Pac-12 Basketball Games: Ducks Host Los Angeles

The Pac-12 basketball games look great this week, although there are just two days games are played. The Oregon Ducks find themselves in the spotlight this week. Oregon hosts USC on Thursday and then UCLA visits on Saturday. Saturday also features the two Washington teams squaring off, along with a decent game in Utah.

Thursday, Feb. 9

No. 7 UCLA (19-4) visits Oregon State (9-15) in a bit of a look-ahead spot for the Bruins. UCLA visits Oregon on Saturday. You can’t fault UCLA for looking past the Beavers. UCLA is favored by 14 with a total of 125. Oregon State is slightly better than average defensively but won’t have a lot of offensive success against the Bruins’ defense. The Beavers rank No. 268 in adjusted offensive efficiency. UCLA is No. 3 on defense. Oregon State is decent when it comes to defending the 3-pointer. But the Bruins only score 25.5% of their points from 3-point range. The Beavers might keep it close for a bit if the Bruins are looking ahead. Otherwise, it will be a long night for the home team.

Arizona State (16-8) finds itself small underdogs to Stanford (10-13), as the Cardinal are -1.5 and the total is 138.5. The Sun Devil defense will be the story here, as ASU is No. 38 in adjusted efficiency. The Cardinal are No. 76 on offense and could have some success shooting the 3-pointer. The Sun Devils don’t shoot well but Stanford isn’t much defensively. ASU won the first meeting 68-64, as the teams were a combined 10 for 50 on 3-point range. Expecting more long range success here and think the over is worth a look.

Southern California (17-6) visits Oregon (14-10) in what should be the best of the Pac-12 basketball games Thursday. The Ducks are 4-point favorites and the total is 142.5. The Ducks get a slight offensive edge. The Trojans are a shade better defensively. Oregon shoots a lot of 3-pointers despite not being very good at them. But USC is ranked No. 1 in 2-point defense, so that could be Oregon’s best chance. The Trojans are 4-4 on the road this season, so they can play tough. The Trojans are in third place in the Pac-12 Conference NCAAB standings and need a win to remain within striking distance.

Saturday, Feb. 11

One of the great Saturday Pac-12 basketball games, the Cardinal host No. 4 Arizona and the Wildcats will be favored about 7.5 points with a total near 153.5. The Wildcats won six straight heading into Thursday’s game with California and appear to be too strong for the Cardinal. Arizona is better offensively by a large margin. The Wildcats can score inside or from long range and is worth a look at Arizona -8 or less.

The Utes will be favored close to 4 points with a total near 133.5. Colorado is just 1-7 on the road this year and won’t find scoring very easy against Utah’s defense. Colorado is strong defensively in its own right. It’s the offense you have to worry about making the Buffaloes one of your college basketball picks. Colorado is No. 144 on offense and Utah is No. 29 on defense. The Utes are the right side at Utah -5 or less.

A solid game between No. 7 UCLA and the Oregon Ducks. The Bruins will be close to 5.5-point favorites with a total near 137.5. This is a game where the matchups favor the Ducks a little bit and Oregon gave UCLA a tough battle earlier this season. UCLA used a 21-9 scoring edge the last 10 minutes to post a 65-56 victory. The Ducks made 15 turnovers to UCLA’s nine or it could have been a different outcome. The Bruins score 60.1% of their points from 2-point range, where Oregon is No. 45 defensively. Likewise, the Ducks score most of their points inside where the Bruins aren’t as strong defensively. The Ducks are worth a look getting 5.0 or more points in what should be a solid game.

The Cougars will be favored close to 6.5 points and the total will be near 137. Washington State has solid numbers, which is why they’ve been a favorite of number crunchers. Ken Pomeroy has WSU ranked No. 62 and Jeff Sagarin has the Cougars No. 74. But the Cougars haven’t lived up to those numbers, sitting at 10-15. Washington is 13-12 but the Huskies are just 1-7 in road games. WSU is the better team but it’s hard to lay so many points in an instate rivalry game. The Huskies defend the 3-pointer well, which is where 38.3% of the Cougar points come from. The Cougars will have an edge on the offensive glass but this game should be close, making the road team a bit enticing getting 6.0 or more points.
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