Arizona vs Oregon Basketball Prediction & Picks: Can the disappointing Ducks pull the upset?

After being ranked in the preseason, Oregon has been one of the most disappointing teams in college basketball. But the Ducks aren’t done just yet, and an upset of #9 Arizona today could breathe some life into their season.

The Ducks (9-8, 3-3 Pac-12) and Wildcats (15-2, 4-2 Pac-12) will face off at 6:00 pm ET (3:00 pm local time), and the matchup from Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene will be televised on ESPN.

Oregon has alternated wins and losses in conference play, and they are coming off of a 90-73 home loss to Arizona State on Thursday.

While the Ducks are looking to avoid a home sweep of the hands of Arizona State & Arizona, the Wildcats will be looking for the Oregon State/Oregon road sweep, following a win in Corvallis on Thursday.

Read on for our Arizona vs Oregon basketball prediction, as well as our picks and analysis for the matchup in Eugene.

Arizona vs Oregon Odds

Odds are via BetOnline as of Saturday, January 14, 2023, at 12:44 pm ET. This article may also include odds from our other recommended legal sports betting sites.

Spread

• Arizona -4.5 (-104)
• Oregon +4.5 (-118)

Over/Under

• Over 154.5 (-110)
• Under 154.5 (-110)

Moneyline

• Arizona -182
• Oregon +150

Can Oregon Give Arizona Another Sad Saturday?

Last Saturday, Washington State, who was 6-10 overall and 1-4 in Pac-12 play, went into the McKale Center in Tucson and somehow left with a 74-61 win.

A week later, it’s still pretty inexplicable. Wooden Award hopeful Azuolas Tubelis had a monster game, going 9 of 20 from the field and 10 of 12 from the free-throw line and recording 29 points and 14 rebounds.

But the rest of the team made just 11 of 43 shots and 7 of 16 from the stripe, and the Wildcats were just 4 of 25 from three on the way to scoring their third-fewest points of Tommy Lloyd’s tenure.

But Arizona looked a bit more like their usual selves in Corvallis, as they made 52.5% of their shots and nailed 11 threes in an 86-74 win over the Beavers.

But Utah, who beat Arizona in December, and Washington State have shown that the Wildcats aren’t invincible, and there’s a blueprint to beat them even if Tubelis puts up big numbers.

In the loss to Utah, Tubelis was only 7 of 19 from the field, but he and Oumar Ballo combined for 42 points. Tubelis and Ballo were a combined 17 of 31, but the rest of the team was 8 of 40 from the field, and the Wildcats as a team were only 4 of 28 from three.

Can Oregon follow that blueprint? And can they score enough to make it matter if they do?

The outlook certainly isn’t promising, but the prospect of significantly improving their NCAA Tournament hopes could lift the Ducks.

They have missed multiple opportunities thus far. A 17-4 run in the second half doomed them against Houston, and they didn’t make the plays they needed to in the late stages against Michigan State and UCLA in games that they could have won.

There’s a good team in there somewhere, and there’s still time for them to figure things out and get into this season’s March Madness field.

Arizona vs Oregon Prediction and Picks

Arizona vs Oregon Prediction: Oregon to win

Arizona vs Oregon Picks: Oregon +4.5 (Best Value: BetMGM) & Oregon ML (Best Value: Bovada Sportsbook)

Unlike many upsets, there’s not something about this matchup that stands out as a favorable ingredient for an upset. But as a lover of chaos, there’s really only one direction for me to go here.

Oregon stunk it up against Arizona State, who made 13 threes and shot 44.8% from three and 52.4% from the field in their 90-73 win.

But other than dropping three straight to Houston, UConn, and Michigan State, the Ducks have done well with not stringing losses together.

Also, they have played one of the tougher schedules in the country and know what they need to do to get over the hump against a team of Arizona’s caliber. After not putting it all together against the likes of Houston and UCLA, they will today and hand the Wildcats a third conference loss.

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