Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Wildcard Edition
Arizona Wildcats (15-2) vs. Oregon Ducks (9-8)
The 2022-23 NCAA men’s basketball season continues Saturday, January 14, with the Arizona Wildcats taking on the Oregon Ducks in the Pac-12 Conference showdown at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Oregon.
The tip-off is set for 6:00 PM ET, and the Wildcats open as 4-point road favorites with a total of 152.5 points. Arizona aims for its second straight win over Oregon, but the Wildcats are winless in five straight road encounters with the Ducks.
The Arizona Wildcats (15-2; 6-10-1 ATS; 4-2 conf.) put an end to their eight-game winning streak last weekend, suffering a shocking 74-61 home defeat to Washington State. The Wildcats returned to winning ways this past Thursday, outlasting Oregon State 86-74 as 15.5-point road favorites. They failed to cover a huge spread, but it was a comfortable victory for the Wildcats, who led wire-to-wire and by as many as 24 points.
Arizona held the Beavers to 38.3% shooting from the field. The Wildcats made 52.5% of their field goals (11-for-29 from deep) and posted a 26/17 assist-to-turnover ratio. Junior forward Azuolas Tubelis led the way with 25 points and ten rebounds, making 11 of his 15 shots from the field. Oumar Ballo, a junior seven-footer, double-doubled with 15 points and 14 rebounds, while junior guard Kerr Kriisa had 13 points and 11 assists.
Plenty of highlights to go around from a solid team win on the road!#BearDown #RunWithUs pic.twitter.com/GsKjI0xY95
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) January 13, 2023
The Wildcats boast the fourth-highest offensive rating in the nation, tallying 118.2 points per 100 possessions. They are seventh in the country in 2-point percentage (59.2%), 11th in free throws made per game (17.9), and second in assists per game (20.1). On the other side of the ball, the Wildcats surrender 97.4 points per 100 possessions (68th) on 45.6% shooting from inside the arc (55th) and 32.5% from downtown (149th). Arizona is No. 9 in the AP Top 25 Poll, No. 11 in the NCAA NET Rankings, and No. 10 in the KenPom rankings.