Oregon certainly enjoys playing at home. The Ducks improved to 12-0 this season and extended their winning streak at Knight Arena to 19 straight by knocking off No. 21 USC on Thursday night.
UCLA is next in line to try and end the streak.
HOW THE UCLA BRUINS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
UCLA’s basketball team knows it has a problem. The Bruins’ low points in an up and down season correspond to their failings on defense.
UCLA is second to last among Pac-12 conference teams in scoring defense, giving up an average of 77.3 points per game. During conference play, the Bruins are even worse, giving up 85.6 points per game. “You just can’t do that,” UCLA coach Steve Alford said. “Those are astronomically high numbers.”
After a loss to USC last week, UCLA focused on finding a fix in what Bryce Alford called the Bruins’ best stretch of practices this season. Steve Alford cited poor fundamentals for the defensive woes rather than a lack of effort, and said the long minutes logged by his starting backcourt was no excuse. UCLA had its best defensive showing since the start of league play in an 82-73 win over Oregon State on Wednesday.
There are plenty of scoring options for the Bruins, who have five players averaging in double figures with Bryce Alford leading the way with 17.1. Isaac Hamilton dropped in 25 against the Beavers, his third game with at least 20 points in the last five. Should the defense show improvement, the Bruins will have no problem outscoring their opponents.
HOW THE OREGON DUCKS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
The Ducks are soaring since dropping their Pac-12 opener Jan. 3 at rival Oregon State, a night that was made worse when the team learned that senior point guard Dylan Ennis re-injured his foot and was done for the season. Oregon needed a leader to step up, and while filling that void is still a work in progress, the Ducks are getting production from a number of players.
Some nights it’s forward Dillon Brooks, others it’s freshman guard Tyler Dorsey. On Thursday, it was Elgin Cook, who went for 26 points and also grabbed five rebounds.
But the biggest thing the Ducks have going for them in this game is home court advantage. Oregon stretched its winning streak at Knight Arena to 19 straight with a win over No. 21 USC on Thursday. It’s also where they knocked off No. 22 Baylor and where they beat Cal and Stanford.
With Ennis out for the year and the transfer of forward Trevor Manuel, the Ducks are not very deep. They use a nine-player rotation with a core group of seven. They need to avoid foul trouble against the physical Bruins to increase their chances of extending their home win streak.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
Led by the coach’s son who averages 17.1 points per game, and Hamilton, who chips in with 16.6, the Bruins are the only NCAAB team with two players among the top six in Pac-12 scoring. And the Bruins, who average 80.2 points, can fill it up. While the offense hasn’t been a concern, deficiencies on the other end of the court have cost UCLA some games. Most notably the sweep suffered at the hands of the Washington schools at the beginning of the year. Coaches and players are well aware of this problem and following an 89-75 loss to USC on Jan. 13, the team devoted practices and film sessions to working on team defense. There was some success when the Bruins allowed a low-point total in conference games in an 82-73 win at Oregon State on Wednesday. Oregon has come under the radar and sits just a game out of first place following Thursday’s win over USC and the Ducks are always amped to play the Bruins. However, UCLA has more depth and scoring punch and will outlast Oregon for a critical victory.
UCLA 92, Oregon 85
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