UCLA vs. Oregon Prediction, Game Preview

UCLA vs. Oregon prediction and game preview. The Bruins seek revenge from a last-second defeat in December when they host the Ducks on Thursday night.

UCLA vs. Oregon Game Preview

When: Thursday, Feb. 9 – 10 p.m. ET
Where: Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles.
TV Broadcast: ESPN

UCLA entered the first meeting with Oregon on Dec. 28 unbeaten and gaining steam as a legitimate national championship contender behind star freshmen Lonzo Ball and TJ Leaf, along with senior leaders Bryce Alford and Isaac Hamilton. The Ducks were still trying to earn respect with Dillion Brooks just starting to find his groove again.

What transpired was a thrilling contest that ended with Brooks hitting a 3-pointer in the final seconds to give Oregon an 89-87 victory. Now the Ducks are ranked No. 5 and tied atop the Pac-12 with Arizona after demolishing the Wildcats 85-58 on Saturday. The went 16 of 25 from 3-point range – Tyler Dorsey was 6-for-6 – and shot 65.2 percent overall in a victory that made it clear Oregon is preparing for a deep NCAA Tournament run.

The Ducks likely won’t shoot at that high of a percentage as they try to win a fourth straight meeting with UCLA, but they were able to pull out the last victory despite the Bruins hitting 53.1 percent from the field. UCLA has been even better in back-to-back victories over Washington State and Washington, hitting 59.1 percent from the floor.

Ball continues to make his case for national player of the year honors with his 7.8 assists per game ranking second in the country. He was one of four 20-point scorers for UCLA in Saturday’s 107-66 rout of Washington, but that’s far from the competition the 10th-ranked Bruins will be up against Thursday night.

UCLA Wins If …

… Leaf continues dominating inside. UCLA will get its points from the outside with Ball, Alford, Hamlton and Aaron Holiday, who went 8 for 10 from the field for 20 points off the bench Saturday, guiding the perimeter game. Leaf is the X-factor, though. He leads the Pac-12 and ranks among the national leaders with a 63.9 field goal percentage after shooting 23 of 31 over his last two games. Leaf scored a season-high 32 points against Washington State before netting 20 against the Huskies. He also has 11 double-doubles. It’s safe to say Ball won’t need to score 92 points like his little brother did Tuesday if Leaf continues his solid play in the paint.

Oregon Wins If …

… the stellar 3-point shooting continues. The Ducks didn’t even give Arizona a chance Saturday by hitting 3 after 3 after 3. The rout was on early as they improved to 10-1 in conference play. But their previous three games – a five-point win over a Utah, a loss to Colorado and a one-point win over Arizona State – showed Oregon can go cold from distance, too. It hit just 32 percent from beyond the arc in those contests. Brooks, Dorsey and Casey Benson can be deadly from deep, and they’ll need to be on again at Pauley Pavilion.

Matchup To Watch

Brooks vs. Ball

Not in the sense of one-on-one matchups, but more about how they answer each other. Both are the focal points of their respective teams’ offense and will play a huge impact. Ball can take over a game just by distributing, while Brooks is Oregon’s finisher. If only one has a big game, that likely could be the difference.

Betting Odds

Spread: UCLA -4
Over/Under: No line as of post