Oregon vs. Arizona: How to watch, odds, picks, final score predictions from ESPN, KenPom
No. 5 Arizona will be looking for some revenge on their home floor in tonight’s late-night Pac-12 matchup against Oregon. The Ducks knocked them off in blowout fashion in Eugene in mid-January. Now, the Wildcats want to make up for that slip-up with their fifth straight win since that loss.
How to watch Oregon vs. Arizona
Tip-off: 10:30 p.m. EST
Location: McKale Center (Tuscon, Arizona)
Channel: ESPN
Vegas odds
Arizona is an 8.5-point favorite over Oregon on Thursday according to VegasInsider. The over-under is set at 150 points.
ESPN BPI prediction
Predicted winner: Arizona
Predicted point differential: 12.9
Win probability (for Arizona): 88.4%
Matchup quality: 79
ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) is a tool that measures team strength and uses that to predict outcomes of future performances. ESPN’s BPI has Oregon vs. Arizona ranked as the third highest-rated game on Thursday’s slate in terms of matchup quality.
KenPom prediction
Predicted final score: Arizona 81, Oregon 72
Win probability (for Arizona): 78%
KenPom is another tool that provides advanced analysis across college basketball. Like ESPN, KenPom projects that the Wildcats comes out on top over the Ducks.
More on Oregon vs. Arizona
Arizona went into Matthew Knight Arena back on January 14th as the No. 9 ranked team and got popped 87-68 for their worst loss of the season. Oregon got that job done after outscoring the Wildcats by 13 in the final 20 minutes by shooting 57.1%. However, ‘Zona has bounced back with four consecutive victories including a win on their home floor against UCLA. With that momentum behind them, they want to avenge that loss while also holding serve at home, protecting their ranking, and remaining in the race with the Bruins for the conference crown.
As for Oregon, they head to Tuscon with the blueprint to knock off Arizona. They’ve done it before and, with a better record in conference play having won four of their last five, the Ducks could do it again. If they’re going to, finding success high and low will be key. In the first game, it was Jermaine Cousinard who got it going on the perimeter with 27 points. Dana Altman will need that again or, if not, to see something similar from leading-scorer Will Richardson. With the Wildcats having some serious size as well, they’ll also look to their bigs in N’Faly Dante, Nathan Bittle, and Kel’el Ware in order to compete or win the battle inside.