Vilardo: Week 7 Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Stat Notes

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

Posted on January 5, 2021


  By Stephen Vilardo, SuperWest Sports

With 2020 Pac-12 football in the rearview mirror, this column switches its focus to men’s basketball. Each week, I’ll bring you statistical notes on the season as a whole and upcoming games.


 


Statistical Pac-12 Basketball Season Notes

Colorado is off to a 7-3 start on the season and the free throw line is a big part of their success. The Buffs are shooting 85.0% from the free throw line this season, the third-best in the nation, missing an average of 2.7 FTs per game—also the third-best in the country, and the highest of any team that has played at least four games.

The next best mark in the conference belongs to Washington with just 3.88 misses per game, 25th in the nation.

The Huskies however are not getting to the line much, averaging just 12.75 trips to the line per game. Arizona is making 18.7 FTs per game which is the 12th-most of any team in the country, and the most in the Pac-12. The Wildcats are missing 8.2 per game, 311th in the nation.

On the other end of the spectrum is USC, shooting just 60.5% from the line. ranking 322nd in the nation. The Trojans are missing 8.75 FTs per outing, ranking them 330th out of 336 Division-1 teams that have played a game this season.

Only slightly better than USC is Washington State. The Cougars are missing 8.67 foul shots per game, 329th in the nation. This is what did the Cougs in against Arizona in their lone loss of the season. WSU missed 18 foul shots in that game, including nine in the overtime periods alone.

The loss snapped Washington State’s 9-game winning streak, which had been the fifth-longest in the nation.


 

Washington State’s loss to Arizona also marked the first time the Cougars have lost a game under Kyle Smith when they led with five minutes to go. They are now 23-1 since the start of last season in that situation.

Oregon State dropped a Monday afternoon affair with Stanford to fall to 1-2 in conference play. The Beavers head to Utah and Colorado this week. In the last two seasons, the Beavs are 3-1 in road trips to the Mountains.

Stanford got the win away from home and remains the only team in the nation that has yet to play a game on their home floor. The Cardinal will not get a game at Maples Pavilion until January 21st at the earliest.

Oscar de Silva has obviously not minded the extended road trip as the senior is averaging 26.3 points and 9.2 rebounds per 40 minutes over his last six games.

The loss to Stanford was Oregon State’s first in which the Beavs did not hold a lead of at least 10 points at some point in the second half. One factor in OSU’s inability to hold leads is that they are shooting just 46.3% on non-blocked two-point field goals; that is 321st in the nation and the worst of any major conference team.

West Virginia and Kansas are the only other Power 6 Conference (Power 5 + Big East) teams ranking above 260th in that category. The next closest Pac-12 team is Arizona, ranking 234th at 51.6%. Oregon is shooting a Pac-12 best 59.4% on non-blocked two-point shots, 59th-best in America.

When the shots are falling, OSU is moving the ball well, ranking fourth in the nation with an assist rate of 66.7% on the season.

Individually Tyger Campbell is tied for ninth in the nation with 7.22 assists per game for UCLA. The Bruin has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 4.3:1 on the season, third in the Pac-12.

Leading the conference is Arizona’s Terrell Brown at 6.6:1, the second best in the nation. Jarod Lucas has a 5:1 for the Beavers.

While Stanford has yet to play a home game this season, one team thriving once again at home is Oregon. The Ducks knocked off Stanford for their 28th-consecutive win at Matthew Knight Arena, the third longest active streak in the nation.

In the win, Eric Williams Jr. had 12 points and six rebounds. It was the eighth time this season he has scored at least 11 with at least six rebounds, one of just 11 players in the nation with as many such games.


 


Statistical Notes for This Week’s Games

UCLA has won three in a row over Arizona overall and the Bruins have won their last three over the Wildcats in Tucson. Since the 2015-16 season, UCLA has gone 5-3 in their Pac-12 games played in Arizona.

USC has not had nearly as much success in Tempe having lost 7 in a row at Arizona State. The Sun Devils are 11-1 in their last 12 at home vs. the Trojans.

usc logoArizona has won 10-straight over USC in the McKale Center. Overall, the Trojans have won three of the last four meetings over the Wildcats.

The Beavers and Ducks head to Utah and Colorado this week. In the last two seasons, the Beavs are 3-1 in road trips to the Mountains.

Oregon has gone 2-2 on those trips sweeping the Utes and dropping both games to Colorado. In fact, the Buffs are a perfect 9-0 all-time vs. the Ducks in Boulder.

UPDATE: The OSU at Utah game has been cancelled due to COVID-19 issues. Oregon has won five of their last six at the Huntsman Center, and the Ducks have gone 6-2 at Utah since the Utes joined the Pac-12, posting a 17-2 overall record vs. Utah as conference opponents.

California and Stanford will host the Washington schools this week. The Bears have gone 5-1 vs Washington at Haas Pavilion since 2013-14. The last two between the teams in Berkeley have been decided by a total of six points.

Cal is 3-1 in their last four home games vs Washington State and the Bears have taken each of the last three meetings in the series.

The games hosted by Stanford will be played in Santa Cruz, where the Cardinal are 2-0 on the season. Stanford has won seven-straight home games vs. Washington State and have taken 13 of the last 14 overall in the series, including the last eight between the teams.

Since 2012-13 Washington State is 2-12 on the Northern California road trip. Stanford is 5-1 the last six times they have hosted the Huskies.

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