Vilardo: Week 10 Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Stat Notes

Statistical notes on the season as a whole and on upcoming games

Posted on January 29, 2021


  By Stephen Vilardo, SuperWest Sports

Iast week against Arizona State, Bennedict Mathurin scored 31 points for Arizona. In doing so he became the third different Wildcat to go for at least 31 points this season, joining Jemarl Baker and Azuolas Tubelis. (Unfortunately, Mathurin left Arizona’s 80-67 over the Sun Devils on Monday with an ankle sprain.)


 

Arizona is the only team in the nation that has had at least three different players score 31 points or more in a game this season.

The longest current win streak in the Pac-12 belongs to Oregon State at three games. The Beavers knocked off Oregon for the fourth time in their last five meetings. The win was Oregon State’s first true road win over a Top 25 team since Jan. 5, 1985 when the Beavers upset No. 15 Washington 52-45 in Seattle.

OSU is ninth in the nation with 24.3 made FTs per 100 possessions; during the win streak, that figure has increased to 28.26 and was 32.51 vs. Oregon. Individually, Dearon Tucker is attempting .967 FTs per FG attempt this season—the highest rate in the Pac-12, and 15th in the nation.

The Beavers are currently fourth in the nation with an assist rate of 65.6% on the season.

The loss for the Ducks snapped their 28-game home win streak and is just the eighth loss at Matthew Knight Arena for Oregon in the last seven seasons. Oregon is 87-8 since 2014-15 at home, the .915-win percentage is the second highest among power conference teams during that stretch.

Washington has won two in a row thanks in large part to the efforts of Jamal Bey. In his last two games, Bey is shooting 78.9% from the floor while averaging 21.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.5 blocked shots per game.

Logging at least 38 minutes in each game, Bey was averaging 7.5 points per game in his first nine games of the season.

E. Mobley

Evan Mobley leads the Pac-12 with 2.93 blocked shots per game, the eighth-most of any player in the nation, and the second-most of any Freshman in the country. In the Trojans win over Cal, he added a career-high 25 points, knocking down 12 of 15 from the FT line. It was his seventh consecutive game with at least 10 points scored.

Mobley’s blocked shots have helped the Trojans to a blocked shot rate of 9.3% on the season, the ninth-best mark in the country.

UCLA’s loss to Stanford ensured that, under the Pac-12’s current 18-game Conference schedule, no team has finished league play undefeated. UCLA could have become the ninth team to reach the mid-point of the 18-game season with a 9-0 mark.

Oscar da Silva was a perfect 9-9 from the FT line vs UCLA in the win, collecting 26 points. The senior has reached double figures in every game this season for the Cardinal, and is averaging 22.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game over his last six games.

—The Week Ahead—


Washington State at Colorado

A quick rematch for Washington State and Colorado with their earlier season game rescheduled. On Saturday in Pullman, the Buffs picked up their 45th win since February 1, 2019, matching Oregon for the most wins among Pac-12 teams over that time.

The Buffs win was their first victory at Washington State since 2015-16. The Cougars are looking for their first-ever win in Boulder, going 0-8 all-time vs the Buffs in Colorado.


Oregon and Oregon State Visit UCLA and USC

The Ducks and Bruins will get a double dip this week meeting on Thursday night and again on Monday. UCLA and Oregon State will meet on Saturday with the Ducks sandwiching the Trojans in between.

UCLA has won 15 consecutive home games and 12 straight conference home games.

The Bruins have won the last three meetings in Pauley Pavilion over Oregon, and overall, the Bruins have won four of the last six meetings with the Ducks. Two of the last four between UCLA and UO have been decided in overtime.

The Bruins have had similar success over the Beavers recently, taking the last three at home over OSU, and seven of the last 10 meetings. Oregon State’s win in Pauley Pavilion in 2016 marked just the second time the Beavers have won at UCLA since 1989.

usc logoUSC and Oregon State are meeting for the second time in the last week and a half with the Beavers taking a 58-56 win last Tuesday in Corvallis. It was the third win in the last four meetings for the Beavs over USC.

The Trojans have won seven of the last 10 matchups and have gone 4-1 vs OSU in the last five played in the Galen Center.

USC has won three of the last five meetings with Oregon, having won each of their last two at home vs the Ducks. Prior to the recent success beginning with the 2016-17 season, the Ducks had won 14 in a row over the Trojans and are 16-3 in the last 19 meetings.


California and Stanford Head to the Desert

Stanford earned a 78-75 win at home vs. Arizona in December, snapping a 20-game win streak in the series for the Wildcats. Arizona has won the last 10 over Stanford in the McKale Center. The last time the Cardinal won in Tucson was a 67-66 win on February 16, 2008.

Arizona has won nine in a row at home over Cal and the Wildcats are in the midst of an eight-game win streak over the Bears. Arizona has won those eight in a row by an average of 13.1 points per game.

Arizona State has won five in a row over California by an average of 13.6 points. The teams have been separated by 41 total points in the last two hosted by the Sun Devils.

The Cardinal are 3-2 in their last five vs ASU. The teams have split the last two played in Tempe, but the Sun Devils have gone 5-1 the last six times they have hosted Stanford.


Utah at Colorado

Colorado won the first meeting between the teams in Salt Lake City earlier this month. The teams have split their last eight meetings. The Buffs have won the last three meetings in the Colorado Events Center and own a 7-2 record in home games vs. the Utes since the teams joined the Pac-12.

Colorado’s win earlier this season was the first victory for a road team in the series since the last time Utah got a win in Boulder in 2017.


Washington State at Washington

Washington State swept Washington last season. It was the fifth consecutive season that the season series was a sweep. The Huskies hold a 6-4 edge over the course of the last five seasons. The Huskies have won 4 of the last seven meetings in Seattle.

Follow Stephen on Twitter @StephenVilardo and his organization @SERCenter, and visit his website at SERCenter.





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