The California Golden Bears (13-16, 7-9) travel to Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Ore., for a Pac-12 matchup with the Oregon Ducks (22-7, 11-5) on Thursday night. The Ducks enter this contest as a heavy favorite, laying 15.5 points at home with a posted total of 131.
Bear Necessities
Cal may be relishing the spoiler role lately, having won three of four, including an upset win over then-21st-ranked Colorado last Thursday. A win over the Ducks would certainly boost the resume, but a significant run in the Pac-12 Tournament would be required for the Bears to gain consideration for the NCAA Tournament.
Playing on the road has been Cal’s bugaboo this season, having gone 1-8 so far away from home, including 2-7 ATS. And one of their road covers came against those same Buffaloes when they lost by six as 16-point underdogs. However, they are just 2-6 ATS as double-digit dogs this season, a situation they find themselves in this evening.
Quack Quack
Oregon is known for its unique jersey combinations and court designs, but flashiness aside, it seems to be working in Eugene for the 13th-ranked team in the country. The Ducks are a perfect 15-0 SU at home and 10-5 ATS. They could find themselves in a tie with UCLA for the top seed in the Pac-12 if they get past Cal tonight. Then both the Ducks and Bruins close out their conference slate on Saturday.
Oregon has been led all season by National Player of the Year candidate, Payton Pritchard. The senior guard should, at the very least, take home the top honor within the Pac-12 as he leads the conference in both scoring and assists, and enters tonight’s contest ranked 5th in steals.
Pritchard had 21 points and eight assists in the first meeting between these two schools, breaking the school record for helpers in the process. It is worth noting, however, that the high-powered Ducks won by just 5, failing to cover the 10.5 back on Jan. 30.
The game went way over the posted total of 129, eclipsing that number by 20. Interesting to see that the 149 points in the first meeting only bumped the rematch’s total by two from the first time around.
Free Betting Pick
Oregon’s 20-game home winning streak is tied for the fourth-longest in school history, and they should improve that to 21 tonight. However, I think the line is a bit inflated with Vegas not giving much respect to Cal’s play of late (as noted, winners of three of their last four). It’s also worth mentioning that Oregon’s second-leading scorer and rebounder, Chris Duarte, is out with a broken finger.
Keep an eye on Cal sophomore Matt Bradley, who was named Pac-12 player of the week for the second time this season last week after averaging over 23 points and 5.5 rebounds in two games. Bradley, Andre Kelly and Paris Austin should provide enough to cover the spread. And while they’ll offer a glimmer of hope for the upset, Oregon will win the game straight up.
