Less than a week after it dominated No. 9 Arizona, No. 5 Oregon (21-3, 10-1) heads to Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles to challenge No. 10 UCLA (21-3, 8-3).
A look at both teams heading into Thursday’s matchup
— Coming in to conference play, UCLA appeared to be the team to beat. The Bruins ended their preseason schedule undefeated and ranked as the No. 2 team in the nation. But in recent weeks, it seems like the Bruins have come back down to earth. After suffering back-to-back losses to Arizona and USC two weeks ago, they now sit in fourth place in the conference behind Arizona, Oregon and Cal.
— Despite their recent struggles, the Bruins still possess one of the most potent offenses in the country. Their 92.9 points per game ranks second in the country, and they’ve only scored less than 80 points in three games this season. Just last week, they put up 202 points combined against the Washington schools.
— UCLA’s freshmen have been huge reasons for their success this year. Lonzo Ball and T.J. Leaf are both looking like potential lottery picks and Ball is in the conversation for National Player of the Year. In 11 games in conference play, Ball is averaging 16.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game while Leaf is putting 16.5 points and 8.5 rebounds.
— Oregon is coming off its premier win of the season, an 85-58 thumping of Arizona. The Ducks are looking to build on that momentum as they head into arguably their toughest stretch of the season with five of their last seven games coming on the road.
— The Ducks defense has been on full display the past several week. In conference, they’re only allowing 63.5 points per game, the second best clip in the conference. Since UCLA put up 86 on them in their first meeting, the Ducks have held opponents under 70 points in eight of their last 10 games.
— Dillon Brooks was named Pac-12 player of the week last week after averaging 22.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game while shooting 67 percent from the field. He played the hero in the first meeting of these two teams back in December, hitting a game-winning three-pointer with less than a second remaining.
Oregon vs. UCLA game info
Time: 7 p.m. (PT)
Where: Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles
TV: ESPN
Radio: Oregon IMG Sports Network (95.3 FM KUJZ in Springfield/ Eugene)
Online: WatchESPN
Projected Starters
Oregon
G Payton Pritchard (8.0 ppg, 3.7 apg, 3.0 rpg)
G Tyler Dorsey (12.6 ppg, 3.5 rbg)
G Dylan Ennis (11.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.3 apg)
F Jordan Bell (10.9 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 2.2 bpg)
F Dillon Brooks (14.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.2 apg)
UCLA
G Lonzo Ball (15.1 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 7.8 apg)
G Isaac Hamilton (14.7 ppg, 3.7 apg)
G Bryce Alford (16.4 ppg, 2.3 apg, 2.5 rpg, 53.2 3P% in conference)
F Thomas Welsh (10.4 ppg, 8.3 rpg)
F T.J. Leaf (17.1 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 63.9% from the field)
Follow Gus Morris on Twitter @JustGusMorris
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