Oregon’s hopes of making the NCAA tournament in March come down to 40 minutes on a court in Eugene against the No. 3 team in the nation. Apart from winning the Pac-12 championship next week and earning the automatic bid to the tournament, a daunting task in its own right, the best way the Ducks can have their name called during the selection show is a win over Arizona.
Arizona defeated Oregon 67-65 in the first meeting between the teams Feb. 6 in Tucson, Ariz. @@checked@@
Players to watch
Oregon: Joseph Young and Jason Calliste
Transfers Young and Calliste make up one of the better shooting backcourt duos in the conference and although Calliste doesn’t start, he’s usually in the game when it’s close in the end. If Young and Calliste can hit three-pointers and cause Arizona to expand its defense, it’ll give the Ducks’ post players more room to play down low and hopefully get Kaleb Tarczewski, Aaron Gordon and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson in foul trouble.
Arizona: Nick Johnson and T.J. McConnell
Johnson and McConnell make up the best overall backcourt in the conference, if not the country, and they’re the catalyst for the Wildcats. The duo combined to shoot 7-for-25 from the field in the first meeting with the Ducks and a repeat performance will almost guarantee a loss by Arizona, especially with Oregon playing much better as of late. If Johnson can get into the paint for easy buckets and if McConnell continues to find the open man, Arizona will be just fine in this matchup. @@checked@@
Matchups to watch
Oregon: The Ducks’ big men against the Wildcats’ big men. Waverly Austin, Mike Moser, Richard Amardi and Ben Carter are going to have to equal the play of Tarczewski, Gordon and Hollis-Jefferson of Arizona for Oregon to be successful. Austin and Carter are going against Tarczewski, while Moser and Amardi will have to prevent Gordon and Hollis-Jefferson from getting offensive rebounds. Limiting Arizona to only one shot per possession will be huge as Arizona grabbed 15 offensive rebounds in the first meeting that, more often than normal, led to a bucket or a foul. @@checked@@
Arizona: The big thing for Arizona is depth. When Brandon Ashley went down with a broken foot, the Wildcats’ frontcourt took a major hit in the depth department and now Arizona plays only a seven-man rotation with one substitute for both the backcourt and the frontcourt. If the Wildcats get into foul trouble, the game will be ripe for the taking as far as Oregon is concerned.
What to watch for
Free throw shooting is the big thing to look out for and has the potential to decide the game. Arizona made six more free throws in the first meeting and ultimately won by two points. The Ducks shoot a conference leading 77.5 percent from the charity stripe while Arizona’s one glaring flaw is its 66.2 percent shooting from the line. @@checked@@
Follow Ryan Kostecka on Twitter @Ryan_Kostecka