Larry Ness Pack 12 Best Of The Best Game of the year
ARIZONA WILDCATS
My 10* Pac-12 Game of the Year is on Arizona at 9:00 ET. The 10-6 Oregon Ducks (1-2 in Pac-12) will be in Tuscon Thursday night to take on the 13-4 Arizona Wildcats (4-0 in Pac-12). Oregon head coach Dana Altman is wondering how to deal with the loss of 7-2 freshman Bol Bol (21.0 & 9.2), who is out for the season with a foot injury. Meanwhile, Arizona's Sean Miller has seen 6-10 Duke transfer Chris Jeter 'take off,' giving the Wildcats a legitimate shot at winning the Pac-12 in a down year for the league. Not only have the Ducks lost Bol Bol, but the 6-9 Wotten (6.6 & 4.9) has missed the last four games (jaw) but may play here. The Ducks blew a 17-point lead in the second half and an eight-point advantage in the final 45 seconds of regulation in an 87-84 overtime loss to UCLA last Thursday but snapped a two-game slide with an 81-60 victory over USC on Sunday. 6-9 freshman forward Louis King continues to thrive in Pac-12 competition. King has averaged 19.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per Pac-12 game, raising his season averages to 11.0 and 5.7 plus is shooting 40 percent from the floor after going 23-for-48 in his last three contests. 6-9 senior forward Paul White (10.4 & 3.8) matched a career high with 19 points versus USC and is averaging 15.8 in his last four contests while grabbing at least four rebounds in each game during that span. Junior guard Payton Pritchard is now the team leader in scoring (11.7) and assists (4.6). Miller has quietly molded this team. Arizona has won six straight (4-2 ATS) since a home loss to Baylor back on Dec 15. Jeter recorded a career-high 23 points and nine rebounds while shooting 8-for-11 from the floor in Arizona's 87-65 victory at California on Saturday. Jeter scored just 103 points in 48 games (10.3 minutes per contest) with Duke from 2015-17 before sitting out the 2017-18 season. However, is averaging 13.4 PPG and a club-high 7.4 rebounds, while shooting a team-high 64.3 percent from the floor. Sophomore guard Brandon Randolph (16.3 PPG) is one of two Pac-12 players to reach double figures in every contest (UCLA's Kris Wilkes is the other). Senior guard Justin Coleman (9.2) and freshman PG Brandon Williams (11.5 & 3.8 APG) join Randolph to give Arizona an impressive guard trio. Arizona was shook by seeing its 52-game non-conference home win streak end in a 58-49 loss to Baylor on Dec 15 but the Wildcats won six straight since (four of those wins have come at home). The Wildcats enter this contest a national-best 91-4 at the McKale Center since 2013. Oregon has averaged only 56.7 PPG in three true road games this season, while Arizona is 9-1 SU at home, averaging 75.9 PPG. The Wildcats should easily handle this modest impost. Lay it! Good luck...Larry