College Basketball Betting – (18) Zona’s Streak at Stake vs (23) Oregon

(23) Oregon Ducks vs (18) Arizona Wildcats (-7.5, 152 o/u)

Two Pac-12 rivals will meet at the McKale Center in Tucson tonight (9:00 PM Eastern) when the Oregon Ducks (16-4, 5-2 Pac-12) face the Arizona Wildcats (16-4, 4-3 Pac-12), who have won 49 straight home games.

Oregon has won five of its last six games, including victories over Cal, Stanford, Utah, USC, and UCLA; their only loss in that span was high-scoring 91-87 setback at Colorado. The Ducks’ streak has them tied with Washington atop the Pac-12 standings.

Tonight, they’ll be looking to avenge three double-digit losses to the Wildcats from last season, including a savage 90-56 beating at the McKale Center.

“Ever since we got beat here, there and in the Pac-12 [tournament], I can’t wait,” Oregon sophomore and leading-scorer Dillon Brooks (16.2 PPG) said to the Associated Press. “It’s going to be a great game.”

Oregon doesn’t excel in any one facet of the game, averaging 77.4 points per game while allowing 67.3 per night. They have great depth, though, with four players averaging in double-figures and seven players seeing at least 20 minutes per game.

They’ll need every ounce of that depth if they’re going to leave the McKale Center with a win. Arizona’s 49-game home winning streak is the longest in the nation; the team has won its only two conference home games to date by an average of 28 points.

The Wildcats have struggled on the road this year, though, and are coming off a 74-73 loss at Cal.

Said Arizona coach Sean Miller, “We played a good game but we needed to play better.”

The offense carries the team most nights, posting 81.9 points per game (22nd in the nation) led by forward Ryan (14.9 PPG). The big man has also stepped up on the glass this year and is hauling in ten boards per game.

Miller has the benefit of a solid, veteran backcourt presence in Gabe York, as well; the senior is averaging over 13 points per game while hitting on 43.5-percent of his shots from three.

Both teams are significantly different than last year’s squads, but the Wildcats still have a handful of holdovers who have dominated the Ducks throughout their careers. (Arizona has won by an average of 31 points in its last two at home against Oregon and is 6-1 SU against the Ducks in the last seven at the McKale Center.) Take Miller’s Wildcats to bounce back with a big home win.

Pick: Arizona -7.5.

(Photo credit: Beaverbasketball (flickr) [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode]. Photo has been cropped.)