Arizona at Oregon State Odds, Free Pick & TV Info

There’s no longer a question as to whether Arizona is a national championship contender – no Pac-12 team has won it all since the Wildcats in 1997. They are up to No. 5 in the polls and should win easily at Oregon State on Thursday night unless Arizona is peeking ahead to a huge game at No. 13 Oregon this weekend. The Beavers will be large underdogs on NCAA basketball odds.

Arizona at Oregon State Odds, Free Pick & TV Info

When: Thursday, Feb. 2, 9 PM ET Where: Gill Coliseum, Corvallis, Oregon TV: ESPN2 Opening NCAA Basketball Lines: Arizona favored by TBA

Why Bet On Arizona?

The 20-2 Wildcats have won 14 straight, the third-longest active winning streak in the nation behind Gonzaga (22) and New Mexico State (18). Allonzo Trier’s return changes things dramatically for the Wildcats and all of the Pac-12, turning a team that had done awfully well without its star player into a very dangerous one as the season hits the accelerator. But this Arizona team is a bit of a Sean Miller outlier. Why? The offense is better than the defense. Specifically, their interior post defense leaves a bit to be desired. Freshman Lauri Markkanen has been sensational offensively and improving defensively, but he’s still a work in progress. Arizona ranks just 77th in defensive rebounding efficiency per KenPom. The Cats are off a 77-66 home win over Washington on Sunday. Kadeem Allen scored 14 points to lead five Arizona players in double figures and the Wildcats wore down Washington to stay alone at the top of the Pac-12 standings. Kobi Simmons added 13 points, and Trier, Dusan Ristic and Markkanen had 12 apiece. Arizona was sluggish early against Washington’s aggressive zone defense and the Huskies led 33-31 at the break. Arizona finally took its first lead since 4-2 on Allen’s driving layup that put the Wildcats up 40- 39 with 16:57 to play. UA methodically pushed it from there. Markkanen, the reigning Pac-12 player of the week who was having a rough afternoon up to that point, sank a 3-pointer that made it 57-49. Trier scored the next four points on two free throws and a driving layup and the Wildcats led 61-49 with 7:33 to go. Oregon State and Arizona meet for the 82nd time with the Wildcats holding a 60-21 advantage, including a 22-15 edge in games played in Corvallis.

Why Bet On Oregon State?

The Beavers are easily the worst team in the conference at 4-18 overall and 0-9 in Pac-12 play. OSU is off an 86-78 loss to Utah. Stephen Thompson Jr. scored a career-high 30 points in the loss. The Beavers trailed 75-47 with 8:05 to play but mounted a furious rally, outscoring the Utes 23-3 to cut the deficit to 78-70. They got as close as 84-78 before Utah made two late free throws for the final margin. Thompson Jr. scored 22 of his 30 points in the second half. He went 8-for- 18 from the field, including 3-for-8 from deep, and 11-for- 13 from the free throw line to post a career high in points for the second straight game. JaQuori McLaughlin had a solid all-around game for the Beavers, scoring 22 points on 7- for-10 shooting from the field and 4-of- 6 from beyond the arc. He added six assists, four rebounds and a career-high four steals. The Beavers defeated Arizona the last time the teams played in Corvallis, 58-56, on Jan. 11, 2015 when the Wildcats were ranked No. 7 in the nation. It was their first win over a Top 10 team since March 2,2000 (70-69 over No. 3 Arizona). Oregon State has defeated the Wildcats six times, all at Gill Coliseum, when Arizona was ranked in the Top 25. Oregon State’s last win over a Top 5 team came on March 2, 2000 when Deaundra Tanner hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer in overtime to upset No. 3 Arizona, 70-69. Oregon State will play two Top 5 teams (No. 2 UCLA, No. 5 Arizona) at home in a season for the first time since 1999-00 (No. 3 Stanford, No. 3 Arizona). In the last two games, the Beavers have averaged 78.0 points, while shooting 52.4 percent from the field; in the first seven Pac-12 games, they averaged 56.6 points, while shooting 39.7 percent from the field. Thompson Jr. is third in the Pac-12 in scoring in conference games (19.3). McLaughlin needs six more 3-pointers to break the Oregon State freshman record of 48 set last season by Thompson Jr.

Arizona at Oregon State Free Pick: Arizona Cardinals

This will be a huge spread and I’d take the points – Arizona will take this game for granted.