What to know about Oregon Ducks men's basketball's road game against Washington Huskies
Oregon (10-3, 2-0 Pac-12) vs. Washington (8-5, 0-2)
Time/date: 6 p.m. Thursday
Site: American Airlines Arena, Seattle
TV: Pac-12 Networks. Radio: KUJZ-FM (95.3).
About the matchup: Oregon has won three straight and finished off a 6-1 December with wins against Southern California (82-74) and UCLA (64-59) at Matthew Knight Arena last week. The Ducks are off to their best start since going 11-2 in 2019-2020. Oregon is sixth in the conference in scoring at 78.08 pr game and fifth in scoring margin at +7.85. The Ducks have lost two straight to the Huskies after previously winning six straight and 12 of 13. Last season the teams only played once with Washington winning 72-71 in overtime in Seattle. Washington averages the third-most points in the conference at 82.46 but also allows the 11th-most at 75.92. The Huskies have the second-most blocked shots in the Pac-12 with 64 overall and 4.92 per game.
About the Ducks: With its small lineup this past month, Oregon has survived but not thrived when it comes to rebounding, as it is 10th in the Pac-12 with an average of 36.08 rebounds per game and eighth in rebounding margin at +1.85. The Ducks are still having success on defense, however. They lead the conference in turnover margin at +3.00 and are second with 8.32 steals per game. Jermaine Couisnard and Kwame Evans Jr. are tied for the team lead with 25 steals each. Couisnard (13.2 points per game) and freshman point guard Jackson Shelstad (14.7 ppg) lead Oregon’s offense. Reserve guard Kario Oquendo had been averaging 16.5 points over a four-game stretch that ended Saturday when he scored five against the Bruins in a season-high 27 minutes played.
About the Huskies: Washington opened the Pac-12 season with road losses to Colorado (73-69) last Friday and Utah (95-90) on Sunday. Against the 12-2 Utes, the Huskies gave up 60 points in the second half after leading 46-35 at halftime. Washington has one of the premier players in the conference in forward Keion Brooks Jr., who is the Pac-12’s No. 2 scorer (20.5 points per game) and No. 5 rebounder (7.6). Point guard Sahvir Wheeler is averaging 14.9 points and a conference-leading 7.0 assists. Former Oregon center Franck Kepnang has been out after re-injuring his right knee in mid-December. The high-energy big man had averaged 14 points and eight rebounds in the three games before he got hurt.
Follow Chris Hansen on Twitter @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Oregon Ducks men's basketball travels to Washington: What to know
