Utah @ Oregon preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 4, 2020 ) Oregon 69, Utah 64

No. 18 Oregon looks to be back on track in the Pac-12 Conference. The Ducks snapped a two-game skid by rallying for a 68-60 win over No. 15 Colorado on Thursday and will attempt to close out a two-game homestand with another victory when they welcome Utah to Eugene.

Oregon trailed by 12 points early in the second half Thursday but turned up its defensive pressure and wound up outscoring the Buffaloes 15-2 over the game’s final six minutes. It marked the fifth time the Ducks have overcome a double-digit deficit to win this season, and it pulled Oregon even with Colorado atop the Pac-12 entering the weekend. “All we did is put ourselves back in the hunt,” Oregon coach Dana Altman said afterward. “I told the guys, ‘it’s right there. We have four at home, two on the road and nobody’s ahead of us. You control your own destiny, and at this point in the season, that’s what you hope for.” Utah, meanwhile, is in a different boat, sitting in a three-way tie for eighth place after getting routed at Oregon State 70-51 on Thursday to open its two-game Northwest road swing.

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

ABOUT UTAH (14-10, 5-7 Pac-12): The Runnin’ Utes didn’t exactly get off to a running start Thursday, hitting only 8-of-27 shots in the first half and falling behind 35-19 at the break. Utah wound up shooting 37.3 percent from the field but missed half of its 16 free-throw attempts en route to finishing with a season-low 51 points. Leading scorer Timmy Allen (17.9 points) wound up with a season-low six points on 3-of-8 shooting, while Utah’s other two double-digit scorers - guards Both Gach (10.5) and Rylan Jones (10.2) - combined for 11 points on 4-of-12 shooting.

ABOUT OREGON (19-6, 8-4): Even with a 42-point second half, the Ducks only shot 39.3 percent in Thursday’s win but finished with a decisive 12-4 advantage at the free-throw line to improve to 13-0 at Matthew Knight Arena this season. Sophomore guard Will Richardson (10.4 points) matched his career high with 21 points in the victory and joins fellow guards Payton Pritchard (19.3) and Chris Duarte (14.0) with double-figure scoring averages. Pritchard also is averaging a team-most 6.0 assists and 4.5 rebounds after collecting a career-high 11 boards versus Colorado.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Oregon has won 16 of the 18 meetings since Utah joined the Pac-12 in 2011, including a 69-64 victory in Salt Lake City on Jan. 4. Pritchard scored 19 to pace the Ducks in the first meeting while Gach scored a game-high 24 for the Utes.

2. Utah is a Pac-12 worst 0-6 in conference road games and has lost seven straight true road contests overall since opening the season with a win in Reno over Nevada.

3. Ducks 6-11 freshman F N’Faly Dante has missed the last six games with a knee injury, and his status remains uncertain.

PREDICTION: Oregon 76, Utah 64