Oregon @ Arizona preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 11, 2017 ) Arizona 83, Oregon 80

No. 21 Arizona has not had many problems on offense this season and it would like to match the effort on the other side of the court from last time out when Oregon pays a visit for a Pac-12 contest Saturday. The Wildcats rebounded from an 80-77 loss at Colorado last Saturday by holding Oregon State to 53 points on 39.3 percent shooting in their nine-point victory on Wednesday.

“I am happy with our defensive effort,” Arizona coach Sean Miller told reporters. “That’s as hard as we’ve played. It’s not really my opinion. You look out and see things happen. Guys are really helping each other, pressing the ball. Steals are happening. Some of their turnovers were because of us and it was good to see.” The Wildcats will be playing a rejuvenated Oregon team after the Ducks recovered from a loss to rival Oregon State by defeating 11th-ranked Arizona State 76-72 on Thursday night. Leading scorers Payton Pritchard and Elijah Brown each scored 18 in the victory as Oregon moved back to .500 in the league. “We talked about some of the stuff we’ve been going through and we came together as a team and our brotherhood is a lot stronger and tighter,” senior forward Mikyle McIntosh told reporters after Thursday’s win. “Instead of relying on ourselves, we relied on the team as a whole.”

TV: 2 p.m. ET, ESPN2

ABOUT OREGON (12-5, 2-2 Pac-12): Pritchard, a sophomore, leads the team in scoring (15.2), assists (4.2) and made 3-pointers (41-of-97) while junior backcourt partner Elijah Brown (13.2 points) has drained 39 attempts from behind the arc. Freshman forward Troy Brown has added 11.7 points per game and tops the team in rebounding (7.5), but made just 4-of-15 from the field over the last two contests. Junior forward Paul White is the fourth double-figure scorer (10.4) and McIntosh (9.0 points, 5.9 rebounds) scored 12 and hauled in 13 boards against Arizona State for his second double-double of the season.

ABOUT ARIZONA (13-4, 3-1): The Wildcats are averaging 82.5 points and shooting 49.9 percent from the field overall with three players scoring at least 15 per game, led by freshman forward Deandre Ayton (20.0). Junior guard Allonzo Trier (19.6 points) has been efficient and Miller told reporters sophomore guard Rawle Alkins (15.0) is “the most versatile player on our team” while averaging 15 points. “We’re a work in progress,” Miller said after Thursday’s win. “We’re improving. I wasn’t looking at jumping off any bridge after we lost our last game and certainly not celebrating like we won the Super Bowl tonight.”

TIP-INS

1. Oregon’s 6-foot-10 senior F Roman Sorkin registered 13 points in 13 minutes Thursday after scoring 10 combined in his previous seven games.

2. Arizona senior G Parker Jackson-Cartwright, who averages 7.3 points and 4.9 assists, scored five points combined on 1-of-12 shooting in the last two contests.

3. The Wildcats edged Oregon 83-80 in the Pac-12 Championship game last March after the Ducks had won the previous three meetings.

PREDICTION: Arizona 74, Oregon 68