Forced into a COVID pause makes the remainder of the season a difficult stretch for Pac-12 teams. One team facing the challenge is the Oregon Ducks, who play three times this week. The middle of those games is on Thursday against No. 3 UCLA Bruins. It hasn’t quite been the season most expected in Eugene. The Ducks were ranked in the top-20 at the start of the campaign but suffered three embarrassing losses in their first six contests. Ahead of Monday’s tilt against Oregon State, the Ducks have played just once since Dec. 21, a payout win over Utah on New Year’s day. The Bruins also returned from a lengthy pause with a pair of wins improving to 10-1 on the year.
This college basketball matchup will go down Thursday, January 13, 2022 at 9:30 p.m. ET at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, CA. The game will air live on ESPN. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Thursday schedule.
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Odds Analysis
If everything goes smoothly, both teams will look to get in a groove after they had numerous games canceled and postponed. This week is a difficult one for the Ducks, who play three games starting with Monday’s contest against rival Oregon State. Following Thursday’s game they’ll head over for a tussle with No. 5 USC. The Ducks can cause some damage in the Pac-12 standings while making their own case to be considered among the league’s best. It’s a longshot, but never count out Dana Altman’s team. The Ducks are 3-1 SU and 2-2 ATS in their last four games. The lone defeat in that stretch was to No. 1 Baylor in a game Oregon held a double-digit first half lead. It was the first time this season the Bears trailed by double digits.
After nearly a month without a game, UCLA got back to its winning ways. In their first game since Dec. 11 the Bruins bested Long Beach State 96-78, though they failed to cover the 26.5-point spread. They ran their winning streak to five on Sunday with a 60-52 win over Cal as an 8.5-point favorite. The Bruins are just 1-3 ATS in their last four games and 5-6 ATS overall. The UNDER is 6-1 in their last seven games.
Oregon Ducks
The Ducks are playing like the team that was nationally ranked in the early season polls winning three of their last four games. If they want to sustain that success they’ll have to win away from Knight Arena, which is something they haven’t been able to do. In their only true road game so far the Ducks came up empty on the farm bowing to Stanford 72-69. They are also just 1-3 SU and 0-4 ATS in four neutral site contests.
Playing their first game in 11 days, the Ducks beat Utah 79-66 on New Year’s Day for their first Pac-12 win of the season. And it took a dominant second half to get there. Leading scorer Will Richardson scored 23 of his career-best 26 points in the second half when the Ducks shot 64.3 percent from the field and drained 6 of 8 three-pointers. They outscored Utah 50-31 pulling away for the 13-point victory. Oregon will have to play a more complete game against UCLA with Richardson and Jacob Young continuing their hot hand on offense.
UCLA Bruins
The Bruins are the highest ranked Pac-12 team but they don’t even have the league’s best record, or second-best record for that matter. That’s a sign of how strong the conference is at the top. And while it took a little time to get into the swing of things, the Bruins kept their winning streak alive by beating Long Beach State in their first game since Dec. 11. It was a little awkward with no fans in attendance for the matchup that was put together in a matter of days. It was also UCLA’s second win this season over the Beach. They won 100-79 on Nov. 15.
One player who didn’t seem affected by the pause was Tyger Campbell, who had 11 points and 10 assists against Long Beach. He followed that with 17 points and four assists in the win over Cal. The Bruins also welcomed back Cody Riley, who hadn’t played since getting injured four minutes into the season opener. Riley had eight points against LBSU and tallied nine points and five rebounds in 26 minutes against Cal. “He’s got to get his legs back,” Mick Cronin said of his starting forward.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
Assuming the game goes off as scheduled I have to back the Bruins. The return of Riley puts them at full strength and gives the Bruins much needed depth in the middle. And playing at home is a plus against a team that’s struggled on the road.
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