The University of Oregon was a Final Four team last season, but it’s a bit of a rebuilding year in Eugene for Coach Dana Altman. His Ducks are 1-2 in the Pac-12 and are solid NCAAB betting underdogs Thursday night at No. 11 Arizona State, the conference’s biggest surprise so far.
Arizona State is now 13-28 (.317) when trailing at the half under head coach Bobby Hurley after going 12-64 (.157) in the previous five seasons. Holder leads the Pac-12 in scoring (21.4 ppg.) and has three 30-point games.
ASU has won its first eight home games for the first time since the 2013-14 and 2008-09 seasons, also the last two times it made the NCAA Tournament. A win Thursday would give ASU its best home win streak since it won 11 straight on Ned Wulk Court in 2007-08. ASU hasn’t played at home since Dec. 22.
Oregon at Arizona State NCAAB Betting Odds & Expert Pick
When: Thursday, 10 PM ET Where: Wells Fargo Arena, Tempe, Arizona TV: Fox Sports 1 Stream: Fox Sports Go Radio: 750 AM (Oregon) / 98.7 FM (Arizona State) Opening NCAAB Betting Lines: ASU -10Ducks Drop Civil War Decision, 76-64 https://t.co/zZ7CNVYwaJ
— Oregon Men’s Basketball (@OregonMBB) January 6, 2018
Last Season
Oregon was a much better team than ASU last year and to no surprise won both meetings. It was 71-70 in Eugene. Dillon Brooks scored 27 points, including the last 12 of the game. Brooks hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:32 to play for the Ducks, who trailed 60-59. Jordan Bell had 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Ducks. Both Brooks and Bell are now in the NBA. Shannon Evans II led Arizona State with 28 points and Tra Holder had 17. They are both still with ASU. In the Pac-12 Tournament, Oregon rolled 80-57. Brooks scored 22 points, and Tyler Dorsey added 21. Dorsey’s gone now too. Torian Graham had 32 points and made seven 3-pointers, but the rest of the Sun Devils’ starters were a combined 5 for 30 from the floor. Graham is gone now. Arizona State leads the all-time series 42-39.Why Bet on Oregon?
The Ducks (11-5, 1-2) are off a 76-64 loss at Oregon State. Oregon shot just 36.2 percent and allowed OSU 52.8 percent shooting. Paul White scored 16 to lead the Ducks, 13 of those in the first half after entering in reserve. He also had six rebounds and a team-high five assists. Troy Brown Jr. had seven points and a game-high eight rebounds. Rebounding continues to be a benchmark of success for Oregon. The Ducks are 10-1 when outrebounding opponents. The Ducks too often relied on the three-point shot and didn’t match OSU’s intensity on the defensive end. “They just outworked us; there’s no other way to put it,” Altman said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do. … We’re making some of the same mistakes we made in the second, third game of the season. Ball movement, blockouts, poor execution — we just haven’t made the improvement I thought we would.” Led by Pac-12 blocks leader Kenny Wooten (3.1 per game), Oregon is +56 in blocked shots on the season, including a +22 margin over the last six games. Wooten’s 50 blocks already rank seventh on the UO single-season list; he’ll enter the top five with three more blocks. Elijah Brown leads the Pac-12 in free throw percentage (.943) as seven Ducks are shooting 70 percent or better from the free throw line (five at 80 percent or better). Under Altman, Oregon is 133-15 when holding opponents under 70 points, including a 101-7 mark the last six seasons.Team Statistics
Offense:- Average Score For: 81.62
- Field Goals: 46.90%
- Three Points: 36.67%
- Free Throws: 76.97%
- Rebounds: 38.44
- Average Score Against: 70.31
- Field Goals: 39.72%
- Three Points: 32.88%
- Free Throws: 74.35%
- Rebounds: 32.25
Why Bet on Arizona State?
ASU finished a strong non-conference season as college basketball’s final unbeaten team, climbing as high as No. 3 in the AP Top 25. After recent losses to Arizona and Colorado, the Sun Devils (13-2 and 1-2 in the Pac-12) are No. 11 this week. To deal with increased ticket demand, the school recently removed the wall that circled the top of the Wells Fargo Arena, blocking off the highest rows. The decision increases the arena’s capacity by about 4,000 seats to 14,100. The plan is to keep it down for the rest of the season. Arizona State is off an 80-77 win at a good Utah team on Sunday. It and marked the program’s first victory against the Utes in Salt Lake City since 1975. Shannon Evans finished with a game-high 22 points, making five three-pointers and pulling down six rebounds to boot. Three others finished the night in double figures, as point guards Tra Holder and Remy Martin scored 11 points each. The Sun Devils controlled the Utes on the glass (32-25) and finished with more points off turnovers (18-8) and bench points (18-7).
Arizona State is now 13-28 (.317) when trailing at the half under head coach Bobby Hurley after going 12-64 (.157) in the previous five seasons. Holder leads the Pac-12 in scoring (21.4 ppg.) and has three 30-point games.
ASU has won its first eight home games for the first time since the 2013-14 and 2008-09 seasons, also the last two times it made the NCAA Tournament. A win Thursday would give ASU its best home win streak since it won 11 straight on Ned Wulk Court in 2007-08. ASU hasn’t played at home since Dec. 22.
Team Statistics
Offense:- Average Score For: 89.33
- Field Goals: 48.29%
- Three Points: 37.83%
- Free Throws: 74.01%
- Rebounds: 37.73
- Average Score Against: 74.07
- Field Goals: 41.89%
- Three Points: 33.84%
- Free Throws: 70.39%
- Rebounds: 35.27
Latest NCAAB Betting Trends
- Oregon is 3-9 ATS in the last 12 games
- Oregon is 6-2 SU in the last 8 games
- The totalwent UNDER in 4 of Oregon’s last 5 games
- Arizona State is 1-2-3 ATS in the last 6 games
- Arizona State is 13-2 SU in the last 15 games
- The total went UNDER in 4 of Arizona State’s last 6 games
