After starting Pac-12 play with a loss to its instate rival, then a historic meltdown against UCLA, Oregon eventually got back on track with a dominating win against USC last Sunday. The Ducks look to continue to find their stride on their first road trip of conference play this season as they head down to Arizona.
Oregon will start this road trip without its main defensive presence 6-foot-9 forward Kenny Wooten. Wooten is recovering from a broken jaw that he suffered against Baylor earlier in the season.
The Ducks are continuing to adjust on the fly as they travel down to the desert with only eight scholarship players on the roster.
Let’s take a look at this weekend’s matchups:
Arizona Wildcats
The Wildcats enter Thursday’s matchup against the Ducks holding the best record in conference play (13-4, 4-0 Pac-12).
Oregon will not face the size that Arizona normally brings to the table but instead will deal with a more athletic lineup that the Wildcats bring.
“They’ve got really good players we think because we sure wanted all of them,” head coach Dana Altman said. “Talented team but just not as big as some of his previous teams.”
Those players that Altman wanted (Brandon Randolph, Chase Jeter, Brandon Williams and Ira Lee) are the ones leading the Wildcats right now.
Randolph and Jeter lead the sixth best offense in the Pac-12, both averaging 15.3 ppg in conference play.
Arizona is also stingy on the defense side of the ball. The Wildcats only give up 68 ppg in Pac-12 play, which is good for second in the Pac.
The Ducks will not only have to deal with a stout defense and a middle of the Pac-12 offense but will have to deal with them inside the McKale Memorial Center. McKale is one of the toughest environments to play in across the whole country.
“It is a great atmosphere, they set the standard in the Pac-12 for atmosphere,” Altman said. “It’s a tough place to play with good players and a good crowd.”
Arizona State Sun Devils
The Ducks will conclude their desert road trip on Saturday with a trip to Tempe to take on the Sun Devils (11-5, 2-2 Pac-12).
Arizona State boasts the second best offense in the Pac-12, avegering 80 ppg. Freshman guard Luguentz Dort leads the Sun Devils with 17.1 ppg.
The Sun Devils help sustain their high offense in large part to their ability to grab offensive rebounds where they rank at second in the Pac-12 (12.5 rpg). This can play in advantage to the Sun Devils as the Ducks lack size on the inside and have been outrebounded 113-101 during their first three games of Pac-12 play.
Since Arizona State’s win over then No. 1 Kansas the Sun Devils have fallen on hard times by going 2-3 since their marquee win. Head coach Bobby Hurley will enter Saturday’s matchup with one of his most talented teams and even cracking the top-15 in the AP poll.
After a season of disappointment and panic to date, the Ducks will be just as hungry as the Sun Devils are to get a win in the Pac-12 and a shot at the Pac-12 championship.
Follow Gabriel on Twitter @gabe_ornelas
