The Essentials:
What: Championship game of the men’s basketball Pac-12 Conference Tournament.
When: 8:00 p.m. tipoff.
Where: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas. Televised on ESPN.
Who: Oregon Ducks versus UCLA Bruins.
Why: Top-seeded UCLA scored two come-from-behind wins against both Arizona schools, while third-seeded Oregon snuck past Washington and dispatched Utah, setting up a championship showdown.
The Brief:
Both UCLA and Oregon had the benefit of a first-round bye for the Pac-12 Tournament, which came as a huge boost in a tournament filled with hard-fought, draining games.
The Bruins trudged a tough path to the final round, first having to take on a scrappy Sun Devil team, the latter of which led in the second half by as much as 15. Shabazz Muhammad came alive down the stretch for UCLA and propelled his squad to the 80-75 win. Against the Wildcats on Friday, the Bruins trailed for almost three-fourths of the game, but Jordan Adams put the team on his back to again spur a comeback win, 66-64. Adams was lost to an injury on the final play of that game.
Oregon had the fortune of playing two teams with a combined regular season record of just 14-22, in sixth-seeded Washington and 10th-seeded Utah. Against the Huskies, Johnathan Loyd tied the game late with two free throws, and it was all Ducks in overtime for an 80-77 win. Utah, despite a weak regular season, had won four games in a row and played its third game in three days against Oregon. The fatigue was visible, and Oregon blasted them, 64-45.
The championship round will be just the second meeting of the year for Oregon and UCLA. The Ducks beat the Bruins in Los Angeles back in January, 76-67.
UCLA is averaging 73 points in the tourney thus far but has given up a mean of 69.5. In regulation, the Ducks have scored only 64 in each of their games but have given up just 54.5.
Matchups to watch:
*The absence of Jordan Adams against his own team
The Bruins second-leading scorer is done for the year with a broken foot. UCLA will lose his 15 points per game and have only one guard to replace him: Norman Powell and his 5.8-point average.
*Shabazz Muhammad against Damyean Dotson
While they may not guard each other, it will be a point-race between the two freshman scorers. Dotson has been hot in the first half in the past two games, averaging 11.5 in the opening act and 15.5 for the game. Muhammad scored 16 and 11 in his two tournament games, both below his average. With Adams out, he will undoubtedly assert himself more offensively, and the Bruins will likely live and die by his shot tonight.