Yes, North Carolina visits Duke on Thursday night. While that might be the most hyped game on the schedule, it’s not the best one. No that honor goes to the huge Pac-12 showdown between No. 5 Oregon and No. 10 UCLA. The Bruins are looking for payback and will be slight home favorites in college basketball odds.
When: Thursday, Feb. 9, 10 PM ET
Where: Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles
TV: ESPN
Stream: WatchESPN
Radio: Oregon / UCLA
Opening NCAAB Lines: UCLA favored TBA
Dorsey finished with 23 points on 7-of- 9 shooting, including all six three-point attempts. Dillon Brooks added 18 points on 7-of- 10 shooting, and added five rebounds with three assists and three steals. Benson made 3-of- 5 three-pointers for 13 points, and Chris Boucher added 12 points. Jordan Bell had six points, six rebounds, six assists and three blocked shots.
As a team the Ducks finished 16-of- 25 from three-point range (.640), setting an arena record. That came against (what had been) the best 3-point defense in the Pac-12 (Arizona had allowed just 29.4 percent from range before Saturday). Oregon was 30-of- 46 overall (.652), with 26 assists on the 30 field goals. The 27-point margin of victory was Oregon’s largest ever against a top-10 team; the previous was 13 versus No. 1 UCLA (78-65) on Feb. 21, 1970.
The Ducks parlayed the win over the Wildcats into a top-five ranking of their own, for the first time since mid-November. Oregon was preseason No. 5 in the AP poll before rising to No. 4 after the opening week of the season, the highest ranking in school history. Monday’s appearance in the poll marked the 22nd straight AP top 25 in which the Ducks have been ranked, a new program record.
Also Monday, Brooks was named Pac-12 player of the week for the second time this season, and the third time in his career. Brooks had 27 points in Thursday’s win over Arizona State – including the last 12 of the game for the Ducks in a 71-70 thriller – before filling it up against Arizona.
UCLA has scored at least 100 points in two Pac-12 road games this season … prior to the Bruins’ 104-89 win at Colorado on Jan. 12, 2017, UCLA had not recorded 100 or more points in a conference road contest since Feb. 23, 1995 (at California, UCLA won that game, 104-88). UCLA leads the nation in assists per game (22.0), total assists (528), assist turnover ratio (1.8) and overall field goal percentage (53.5) and was third in three-point percentage (42.4).
This will mark the second regular-season meeting between UCLA and Oregon. The Bruins absorbed an 89-87 loss to Oregon to open Pac-12 play on Dec. 28, snapping UCLA’s season-opening 13-game win streak. Oregon’s Brooks nailed a three-pointer with 0.8 seconds to play in regulation.
Oregon at UCLA Odds, Prediction & TV Info
When: Thursday, Feb. 9, 10 PM ET
Where: Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles
TV: ESPN
Stream: WatchESPN
Radio: Oregon / UCLA
Opening NCAAB Lines: UCLA favored TBA
Why Bet On Oregon?
The Ducks (21-3, 10-1 Pac-12) are tied for the Pac-12 lead with Arizona and come off an 85-58 blowout of those former No. 5 Wildcats on Saturday. Oregon made a Matthew Knight Arena record 16 three-pointers on its first 21 attempts. The Ducks blew open the game early in the first half. Tyler Dorsey made three three-pointers in four possessions for an early 19-6 lead, and later Dorsey made the last of five three-pointers in five straight UO possessions — three by Casey Benson — to push the lead to 36-11. By that point the Ducks had 10 made three-pointers, while the Wildcats had 11 total points.Dorsey finished with 23 points on 7-of- 9 shooting, including all six three-point attempts. Dillon Brooks added 18 points on 7-of- 10 shooting, and added five rebounds with three assists and three steals. Benson made 3-of- 5 three-pointers for 13 points, and Chris Boucher added 12 points. Jordan Bell had six points, six rebounds, six assists and three blocked shots.
As a team the Ducks finished 16-of- 25 from three-point range (.640), setting an arena record. That came against (what had been) the best 3-point defense in the Pac-12 (Arizona had allowed just 29.4 percent from range before Saturday). Oregon was 30-of- 46 overall (.652), with 26 assists on the 30 field goals. The 27-point margin of victory was Oregon’s largest ever against a top-10 team; the previous was 13 versus No. 1 UCLA (78-65) on Feb. 21, 1970.
The Ducks parlayed the win over the Wildcats into a top-five ranking of their own, for the first time since mid-November. Oregon was preseason No. 5 in the AP poll before rising to No. 4 after the opening week of the season, the highest ranking in school history. Monday’s appearance in the poll marked the 22nd straight AP top 25 in which the Ducks have been ranked, a new program record.
Also Monday, Brooks was named Pac-12 player of the week for the second time this season, and the third time in his career. Brooks had 27 points in Thursday’s win over Arizona State – including the last 12 of the game for the Ducks in a 71-70 thriller – before filling it up against Arizona.
Why Bet On UCLA?
The Bruins won 107-66 at Washington on Saturday. Freshman Lonzo Ball scored a team-leading 22 points. He also recorded six rebounds and five assists in the Bruins’ 41-point victory. He was one of four Bruins to score at least 20 points. Bryce Alford had 21 points, and TJ Leaf and Aaron Holiday each totaled 20. The Bruins opened Saturday night’s game on an 18-4 scoring run and never saw its first-half cushion fall to any fewer than nine points. UCLA entered the locker room at halftime having built a 52-34 cushion. UCLA (21-3, 8-3 Pac-12) logged its second-largest margin of victory at Washington in program history. In addition, the Bruins scored at least 107 points in a Pac-12 road contest for the first time since Dec. 23, 1987, a game in which UCLA lost in double overtime at Stanford, 116-110. UCLA secured its first road sweep at Washington State and Washington in its last 12 trips to those Pac-12 schools. The last sweep took place in 2004. The Bruins earned a 95-79 win at Washington State on Wednesday, Feb. 1.UCLA has scored at least 100 points in two Pac-12 road games this season … prior to the Bruins’ 104-89 win at Colorado on Jan. 12, 2017, UCLA had not recorded 100 or more points in a conference road contest since Feb. 23, 1995 (at California, UCLA won that game, 104-88). UCLA leads the nation in assists per game (22.0), total assists (528), assist turnover ratio (1.8) and overall field goal percentage (53.5) and was third in three-point percentage (42.4).
This will mark the second regular-season meeting between UCLA and Oregon. The Bruins absorbed an 89-87 loss to Oregon to open Pac-12 play on Dec. 28, snapping UCLA’s season-opening 13-game win streak. Oregon’s Brooks nailed a three-pointer with 0.8 seconds to play in regulation.
