on everybody’s part. They seem to have things together one night and completely fall apart the next.
• Fast-break points over the entire game: 2
• Total assists as a team: 6
• Out-rebounded 45-32.
• 11-18 (61.1%) from the strip

Oregon

*Payton Pritchard: (37 MIN) 10 PTS / 3 REB / 3 AST 3-8 FG / 2-6 3PT

*Francis Okoro: (15 MIN) 0 PTS / 2 REB / 0 AST 0-2 FG

*Louis King: (29 MIN) 12 PTS / 8 REB / 0 AST 5-13 FG / 0-5 3PT

*Paul White: (3 MIN) 3 PTS / 1 REB / 1 AST 1-5 FG / 1-4 3PT

*Will Richardson: (33 MIN) 8 PTS / 4 REB / 1 AST 2-8 FG / 0-1 3PT

Kenny Wooten Jr.: (24 MIN) 7 PTS / 2 REB / 1 AST 3-4 FG

Victor Bailey Jr.: (14 MIN) 6 PTS / 2 REB / 0 AST 2-9 FG / 0-4 3PT

Miles Norris: (14 MIN) 2 PTS / 1 REB / 0 AST 1-2 FG / 0-1 3PT

Ehab Amin: (19 MIN) 3 PTS / 2 REB / 0 AST 1-7 FG / 1-4 3PT

Colorado

*Lucas Siewert (31 MIN) 10 PTS / 6 REB / 0 AST 4-6 FG / 1-3 3PT

*Shane Gatling (31 MIN) 9 PTS / 4 REB / 2 AST 3-13 FG / 1-8 3PT

*D’Shawn Schwartz (28 MIN) 5 PTS / 3 REB / 1 AST 2-7 FG / 0-5 3PT

*Tyler Bey (27 MIN) 27 PTS / 9 REB / 1 AST 9-9 FG

*McKinley Wright IV (24 MIN) 9 PTS / 6 REB / 2 AST 2-6 FG / 1-3 3PT

Evan Battey (19 MIN) 2 PTS / 3 REB / 0 AST 0-3 FG

Eli Parquet (15 MIN) 0 PTS / 5 REB / 1 AST 0-2 FG / 0-1 3PT

Daylen Kountz (23 MIN) 11 PTS / 1 REB / 1 AST 3-7 FG

Alexander Stratling (3 MIN) 0 PTS / 1 REB / 0 AST 0-0 FG

Set to return home after the short two-game road trip, Oregon hosts (5-15) California on Wednesday. Cal sits at the bottom of the conference at 0-8 coming into Wednesday’s contest. Oregon will be looking to return to .500 in the conference against the Golden Bears. Tip-off is 8:30 p.m.

Follow Colt Johnson on Twitter @Barefoot_Sensei