PAC 12 Preview: Arizona at Oregon
The #3 Arizona Wildcats will travel to face a tough Oregon Ducks squad on Thursday in PAC 12 action. The Wildcats come into the game unbeaten at 14-0,2-0 while the Ducks are 12-2,1-0. The Ducks losses are to the #21 Cincinnati Bearcats and a tough Texas El-Paso Miners team. Oregon has wins over the Vanderbilt commodores and the #24 UNLV Runnin Rebels. A win over the Wildcats would look really nice on the resume come NCAA Tournament selection time.
The Ducks are led by guard Damyean Dotson at nearly 12 points per games. That doesn’t sound like a lot for your leading scorer, and it isn’t . But that’s not a bad thing because the Ducks have five players averaging in double digits. That is a team with balance. Tony Woods, Carlos Emory, E.J. Singler and Dominic Artis all average over 10 points per game. If the balanced scoring doesn’t get the Wildcats, the crazy looking court in Oregon’s arena might.
The Wildcats, with wins over the #11 Florida Gators, the #16 San Diego State Aztecs and the Colorado Buffaloes are led by guard Mark Lyons with over 14 points per game, forward Solomon Hill with 13 points per game and guard Nick Johnson with 12 points per game. The Wildcats have had a flair for the dramatic, winning all three of the aforementioned games in the last seconds or overtime. So look for Thursday’s game to be another nail-biter.
On Wednesday in the Mountain West Conference, the undefeated Wyoming Cowboys will host the Boise State Broncos. It is the MWC opener in what should be an exciting season in the conference. Boise State has only two losses which were to the Michigan State Spartans and the Utah Utes. They are led by guard Derrick Marks who averages 16 points per game, forward Anthony Drmic who averages 15 per game and guard Jeff Elorriaga who is averaging 11 points per game.
Wyoming is led by forward Leonard Washington at 15 points per game, guard Luke Martinez at nearly 15 per game, guard Derrious Gilmore at almost 12 points per game and forward Larry Nance Jr. at 11 points per game. The Cowboys biggest win was over Colorado.
The #9 Gonzaga Bulldogs will renew their rivalry with the St. Mary’s Gaels on Thursday night. The Zags are 15-1 and 2-0 in the West Coast Conference while St. Mary’s is 12-3, 1-0. These two normally fight it out for WCC supremacy and this year will be no different.
St. Mary’s is led by guard Matthew Dellavedova who averages over 17 points per game. Guard Stephen Holt averages nearly 11 per game and three other Gaels average 10 points per game.
The Bulldogs are led by forward Kelly Olynyk who averages 17 points per game. Forward Elias Harris averages 15 points and guard Kevin Pangos averages about 12 per game. Guard Gary Bell Jr. averages 10 points per game.
Gonzaga has played their typical tough non-conference schedule so far. They have beaten the West Virginia Mountaineers, Clemson Tigers, Oklahoma Sooners, Davidson Wildcats, Washington State Cougars, Kansas State Wildcats, Baylor Bears, and Oklahoma State Cowboys. They are a good conference run away from a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
