Oregon men’s basketball hosts a marquee game against Arizona Wildcats: What to know

Oregon (14-5, 6-2 Pac-12) vs. Arizona (14-5, 5-3)

Time/date: 2:30 p.m., Saturday

Site: Matthew Knight Arena

TV: FOX. Radio: KUJZ-FM (95.3).

About the matchup: This game certainly lost some of its luster when Arizona suffered an inexplicable loss to Oregon State Thursday night in Corvallis. Oregon, meanwhile, comes in off an 80-61 win against Arizona State and now sits alone in first place in the Pac-12 standings after starting the week tied with the Sun Devils and Wildcats. Still, this series has been entertaining during the Dana Altman era, as the Oregon coach is 14-10 against Arizona during his previous 12 seasons in Eugene, including eight wins in the last 10 games. The Ducks haven’t lost to the Wildcats at Matthew Knight Arena since 2015, a stretch of six straight home wins. Seven of those wins under Altman have come against top-25 Arizona teams, including last season when the Ducks beat the No. 9 Wildcats 87-68 at home.

About the Ducks: Oregon snapped out of its 2½-game funk with a spectacular second half against Arizona State on Thursday. The Ducks outscored the Sun Devils 52-28 after halftime and shot 69% from the field to run away with the win. Oregon can’t afford a stumble against Arizona. The Ducks were 50th in the NET Rankings before Friday’s games and the Wildcats are a Quad 1 opponent, meaning a victory on Saturday could give them a significant boost. Guard Jermaine Couisnard is averaging 16.75 points in Pac-12 play and has recently been hot from 3-point range as he’s made 55% (17-of-31) from deep in the Ducks’ last four games. Center N’Faly Dante is officially back in game shape. After easing his way into the lineup following his 14-game absence with a knee injury, Dante has averaged 19.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.5 blocks, 1.5 steals and 30 minutes in his last two games while shooting 69.5% from the field.

About the Wildcats: Arizona is the only team from the Pac-12 in the Associated Press top 25 and is fourth in the NET Rankings. But the Wildcats are a less formidable team on the road, where they are 2-3 with losses to Stanford, Washington State and also the Beavers, who had lost five straight by an average of 15.2 points before Jordan Pope’s 3-point buzzer beater Thursday. A loss to Oregon would give Arizona back-to-back losses for the first time since 2021 and a stretch of 95 games. Statistically, there isn’t a better team in the Pac-12. The Wildcats lead the conference in scoring (89.37 points per game), scoring margin (plus-17.21), rebound per game (43.37), rebounding margin (plus-12.63), assists per game (19.0) and steals per game (9.21). North Carolina transfer guard Caleb Love has averaged 21.1 points during Pac-12 games.

Follow Chris Hansen on Twitter @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com.