Oregon @ Arizona preview
McKale Center
Last Meeting ( Mar 1, 2021 ) Arizona 69, Oregon 80
No. 3 Arizona is looking to bolster its case as a No. 1 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament while Oregon is hoping for a late push just to get into the event.
The stakes will be high when the Ducks visit the Wildcats on Saturday night in Tucson, Ariz.
Arizona (23-2, 13-1 Pac-12) is riding high on a seven-game winning streak.
The Wildcats got off to a slow start on Thursday night but took care of business in an 83-69 win against last-place Oregon State.
Azoulas Tubelis scored 22 points and Bennedict Mathurin finished with 20 points and seven rebounds to lead Arizona. Christian Koloko had 16 points and nine rebounds for the Wildcats, who made only 4 of 18 shots from 3-point range but held a 52-28 edge in the paint.
"That's a good thing about our team," Koloko said after the game. "We've got different pieces. When we're not shooting well, we still have bigs like me, Oumar (Ballo) and Azoulas. They just deliver it inside and every time we get the ball, we play hard."
Arizona leads the nation in rebounds with 43.5 per game heading into Saturday's matchup. The Wildcats also share the ball extremely well, which has been instrumental to their success in their first season under coach Tommy Lloyd. Arizona ranks first in assists per game (20.3) as well.
"I'm going inside first, for me," Lloyd said. "You always want to go inside. Attack inside out. I think (Azuolas Tubelis) is a special player and he gives you so many easy two-point baskets that aren't sexy, but they just add up."
Oregon (17-9, 10-5) is coming off an 81-57 loss at Arizona State, which swept the season series for the first time in over a decade. Thursday's setback put the Ducks' NCAA Tournament hopes in jeopardy.
Will Richardson scored 12 points while Eric Williams Jr. added 11 for Oregon, which entered the game having won five of its previous six games and 11 of 13.
The Ducks struggled by shooting only 34.5 percent from the field, including 5 of 26 from 3-point range. The Ducks also were outrebounded 40-29 by Arizona State.
"The ball movement's really bad, that's on me, I can't get them to run anything," Oregon coach Dana Altman said. "That being said, when somebody shoots 57-58 percent against you and outrebounds you by 11, I'm not sure what you run offensively is going to make a difference."
Oregon still has a chance to boost its resume over its next three games, but it will be a tough gauntlet to navigate as it likely will be against ranked opponents. The Ducks take on UCLA and USC at home after facing the Wildcats.
"Our energy level was not what it should be," Altman said. "Our connection defensively is awful. Getting beat 11 on the boards, that's just effort. There is a disconnect. I'm disappointed in myself that we haven't been able to get more out of them because I know we're a better team than what we just demonstrated."
--Field Level Media