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This is the hottest team in the PAC-12 that is riding a six-game winning streak, four of those wins coming against teams in conference. This would be a huge win for Oregon over the first place team in the PAC-12 Conference.
Wins - Houston Baptist, Cal Poly, UTEP, Iowa State, Georgia Southern, @ Connecticut, Utah Valley, Montana, UC Davis, Colorado, Utah, @ California, @ Stanford
Losses - #3 Gonzaga, #8 Auburn, @ Alabama, Baylor
KenPom Ranking - #49
Game Time:
Oregon (10-6, 1-2) @ Arizona (11-4, 4-0) 9:00 PM ET, ESPN on Thursday, January 17th
Key Numbers:
- 74.8 Points Per Game
- 34.7 Rebounds Per Game
- 12.6 Assists Per Game
- 5.1 Steals Per Game
- 2.7 Blocks Per Game
- 66.1 Points Allowed Per Game
- 45.6 Field Goal Percentage
Player to Watch For:
Brandon Williams, Freshman - 11.5 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 3.8 APG
Williams is a 6’1 guard and was ranked #39 in the 2018 ESPN100. He is extremely quick and loves to push the tempo which seems to be working for Sean Miller and the Arizona Wildcats. If you want a win coming out of Tucson, you got to slow him down.
Score Prediction: 65-58, Wildcats over Ducks
This should be a low scoring game as both Oregon and Arizona are Top 60 in points allowed per game. Wildcats are playing really good basketball lately so they get the nod in this one.
If their was one team in the weak PAC-12 that could get an at-large bid, it would be the Sun Devils. They have to finish strong in conference play for that to happen. ASU is already off to a rough start with bad losses to Utah and Stanford but I’m sure Bobby Hurley has got some tricks up his sleeve to turn this season around.
Wins - Cal State Fullerton, McNeese State, Long Beach State, #15 Mississippi State, Utah State, Omaha, Texas Southern, @ Georgia, #1 Kansas, Colorado, @ California
Losses - #6 Nevada, @ Vanderbilt, Princeton, Utah, @ Stanford
KenPom Ranking - #63
Game Time:
Oregon (10-6, 1-2) @ Arizona State (11-5, 2-2) 10:30 PM ET, PAC12 on Saturday, January 19th
Key Numbers:
- 79.8 Points Per Game
- 42.6 Rebounds Per Game (Ranked 9th in the Nation)
- 13.9 Assists Per Game
- 6.3 Steals Per Game
- 3.4 Blocks Per Game
- 73.3 Points Allowed Per Game
- 44.3 Field Goal Percentage
Player to Watch For:
Remy Martin, Sophomore - 12.6 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 4.1 APG, 1.3 SPG
Another quick point guard who can be very pesky with his on-ball defense so he should cause a lot of issues with Pritchard, Richardson, Amin, and Bailey Jr.
Score Prediction: 77-71, Ducks over Sun Devils
I see the Ducks getting at least one win coming out of this road trip. Similar to getting a win over Brandon Williams and the Arizona Wildcats, the Ducks must slow down Remy Martin if they want a win against the Arizona State Sun Devils.
*Arden Cravalho is a senior at Gonzaga University... Follow him on Twitter @a_cravalho