New Mexico Takes On UNLV and Oregon Plays Utah
While the Big Ten has been grabbing hoops headlines, the left coast is offering up some good play as well. Four teams sit in the Top 25 (#6 Gonzaga, #7 Arizona, #15 New Mexico and #19 Oregon) and this weekend has some good matchups.
On Saturday from the Mountain West, its top team #15 New Mexico (20-3, 7-1) will play UNLV (17-6, 4-4). Will the Lobos make it a fourth-straight win?
#19 Oregon (18-5, 7-3), who started strong, is starting to implode and will play Utah (10-12, 2-8). With a win, the Ducks should remain in the Top 25.
Other games over the weekend, West Coast leader Gonzaga (22-2, 9-0) will play Loyola Marymount (8-15, 1-9) and is seen for a big win (-24) on Saturday while #6 Arizona (20-2, 8-2) on Sunday takes on California (13-9, 5-5).
Will we see a change at the top of the Pac-12 conference after this weekend’s games?
New Mexico vs. UNLV
UNLV Forward Anthony Bennett
In their first meeting on Jan. 9, the Lobos stopped the Rebels’ talented freshman Anthony Bennett and won 65-60. New Mexico’s Alex Kirk scored 23 points with nine rebounds in that game and since then, the team has rolled on for more wins and the conference lead.
On Wednesday, they defeated Air Force 81-58 for a third straight victory. All five starters had double-digit scoring games with 14 points being the favorite number as Kirk, Cameron Bairstow and Tony Snell each achieved this.
New Mexico sits at the top of the Mountain West by one game over Colorado State. In its last four games, it has allowed a 58.5 point average and in January against the Rebels, the Lobos held them to 39.0 percent shooting.
Will the Rebels be the spoiler?
Bennett sits at the top of the league with his 18.3 point average and ranks No. 5 for rebounds at 8.5 per game. On Jan. 9, he had 12 points with six boards and a cold spell for most of the second half.
But his team is on the decline and they sit in the conference’s fifth place.
Hitting a second consecutive loss, the Rebels reached a new low on Wednesday offensively in its 64-55 loss at Fresno State. The team incurred season lows in scoring, field goal percentage (35.0) and 3-pointers (19.0 percent).
The team’s one bright spot is they play well at home–11 consecutive wins in Vegas–and since last season, they are 30-1 for regular-season games there.
This could be in the Rebels favor (-5) for a win.
#19 Oregon vs. Utah
Oregon Guard Dominic Artis
At the start of the season, Oregon was unstoppable on its home court, winning 20 straight games, but the streak ended on Thursday with the team’s 48-47 loss to Colorado.
The Ducks aren’t used to all the straight losses and their last four-consecutive loss streak came Feb. 24-March 5, 2011.
They had an opportunity to tie Arizona for the top spot on Thursday but now they sit in the second spot in the league, tied with Arizona State and UCLA.
Not helping the team is the absence of its star point guard Dominic Artis. He has missed the last four games with a foot injury and is expected to make it a fifth game on Saturday. He was averaging 10.2 points and a team-leading 3.8 assists.
Johnathan Loyd has been pinch hitting and he’s no Artis, going scoreless in two of three games.
For the Runnin’ Utes, they have played well defensively as they have limited opponents this season to 38.4 percent shooting—this represents a Pac-12 best.
But their offense is a different story. It’s a challenge to average 65.0 points and on Wednesday, they had their second-worst shooting game at 35.7 percent in the 82-64 loss against Oregon State.
The Utes Jarred DuBois is the team’s highest scorer with a 12.1 point average.
In their last two meetings, Oregon has won and will make it a third one on Saturday (-12.5).
