10:15 pm
February 24

#14 Arizona @ Oregon

Who will WIN this matchup?

#14 Arizona Wildcats (22-6)

@ Oregon Ducks (18-10)

 

Current odds:

Arizona Wildcats: (+170)

Oregon Ducks: (-200)

 

• The line for this game is Oregon by 4.5 points.

• Arizona can clinch its fourth Pac-12 regular-season title in the past five seasons if the No. 14 Wildcats can defeat Oregon on Saturday night in Eugene, or if USC loses earlier in the day at Utah. Arizona will likely be without second-leading scorer Allonzo Trier, who was declared ineligible by the NCAA on Thursday for testing positive for a banned substance. The Wildcats struggled without Trier on Thursday at 10th-place Oregon State, needing two free throws by Rawle Alkins with 14 seconds left in regulation to push the game to overtime, where they finally pulled away for a 75-65 victory.

•  Oregon got a much-needed win against No. 25 Arizona State on Thursday, and that should give the Ducks added confidence against the Wildcats, who beat Oregon 90-83 behind 25 points from Trier on Jan. 13. The Ducks enter the weekend tied for sixth in the conference with Washington, and they can leapfrog a few more teams with a strong finish against Arizona and at Washington State and Washington next week. The Ducks haven’t finished lower than third in the Pac-12 since finishing seventh in 2010-11, when it was still the Pac-10.

• Elijah Brown had the type of game for the Ducks on Thursday night that he routinely delivered the past two seasons at New Mexico, scoring 19 points on 8-for-12 shooting and grabbing a season-high seven rebounds while helping to hold Arizona State leading scorer Tra Holder to zero points. Brown starts alongside point guard Payton Pritchard, who averages a team-high 14.6 points, but has had similar up-and-down performances as Brown this season. If they can fire on the same cylinders in March, the Ducks should make a deep run in the conference tournament and help their case for a sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament bid.

• The Ducks need to win two of their final three games for their eighth consecutive 20-win season.

• Pritchard and forward MiKyle McIntosh are the only Oregon players to start every game this season.

• Arizona forward Dusan Ristic will become the winningest player in program history (111) with the next victory by the Wildcats.

6/10
Confidence
StreakSmarter Pick
Oregon Ducks
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