Pacific Northwest Rivals Collide: Oregon at Washington

Oregon Ducks at Washington Huskies, Bank of America Arena, Seattle, WA
Thursday, January 6, 2011, 8:30 pm Eastern, TV: Fox Sports Northwest
Opening Line: Washington -23
Current Line: Washington 20 1/2
Opening Total: 151
Current Total: 151 1/2
Money Line: No line

Isaiah Thomas and the Huskies take on Oregon in the Pac 10 home opener for Washington. The Huskies are 20 1/2 point favorites.

Oregon is 7-7 on the year under first year coach Dana Altman. They are 0-2 to start Pac 10 play after being swept at home by the Arizona schools last weekend. The Ducks could be the worst team in the Pac 10 in basketball. Gee, if only there were some championship sporting event next Monday that Oregon was involved in to take Duck fan minds off how mediocre the basketball team is. Oregon has lost 4 games in a row to Virginia, Idaho, plus the two Arizona schools. They also have losses to San Jose St, Duke and Missouri earlier in the season. The best win for the Ducks is probably against UC-Santa Barbara. that should tell you that Oregon doesn’t really have a quality win on the season. The Ducks travel to Seattle to take on the 10-3 Washington Huskies. Washington is 2-0 in conference play after sweeping the Southern California teams in Los Angeles last weekend. The Huskies have won 4 in a row since a 63-62 loss at Texas A&M. They also lost to Kentucky and Michigan St in the Maui Invitational. Washington has wins over Virginia Texas tech, and Nevada on the season. Washington has won 9 straight Pac 10 games dating back to last season. They have a record of 183-103 in the series against Oregon. Washington has won and covered 3 of the last 4 meetings with Oregon, and all 4 games have gone over the total. Oregon is 25-46 ATS in all games the last three seasons, including 13-29 as underdogs.

Oregon leading scorer senior forward Joevan Catron is listed as probable with a back injury. Catron is averaging 16,4 points, and 6.3 rebounds a game. He also averages 1.6 assists and 1.1 steals a game. Sophomore forward E.J. Singler averages 12.1 points, leads the team in rebounds with 6.4 a game, plus he also averages 1.5 assists and 1.2 blocks a game. Point guard Malcolm Armstead leads the team in assists with 3.7 a game and steals with 2.2 a game. The Ducks are outscoring opponents 72-69 on the season. The Ducks are shooting 41.4% from the field and 29.3% from 3-point range. Duck opponents are shooting 43.7% from the field. Oregon makes 72.3% of their free throws. They average 35.3 rebounds a game and have a rebounding margin of +0.7. They average 13.3 assists and 12.7 turnovers a game. The Ducks force 16.8 turnovers a game on defense. They average 8.7 steals and 3.6 blocks a game.

Washington is battling injury problems of their own. Starting guard Abdul Gaddy tore his ACL in practice Tuesday and is gone for the season. He was averaging 8.5 points and 3.8 assists a game. C.J. Wilcox is his back-up and will start in his place, but he is questionable with a hip injury versus Oregon. Wilcox is averaging 8.1 points a game. if Wilcox can’t go freshman Terrance Ross will start. He is averaging 6.6 points a game in 13.7 minutes a game. The huskies are led by senior point guard Isaiah Thomas who is an All-America candidate. Thomas averages 15.5 points, 3,8 rebounds, 4.2 assists to lead the team, and 1.2 steals a game. Forward Matthew Bryan-Amaning is scoring 14.8 points, 6.9 rebounds to lead the team, 1.2 steals and leads the team in blocks with 1.2 a game. Forward Justin Holiday averages 12.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and leads the team in steals with 1.9 a game. Washington is outscoring opponents 88-68 on the season. The Huskies shoot 48.3% from the field and 41.2% from 3-point range. Washington hold opponents to 39.7% shooting from the field. Washington averages 40.5 rebounds a game and has a rebounding margin of +5.5. They average 18.1 assists and 11.8 turnovers a game. They force 17.2 turnovers a game on defense. The Huskies average 8.3 steals and 4.8 blocks a game.

The loss of Gaddy will hurt the Huskies but they still have enough to beat Oregon at home. If Washington wins they will tie a school record for most consecutive conference wins at 10 in a row. Washington has the edge in rebounding and defense as well as scoring. They should win in a rout.