Vilardo: Week 14 Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Stat Notes

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

Posted on February 24, 2021


  By Stephen Vilardo, SuperWest Sports

Oregon ranks 32nd in the nation with a steal on 11.0% of opponent’s possessions this season. In their last three games the Ducks have upped that mark to 13.2%, aided by a rate of 17.4% in Monday’s loss to USC.

usc logoAgainst the Trojans, the Ducks just did not convert enough of their 11 steals on the night into points, scoring 0.88 points per USC turnover for the game. During the five-game win streak the Ducks had prior to that loss they were averaging 1.26 points scored per opponent turnover.

The Ducks are second in the Pac-12 in opponents’ turnover rate at 20.7% on the season, just below Arizona State’s mark of 20.9%. The lowest turnover forced rate in the Pac-12 belongs to USC at 16.8%, 280th in the nation (USC’s steal rate of 6.5%, 322nd in the nation, is also the lowest in the Pac-12).

The Trojans forced an Oregon turnover on 6.3% Monday but scored 1.0 point per turnover on the night.

On the offensive end of the court, UCLA finds themselves turning the ball over on just 15.7% of possessions, tops in the Pac-12 and 34th best in America.

Colorado has turned the ball over on just 16.5% of possessions, second-best among Pac-12 teams, but the Buffs have jumped to 21.4% in their last three games and turned the ball over on 25.2% of possessions vs. Oregon State on Saturday. The Beavers scored 1.13 points per turnover in that game.


20 & 10 guys

Stanford’s Oscar da Silva and Evan Mobley of USC have each had four games of at least 20 points and 10 rebounds this season, tied for the sixth-most of any major conference players.


National Player of the Week for Noah Williams
Williams

Washington State’s Noah Williams averaged 28.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 5.3 assists in three outings last week as the Cougars went 2-1 for the week. The outburst earned the WSU Sophomore recognition as the NCAA’s National Player of the Week.

He had two 30+ point games against Stanford and Cal, averaging 36.0 points and 7.0 rebounds in the weekend sweep. The 72 points scored over the two-game weekend were the most by in history by a Washington State player.

Against Stanford his 40-point effort was the Pac-12’s first 40-point game since 2016 (Andrew Andrews 47).


—A look at this week’s matchups—
Washington and Washington State head to the Desert

Arizona escaped Pullman with an 86-82 double overtime victory in January in a game in which the Wildcats’ bench outscored the Cougars bench 44-7. It was Arizona’s third-straight win over WSU. The teams have split the last two played in Tucson but Washington Stat’s win in 2018-19 was their first at McKale Center since 2010.

Arizona has gone 19-4 at home vs. the Cougars since 1996. Arizona’s last five wins over WSU at home have been by an average of 22.8 points, including a 60-25 win in 2013-14—which marked the Cougars lowest scoring game since 1938, and the lowest-scoring game ever for a team at McKale Center.

Washington and Arizona State will meet for the second time this week on Thursday at Desert Financial Arena. With the win on Tuesday night, the Sun Devils have won five of the last seven meetings with the Huskies, and three of the last four played in Tempe.

ASU’s 33-point win on Tuesday was the largest margin by either team in the 87 games played between the teams. The last 14 between the teams prior to Tuesday night had been decided by 7.8 points per game. Remy Martin scored 26 to lead the Sun Devils vs. Washington and is now averaging 25 points per game in his last eight games.

Washington State and Arizona State have split their last four meetings. The Cougars have won two of the last three played in Tempe. Washington State has left Tempe with a win in 7 of their last 18 trips since 2001.

Arizona was a 27-point winner over Washington in Seattle on the last day of 2020. It was the fourth-straight win for the road team in the series. The Huskies have won their last two trips to Tucson by 13 combined points.

The December win for the Wildcats was the first double-digit win in the series since 2016-17 and just the second in the last 10 meetings.


USC and UCLA make the Mountain Trip

Colorado was a 10-point winner in the Galen Center on December 31st, their fifth-straight win over the Trojans. The Buffs have won the last two played in the Colorado Events Center and hold a 7-2 edge all-time in games played in Boulder.

UCLA was a 72-70 winner over Utah on New Year’s Eve, giving the Bruins three-straight in the series. That was a game the Utes led by as many as 12 points in the first half. Utah has won four of the seven meetings played in Salt Lake City since the Utes joined the conference.

Last year’s UCLA win in the Huntsman Center was the Bruins first since 2016-17

UCLA won the first meeting with Colorado 65-62 in Los Angeles. The Bruins have won three in a row over the Buffs including a seven-point win in Boulder last season. The last three meetings have been settled by a total of 14 points. UCLA has gone 4-3 in Boulder since Colorado joined the Pac-12.

Utah and USC have split their last four meetings with the home team winning all four. In January, the Trojans stifled the Utes in a 64-46 win in Los Angeles. USC outscored Utah 32-18 in the second half in that one.

Utah has gone 11-6 vs USC since joining the Pac-12 and the Utes own a 5-2 edge in Salt Lake City as conference opponents.


Oregon and Oregon State visit the Bay Area

Oregon has won three of the last four over Stanford including a 73-56 victory to start the calendar year in January. The Ducks won in Maples last year for the first time since 2017. The Cardinal have won four of the last six between the schools on their home floor.

Oregon State and Cal will meet on Thursday for the third time this season. Oregon State used a strong second half, outscoring the Bears 47-28, on the way to a 73-64 win at Gill Coliseum in January. It was the Beavers third straight win in the series.

Interestingly, all three of those games have been played in Corvallis, due to their November non-conference meeting. Cal has won nine in a row over Oregon State at home.

The last time the Beavs left Haas Pavilion with a win was in 2009. The Bears have won the last nine in Berkeley by 12.7 per game, and California is 18-1 in their last 19 home games against OSU.

Oregon defeated California in Eugene in December to run their win streak over the Bears to eight games. The Duck have won 10 of the last 11 meetings dating to 2015. UO has won three in a row at Haas Pavilion and four of the last five played in Berkeley.

Oregon has an average margin of 12.5 points per game during their eight-game win streak, with only three being within 10 points.

Stanford will look to sweep the season series from Oregon State for the third time since 2016-17. The Cardinal have won five of the last seven meetings between the teams and seven of the last nine played in Maples Pavilion.

The Beavers did pick up a road win last season as they swept the season series for the first time since 2009. The losing team in the series has been held to 71 points or less in each of the last eight between the teams.

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




—More from Stephen Vilardo—