Oregon @ Arizona preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 9, 2020 ) Arizona 73, Oregon 74

Five teams are bunched within one game of the top spot in the Pac-12 heading into this weekend's action. Two of those five, No. 16 Oregon and No. 21 Arizona, square off on Saturday night in Tucson in a make-it-or-break-it contest in the conference title race.

Arizona, which has won six of its last seven games -- including a 89-63 victory over Oregon State on Thursday -- is tied for second place with Arizona State a half-game back of league-leading Colorado while Oregon, which fell to the Sun Devils, 77-72, on Thursday, is tied with UCLA for fourth place a game behind the Buffs. Wildcats coach Sean Miller said he expects an NCAA Tournament-like atmosphere at the McKale Center for the showdown with the Ducks. "The game on Saturday is like March Madness," Miller said. "It's a late-season game. Oregon's program speaks for itself. The teams that can play the best at this time of year, great things happen for them. We want to be that team." Oregon needed a 6-0 run at the end of regulation to force the team's first meeting, on Jan. 9, into overtime in a 74-73 victory in Eugene, Ore., with guard Will Richardson scoring the winning basket with 15 seconds remaining.

TIME: 9 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN

ABOUT OREGON (20-7, 9-5 Pac-12): The Ducks were their own worst enemies in the loss at Arizona State, committing 16 turnovers that resulted in 19 ASU points and shooting just 63 percent (12-of-19) at the free-throw line. "Our turnovers led to 19 points which is really bad and you can't go on the road and shoot 12-of-19 at the free-throw line," said Oregon coach Dana Altman. Senior point guard Payton Pritchard, who leads the Pac-12 in scoring (19.4 points per game) and assists (5.6), and Richardson, who is averaging 11.0 points while shooting 47.9 percent from 3-point range, both scored 18 points in the loss while guard Chris Duarte, who is second on the team in scoring (13.3), finished with 10.

ABOUT ARIZONA (19-7, 9-4): The Wildcats forced 20 turnovers by the Beavers and connected on 10-of-21 3-pointers to avenge a ugly 82-65 road loss to Oregon State on Jan. 12. Freshman guard Josh Green, who is third on the team in scoring (12.0), led the way with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 2-of-3 beyond the arc, and also had six assists and four steals. Zeke Nnaji, a 6-11 freshman forward, leads the team in both scoring (16.4) and rebounding (8.8) while freshman point guard Nico Mannion, who had 16 points in the win over the Beavers, is second in scoring (13.7) and leads the team in assists (5.3).

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Arizona leads the series, 51-33, but Oregon has won the last four meetings.

2. This will be Oregon's eighth game against a school ranked in the top 25 this season, matching a school single-season regular-season record set in 1994-95.

3. Arizona leads the Pac-12 in scoring (78.38) while Oregon is second (75.56).

PREDICTION: Arizona 70, Oregon 68