Colorado's 60-56 loss to Oregon Thursday night read much like the Buffs' last trip to Matthew Knight Arena just over a calendar year ago.

On Feb. 13 of last year, the Buffs were up by nine at halftime but committed 18 turnovers and the Ducks rallied to win it, 68-60.

Tonight in Eugene, Colorado (16-7, 10-6 Pac-12) led by five at the halfway point but fell, 60-56, largely due to 17 turnovers committed.

With three games remaining before the Pac-12 Tournament, the Buffs find themselves on a two-game losing streak for the first time this year heading into Saturday, CU's final road game of the regular season, against Oregon State.

D'Shawn Schwartz's postgame remarks offer a glimpse into the thoughts of Colorado's leaders as the team prepares for three critical games, starting with the Beavers.

Schwartz, who turned in the Buffs's most effective performance, notching a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds, made note of the position Colorado found itself in at the end of last year while highlighting the importance of leaving Corvallis this Saturday with a win.

"It's a must-win x3," he said. "At this point in the year, we remember hat happened last year and we've got to make sure that doesn't happen again. We can do that starting on Saturday if we come out with energy, effort, (if) we guard and play (a full) 40 minutes."

Schwartz of course refers to the catastrophic end-of-season collapse that saw CU drop its final five regular season games before getting smoked by Wazzu in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament.

Given the team's recent performances, it would be impossible for the thought of a second consecutive collapse at the tail end of the season to not be somewhere in the minds of the players who went through it around this time last year.

For the Buffs, who remain winless in Eugene since 2013, the turnovers and a forgettable display of shooting negated the impressive feat of holding the Ducks to a season-low 60 points in their own building.

What's more, Colorado held a commanding edge on the boards, outrebounding the Ducks, 43-29.

"I thought we could take some good things out of it," Tad Boyle said after the game. "We're never going to be satisfied with a loss, that's for damn sure, but we've got to regroup and come out with that kind of fight on Saturday."

While a Pac-12 title is largely out of reach for the Buffaloes at this point, a top four finish to the regular season and first-round bye in the conference tournament is not.

There is still very much left to play for as the final three games of the year come around but still, in Thursday's loss at Oregon, Colorado once more dropped a game due to self-inflicted wounds.

For a team that entered this season with an underachieving reputation dating back to last year, these kinds of losses continually prove to be tough.

"This is one we felt like we could have won but we didn't," Boyle said. "Oregon deserved it. They made plays down the stretch and we didn't."

"Onward to the next game" has been a familiar refrain for Colorado so far this year following disappointing losses, of which there have been many in 2020-2021, but as the team braces for the Beavers Saturday evening, that mentality will need to be fully adhered to leading up to then.

Losing to Oregon left coaches, players and fans alike disappointed.

But there's still three opportunities to stop the bleeding and roll into the postseason with some momentum. That first opportunity comes in less that 48 hours in Corvallis.

"We're going to get Oregon State's best shot — there's no question in my mind," Boyle said. "They're going to be loaded for bear. They're playing well right now, so we better get our hardhats on."