Pac-12 Conference Weekend Preview

Arizona’s Bennedict Mathurin (+4000) and UCLA’s Johnny Juzang (+5000) are the Pac-12 players with the best odds to be named the national player of the year.

Here’s a look at this weekend’s games in the SEC with some information for those who bet online.

UCLA Bruins at Oregon State Beavers

Date, time, and TV: Saturday, 4 p.m. ET, CBS

No. 12 UCLA (20-6, 12-5 Pac-12) saw its three-game winning streak end with Thursday night’s five-point loss at Oregon, with the Bruins listed by the college basketball spreads as the 2½-point favorite. The fourth loss in the last five road games dropped UCLA into third place in the Pac-12 standings 3½ games behind first-place Arizona. Four of the Bruins’ last five games went under the total.

Oregon State (3-23, 1-15) threw a scare into USC on Thursday before suffering its 13th loss in a row. The Beavers covered in two of their last three games.

UCLA has won four of the last five matchups with Oregon State but is just 1-3-1 against the spread in those games. Four straight meetings between the teams were decided by five points or less before UCLA’s 81-65 home win on Jan. 15.

Oregon State is 8-1-2 against the spread in the last 11 meetings with UCLA.

Eight of the last 10 games between the Beavers and Bruins went under the total.

Dashawn Davis had 27 of his career-high 31 points in the second half and overtime, but Oregon State’s bid for a monumental upset against USC fell three points short.

UCLA had 12 steals in Thursday’s loss to Oregon with Jaime Jaquez Jr. and David Singleton leading the way with three each.

Washington State Cougars at Washington Huskies

Date, time, and TV: Saturday, 6 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network

The rivals are meeting for the second time in four days. Washington State snapped a five-game losing streak with a 78-70 home win on Wednesday as a 10-point favorite, It was the fourth contest in the last five to be decided by single digits.

Cougs take part one of the Apple Cup! 🍎🏆

46 combined points from @rassoul_gueye & Efe Abogidi powered @WSUCougarMBB to a 78-70 victory over rival Washington.#GoCougs | #Pac12MBB pic.twitter.com/tzdkr8hrom

— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) February 24, 2022

Ten of the last 12 games for Washington State (15-12, 8-8) went under the total.

Washington (13-13, 8-8) has lost four games in a row but the Huskies have covered in nine of their last 13 contests.

Washington State has won four of the last five games against Washington, although the Huskies covered in the last two matchups.

Washington’s Terrell Brown Jr., the leading scorer in the Pac-12, has been held under 40 percent shooting in each of his last three games.

Mouhamed Gueye and Efe Abogidi combined for 46 points and 19 rebounds in Wednesday’s win over Washington.

Arizona Wildcats at Colorado Buffaloes

Date, time, and TV: Saturday, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN2

Arizona is closing in on its first regular-season conference title since the 2017-18 season. The Wildcats hold a 2½-game lead on Southern California with four games left to play, including an upcoming matchup between the top two teams in the Pac-12 standings.

Second-ranked Arizona (25-2, 15-1) has won nine games in a row but is 4-4-1 against the spread in that time. Five of Arizona’s last six wins have come by more than 10 points. Barring any stumbles between now and Selection Sunday, the March Madness predictions that have the Wildcats as a No. 1 seed will become reality.

Colorado (18-10, 10-8) saw its five-game winning streak snapped with an 82-65 loss to Arizona State as a six-point favorite at home. Five of the Buffaloes’ last six games went over the total.

Arizona has covered against the Las Vegas odds in each of the last four games against Colorado including a three-point loss as a seven-point underdog the last the two teams met in Boulder.

Colorado has won the last four meetings when Arizona comes to town and covered in three of them.

Evan Battey was 3 of 6 from 3-point range in Thursday’s game against Arizona State, but the rest of the Buffaloes were 4 of 21. Arizona was more successful, connecting on 12 of 28 3-point attempts in a 20-point win at Utah.

Stanford Cardinal at California Bears

Date, time, and TV: Saturday, 8:30 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network

It seems like ages ago since either Stanford or California won or earned a share of the Pac-12 regular-season title five times in a span of 12 seasons. Both enter this game without losing conference records.

Stanford (15-12, 8-9) has lost four of its last five games to fall to eighth place in the Pac-12 standings. Stanford failed to cover in its last two games, falling at home to Colorado and Utah. Three of its last four games went under the total.

Cal (11-17, 4-13) has lost 10 of its last 12 games, although the Bears have covered in four of the last five. Nine of Cal’s 11 wins have come at home.

Stanford has won three of the last four meetings with Cal. Two were by single digits, including a 57-50 Stanford win on Feb. 1 as a 6½-point favorite at home. Six of the last eight games between the teams finished under the total.

The teams have met in three of the last four Pac-12 tournaments.

Stanford leading scorer Harrison Ingram is shooting just 36.6 percent from the field in road games. Cal is 2-5 since second-leading scorer Andre Kelly went down with an ankle injury.

USC Trojans at Oregon Ducks

Date, time, and TV: Saturday, 10 p.m. ET, ESPN2

Southern California is still in contention for its first Pac-12 regular-season title since sharing the crown with Washington during the 1984-85, season but the Trojans have been living dangerously. USC has won five games in a row but four of them were by four points or less, including a three-point win against last-place Oregon State as a 10½-point road favorite. The Trojans have failed to cover in seven of their last nine games.

Oregon (18-10, 11-6) is coming off a five-point win over nationally ranked UCLA as a 2½-point underdog at home. It was the first time since a Dec. 18 win against defending national champion Baylor that the Ducks won when listed as the underdogs. Those two wins will come into play when the March Madness bracket is finalized.

Oregon and Southern California have split the last six meetings. Oregon’s 79-69 win on Jan. 15 snapped a run of six straight games between the Ducks and Trojans that were won by the home team.

Five of the last eight games in the series went under the total.

Oregon held UCLA to 4 of 24 shooting from 3-point range for its third win of the season against teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. USC had 13 steals but also allowed 12 steals in a double-overtime win against cellar-dwelling Oregon State.

Arizona State Sun Devils at Utah Utes

Date, time, and TV: Saturday, 10 p.m. ET, ESPNU

Arizona State is looking for the season sweep after winning 64-62 as a 1½-point favorite at home on Jan. 17. It was the third win in the last four games in the series by the Sun Devils and they covered in each of the wins. Five of the last six games between the teams went over the total.

Arizona State (11-16, 7-10) has won four of its last five games despite being underdogs in four of those contests. The Sun Devils have covered four of those five games. The Sun Devils are just 4-7 on the road.

Utah (11-17, 4-14) has won just one of its last seven home games, including Thursday’s 20-point loss to Arizona. Five of the Utes’ last seven games went over the total.

Arizona State’s bench had 35 points in Thursday’s win over Colorado with Marreon Jackson and Luther Muhammad combining for 32 of those points. Utah’s bench had 14 points in a 97-77 loss to UCLA.