Central Arkansas @ Oregon preview

Central Arkansas at Oregon

Oregon will be looking to take a five-game win streak into the Christmas break when it welcomes Central Arkansas to Eugene on Wednesday night. It also will serve as the non-conference finale for the Ducks, who will then have nine days off prior to their Dec. 29 Pac-12 opener against Utah.

Coach Dana Altman’s squad dropped back-to-back games against Oklahoma and Boise State three weeks ago but has since responded with wins over Colorado State (95-65), Texas Southern (74-68), Portland State (95-84) and Fresno State (68-61). Saturday’s victory at Fresno marked Oregon’s first true road game of the season, and the Ducks overcame a shaky start and 38-28 halftime deficit by outscoring the Bulldogs 40-23 over the final 20 minutes. Oregon shot 29.4 percent from the field in the first half, but flipped the script in the second, limiting the hosts to 24 percent shooting to snap Fresno State’s seven-game win streak. “In a 30-game schedule, there are going to be at least 10 games where you don’t shoot it well,” Altman said in his postgame news conference. “In those 10 games, you had better guard and find a way to scratch out a win another way.”

TV: 11 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network

ABOUT CENTRAL ARKANSAS (6-6): Since a 4-3 start, the Southland Conference's Bears have dropped three of their last five after Sunday’s 98-94 overtime loss at Morehead State. Senior guard Jordan Howard scored a game-high 32 points for Central Arkansas – his second 30-point-plus game of the season – and ranks fifth nationally with a 24-point average. Backcourt mate Mathieu Kamba (13.6 points) is the only player averaging in double figures for the Bears and also is averaging a team-most 5.7 rebounds.

ABOUT OREGON (9-3): Guard Elijah Brown scored a game-high 20 points, including 4-of-4 performance from 3-point range, against Fresno State, and ranks second on the team in scoring (13.8) on the season. Point guard Payton Pritchard, the only returning starter from the Ducks’ Final Four squad last year, is pacing the Ducks with 15.7 points and 4.3 assists while freshman forward Troy Brown is averaging 11.5 points and a team-leading 8.1 rebounds. Forward Paul White (11.1 points) left the Saturday’s game midway through the second half after taking a blow to the head and was evaluated for a possible concussion.

TIP-INS

1. The Ducks’ 46-game home win streak was snapped Dec. 1 in a 73-70 loss to Boise State at the buzzer, but Oregon still has won 49 of its last 50 games at Matthew Knight Arena and is averaging 89.1 points in seven home dates this season.

2. Oregon freshman F Kenny Wooten had a double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds) against the Bulldogs and added a career-high six blocked shots, giving him 16 over the last three games.

3. Wednesday’s game will be the ninth road game out of 13 this season for Central Arkansas, which also has lost at the Pac-12’s UCLA (106-101 in overtime) and California (96-69).

PREDICTION: Oregon 96, Central Arkansas 76