Oregon @ Washington St. preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 13, 2019 ) Washington St. 51, Oregon 84

Oregon is beginning its third week of conference play but still has plenty of question marks heading into Thursday’s visit to Washington State. Coach Dana Altman continues to tinker with the starting lineup for the eighth-ranked Ducks, who have won three in a row since losing their Pac-12 opener to Colorado.

Senior point guard Payton Pritchard made six 3-pointers and finished with 29 points in last Saturday’s 78-69 win over Arizona State, but Altman is looking for more consistency from the rest of his squad. “We haven’t come up with a rotation or defined roles, and we need to here sooner or later,” Altman told reporters. “It’s still a work in progress in practice trying to figure out who’s going to bring it every day. We haven’t been able to spread the floor quite as much as we typically have because we haven’t been getting any shooting from the bigs.” Freshman forward C.J. Walker has missed the last three games due a sore back but could return to face the Cougars, who have lost three of four to open conference play. Sophomore forward CJ Elleby averages 18.4 points to lead a Washington State team that is shooting 39.7 percent from the field and 29.6 percent from beyond the arc.

TV: 9 p.m. ET. TV: Fox Sports 1

ABOUT OREGON (14-3, 3-1 Pac-12): Pritchard moved up to 10th on Oregon’s career scoring list with 1,630 points in Saturday’s victory and is averaging 19.2 points, 5.9 assists and 4.5 rebounds. "He controls the game,” Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley told reporters. “Even when he's got the slightest of an angle, he can get by you. He’s so crafty and then he’s a threat from so far away he creates a lot of problems.” Altman’s strong backcourt also includes junior college transfer Chris Duarte, who is averaging 14.7 points over his last 12 games and recorded 20 points and six rebounds in the win over the Sun Devils.

ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE (10-7, 1-3): The Cougars lost to Stanford for a seventh straight time last Saturday despite a strong outing from guard Isaac Bonton, who reached double figures in scoring for the sixth consecutive game with 15 points. Forward Jeff Pollard added eight points and 10 rebounds in the 88-62 loss while reserve forward Daron Henson scored a season-high 12 points on four 3-pointers in 21 minutes off the bench. Henson saw extra playing time in place of Tony Miller, who missed the contest due to an ankle injury.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Oregon has won the last four meetings against Washington State and owns a 172-125 lead in the all-time series.

2. Washington State began the week ranked 12th nationally in turnover margin at plus-5.1.

3. Oregon is 137-12 when holding opponents under 70 points over the last six seasons.

PREDICTION: Oregon 81, Washington State 68