The Oregon Ducks are among the best teams not only in the Pac-12 but in the nation, as they are expected to compete for the national title in March. That’s a long way from now, though. For now, the Ducks will busy themselves building their March Madness resume, which the Utah Utes also would like to do. A win over the Ducks will certainly bolster Utah’s profile.
Betting on the Oregon Ducks (11-2 Overall / 0-0 Conference)
The Ducks scored their fifth win in a row last Sunday by taking down the Alabama State Hornets at home, 98-59. It was a walk in the park for Oregon, which didn’t even need its most important player, guard Payton Pritchard to have a good game to demolish the Hornets. Pritchard went just 2-for-7 from the field and finished with only five points in 26 minutes of action. Instead, it was another guard, Chris Duarte, who torched Alabama State’s defense for 31 points on a near-flawless 12-of-15 shooting from the field to go with six 3-pointers. Oregon is a lethal deep-shooting team. The Ducks, who hit 13 triples against Alabama State, are averaging 8.8 3-pointers per game on 41.7 percent shooting from deep — third-best in Division I basketball. The Ducks are also third in the nation with a 57.3 effective field goal percentage.
The Ducks are 8-2 against the spread (ATS) in their last 10 games with the total hitting the over seven times over that stretch.
Betting on the Utah Utes (9-3 Overall / 0-0 Conference)
After scoring a huge 69-66 win over the Kentucky Wildcats, the Utes wasted the momentum they got from that victory by losing to the San Diego State Aztecs, 80-52. They also wasted a chance to victimize ranked opponents in consecutive fashion, but they can try to score another top 25 win when they meet Oregon. The Utes are being carried by forward Timmy Allen, who is averaging 21.0 points per game, as of this writing. Allen met his average with 21 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the field in the loss to the Aztecs, but he was severely under-supported with no other Utes player scoring more than eight points in the contest. Both Gatch and Rylan Jones are the only other Utes who are averaging in double-figures in scoring with 11.6 and 11.1 points per game, respectively, and they will have to show up against Oregon. On defense, the Utes might have to disrupt Oregon’s offense by sending the Ducks to the charity stripe. The Ducks are among the worst free-throw shooting team with a 67.3 percent shooting from the foul line.
