Fresh of its school record 16th consecutive win, No.10 Oregon (18-2, 7-0) heads to Salt Lake City on Thursday to take on the Utah Utes (14-5, 5-3) in the first stop of its trip to the mountain schools.
A look at both teams heading into Thursday’s matchup
— Oregon is riding high of late; the Ducks still have not lost in conference play and are posting a margin of victory of 24.3 points over their past six games. Passing and defense have been key during that stretch. The Ducks have averaged 20 assists per game and held their opponents to an average of 57.6 points since Dec. 30.
— Oregon forward Dillon Brooks (foot) remains questionable as the Ducks hit the road. He sprained his left foot in a game against Cal on Jan. 19 and sat out of Oregon’s next game, a 69-52 win over Stanford. Brooks is the team’s leading scorer (13.4 point per game) but Oregon is 3-1 in games that he has missed this season.
— Utah is coming off a dominant sweep of the Washington schools last week and is looking for its first win against Oregon since 2013. At 14-5 on the season, but lacking a signature win, Utah is on the bubble for a spot in the NCAA Tournament come March. A win over Oregon would greatly help their argument.
— Like Oregon, Utah has a very balanced scoring front. Five player for the Utes are averaging double figures, with junior Kyle Kuzma leading the way with 15.3 per game.
— Also like Oregon, Utah is dealing with an injury to a key piece. Forward David Collette has missed the Utes last two games recovering from a concussion. He has averaged 14.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game in his first nine games with Utah since becoming eligible after transferring from Utah State. He is questionable for Thursday’s game.
Oregon vs. Utah
Time: 7:30 p.m. (PT)
Where: Jon M. Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City.
TV: Fox Sports 1
Radio: Oregon IMG Sports Network (95.3 FM KUJZ in Springfield/ Eugene)
Online: Fox Sports Go
Projected Starters
Oregon
G Payton Pritchard (8.0 ppg, 3.8 apg, 3.1 rpg)
G Tyler Dorsey (12.8 ppg, 3.5 rbg)
G Dylan Ennis (11.6 ppg, 55.2 3PT% in conference)
F Jordan Bell (11.0 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 2.2 bpg)
F Chris Boucher (13.2 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.9 bpg)
Utah
G Lorenzo Bonam (13.7 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.0 apg)
G JoJo Zamora (9.1 ppg, 1.7 rpg)
F Kyle Kuzma (15.3 ppg, 10 rpg)
F Devon Daniels (11.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg)
F Jayce Johnson (3.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg)
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