Oregon vs UCLA: NCAA Basketball Expert Analysis & Picks

Oregon and No. 23 UCLA were supposed to play two different times earlier this season but both were postponed due to COVID. The Pac-12 rivals will try again Thursday night from Los Angeles with the Bruins as favorites on the NCAAB odds.

How to Bet Oregon at UCLA NCAA Basketball Odds & TV Info

When: Thursday, 9 PM ET
Where: Pauley Pavilion
TV: ESPN
Stream: ESPN app
Radio:com
Opening NCAAB Lines: TBA (UCLA will be favored)

Last Meeting

The schools met just once last season and Oregon won easily at home 96-75. It was the largest winning margin for Oregon in the series since 2003. Chris Duarte led the Ducks with 24 points and also had six of Oregon’s 15 steals to go with six rebounds and five assists. The Ducks shot 57% from the field, including 11 of 23 3-pointers. The Bruins finished at 50% including 10 of 24 3-pointers. The Bruins had a 25-23 edge in rebounds. However, they also turned it over a whopping 23 times.

UCLA has gone 90-37 in the all-time series against Oregon. The Bruins have won four of the last six meetings.

Why Bet on Oregon? | 2021 NCAA Basketball Expert Analysis

The Ducks (9-3) returned from a COVID break Saturday and were upset 75-64 at home by Oregon State. Oregon was without four starters either in protocols or due to injury. Leading scorer Chris Duarte and top rebounder LJ Figueroa both tested positive for COVID and likely won’t play here. Oregon also is without starting guard Will Richardson, who has yet to play due to a thumb injury, and center N’Faly Dante, who is out for the year with a knee injury.

The Beavers broke a 34-all tie early in the second half with eight straight points and never trailed the rest of the way. Oregon had won 28 straight home games. More than half Oregon’s field-goal attempts — 29 out of 54 — were from three-point range, and the Ducks shot 38.9 percent overall. Oregon also was badly outrebounded, 42-23, including on its own end, where the Ducks had just five offensive boards.

“We got killed on the boards, that was by far the biggest factor,” Oregon coach Dana Altman said. “Our physicality on the boards was just awful. We had a chance from the free throw line to stay close and we went 14 for 23 and they went 22 for 24.”

Chandler Lawson and Jalen Terry each made his first start of the season, in place of Duarte and Figueroa. It was the first career start for Terry, the freshman guard who himself had been sidelined by protocols since Dec. 19. It was the third different starting lineup deployed by the Ducks this season. Duarte had started every game of the season, and Figueroa was a regular starter for the five games following N’Faly Dante’s knee injury.

Duarte was named to the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award Top 10 list on Tuesday. He is second in the Pac-12 in scoring at 18.4 points per game and leads the league in both steals at 2.5 per game and three-pointers made at 2.8 per game. He is ranked among the Pac-12’s top 10 in eight different statistical categories. He was the only Pac-12 player among the Jerry West Award final 10. The winner of the 2021 Jerry West Award will be presented April 9, 2021.

Why Bet on UCLA? | 2021 NCAA Basketball Expert Analysis

The Bruins (12-3) were upset at Stanford 73-72 in OT on Saturday. Oscar Da Silva scored off an inbound pass as time expired in overtime. Da Silva finished with 26 points, the last coming on a lay-in off a set piece with 0.8 seconds remaining. Da Silva cut down the lane, received Michael O’Connell’s feed from under the basket and banked the winning shot in with his left hand.

Both teams missed a chance to win in regulation. Da Silva came up short on a layup attempt with 22 seconds remaining, and Tyger Campbell’s jumper from the left elbow hit the rim. UCLA trailed for the majority of Saturday’s game but fought back late to force overtime. In the back-and-forth overtime session, the Bruins erased a late 68-62 deficit and took a 72-71 lead with just over five seconds to play, thanks to an old-fashioned 3-point play by sophomore Campbell.

Sophomore Johnny Juzang scored a career-high 27 points in the loss. He registered the most points in a game this season by any UCLA player, connected on 11 of 18 shots from the field and made 5 of 8 attempts from 3-point territory. UCLA absorbed its first loss in Pac-12 play and saw its seven-game winning streak come to an end.

The Bruins have won eight of their first nine league games for the first time since 2007-08 (finished 16-2 that year). Dating back to last season, UCLA has won 15 of its past 17 Pac-12 contests (and 23 of 29 overall games). Dating back to last January, the Bruins have won 15 consecutive home games (including the last 12 in Pac-12 play).

Not including Chris Smith (injured), UCLA has five active players who have averaged at least 9.9 points per game. Through the past six games, UCLA has had four players who have averaged at least 12.0 points per game. UCLA has committed fewer fouls than the opposition in 14 of 15 games (the lone game was at Stanford).

In two seasons under head coach Mick Cronin, UCLA has gone 14-4 in games decided by five points or fewer (and all contests that finish in overtime, regardless of score margin)