The Oregon Ducks will host a contest against the Long Beach State 49ers at Matthew Knight Arena. Action begins at 9:00 pm ET on Friday, Dec. 18 and can be seen on PAC.
The Ducks enter this game hoping for similar success after topping UC Irvine 78-63 on Tuesday. Elgin Cook was the game’s leading scorer with 26 points on 10-for-16 shooting. The 49ers, meanwhile, are coming off an 87-60 win against Tampa on Saturday. A.J. Spencer led the game in scoring by registering 16 points on 6-for-8 shooting.
Dillon Brooks has taken his game to another level over the last five games for the Ducks. During that stretch, he has averaged 18.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.2 steals, 0.8 blocks, and 1.6 three-pointers.
Scoring opportunities from the charity stripe may be sporadic for the 49ers in this one. They’re 289th in the nation in FTA rate (31.2), while Oregon is among the nation’s least foul-prone teams (yielding a rate of 26.1, ranking 30th overall).
This one isn’t expected to be close when Oregon, a big 13-point favorite, takes on Long Beach State. According to the oddsmakers, the Over/Under (O/U) is currently 149 points. The Ducks come into this game 8-2 Straight Up (SU) and 4-3-1 Against The Spread (ATS). Opponents have consistently had their shots rejected by the Ducks, ranking 17th in the country in blocks per game with 6.1.
Over on the other bench, the 49ers have records of 7-2-1 ATS and 6-6 SU. The 49ers rely heavily on three-pointers on offense, ranking 18th in the nation with 107 made (8.0 per game). The 49ers are the better of the two teams when it comes to assist-to-turnover ratio, ranking 37th in Division I at 1.42.
Oregon and Long Beach State will be facing off for their first head-to-head game in recent seasons.
Predictions: SU Winner – Oregon, ATS Winner – Oregon, O/U – Over
Notes
Oregon is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games.
Oregon is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home.
Long Beach State scores 73.2 points per away game (ranked 92nd). Oregon ranks a poor 115th in points allowed at home, allowing 64.1 points.
The Oregon Ducks have a defensive rating of 91.6 (ranked 32nd), while the Long Beach State 49ers have an offensive rating of 108.0 (ranked 134th).
The Long Beach State 49ers average a field goal percentage of 43.7% this season. The Oregon Ducks have a winning 2-1 record in games where opponents have a FG% of 43.7% or greater.
The Oregon Ducks rank higher based on their field goal percentage (126th) than their effective field goal percentage (150th). The Long Beach State 49ers rank higher based on their effective field goal percentage (134th) than their field goal percentage (185th).
Long Beach State ranks 58th in assists, recording 16.3 per game. Oregon performs worse at 157th with 13.9 assists per game.
The Oregon Ducks average 6.1 blocks per game, the 17th-ranked team in the country. The Long Beach State 49ers rank a lowly 327th in blocking with just 1.8 per game.
Oregon is one of the top teams in forced turnovers, with opponents averaging a TO% of 23.3% (ranked 21st). Long Beach State is winless this season (0-1 SU) when its TO% reaches 23.3% or greater.
