The No. 23 ranked Oregon Ducks welcome the Arizona Wildcats on Monday. Get the latest odds and information for this contest at PointsBet Sportsbook.
Bulls Corralled by Temple
Arizona (17-8, 11-8 Pac-12) earned their third straight victory when they narrowly defeated the Washington Huskies on Saturday, 75-74. Arizona came in as a prohibited favorite at 14.0-points, but needed a Azuolas Tubelis baseline jump shot with time running down to defeat the Huskies. James Akinjo set a career-high with 26 points in the victory.
Arizona led by four heading into the break, but were having a tough day shooting early on, connecting on 29.0% of their shots from the field (11-38). However, they stepped things up in the second half, hitting on 12 of 25 shots and added 14 of 17 from the free-throw line. They were 21 of 24 from the charity stripe overall. Both Tubelis (16 points, 15 rebounds) and Benedict Mathurin (10, 13) delivered a double-double.
Arizona has an AdjT of 68.3, 43rd overall according to the KenPom rating. They are averaging 75.7 ppg, 79th in the country, while allowing 68.1 ppg. The Wildcats have been an outstanding three-point shooting team, hitting on 37.3% of their attempts, 41st in the nation. They are averaging the second most free throws per game at 17.6, connecting on 72.9% of their attempts. Plus, Arizona is 45th in rebounds at 35.6.
Houston Crushes Western Kentucky
Oregon (16-5, 11-4 Pac-12) defeated California on Saturday, 74-63. It was their second straight victory. LJ Figueroa scored 20 points and had a career-high 14 rebounds to help the Ducks to their seventh victory out of their last eight games. Eugene Omoruyi led the team in scoring with 21 points and Chris Duarte added 17.
Oregon had a big day shooting, connecting on 52.7% of their attempts, including 40% (6-15) from beyond the arc. The victory came in large part thanks to the three seniors, who were a combined 22-42 from the floor and scored 58 of the teamโs 74 points.
With a +16.54 AdjEM, Oregon comes in two spots ahead of Arizona on the KenPom rating. They are averaging 73.2 ppg, but have been very good defensively, allowing 66.4 points per game, 82nd in the nation. The Ducks are 71st in shooting and 46.0% from the floor, and her 97th from beyond the arc 35.5%.
Arizona:
- 3-10 ATS in their last 13 games against teams with a winning percentage greater than 60%.
- 1-4 ATS in their last five games following a win.
Oregon:
- 4-0 ATS in their last four games at home against a team with a winning record on the road.
- 25-12 ATS in their last 37 games following an ATS win.
Oregon has been dominating Arizona of late, winning the last six meetings between these teams. That includes a two-point victory back on February 13. The Ducks have covered the spread in five of those six victories, and I look for them to do so here as well.
This is a battle of two teams that shoot the ball well, especially from three-point range. Arizona has done a great job of getting to the foul line, averaging seven more attempts per game than Oregon, but the Ducks are the better all-around shooting team and play better defense.
Pick: Take Houston -4.5 at -111
The Total:
These teams combined for only 124 points the last time they met, but they are averaging nearly 153 points per game combined. It is a question of whether the defenses have the edge here and I think that will be the case.
Both teams are looking to improve their position for the NCAA tournament, so this is likely going to have a playoff atmosphere to it. Those kinds of battles are tense, close games. They are also low-scoring ones.
Pick: Go under 141.5 points at -110