Together, Oregon and Oregon State might offer the largest array of defenses any Pac-12 team will see in a single weekend of conference play: man-to-man attacks, straight 2-3 zones, matchup zones, 1-3-1 zones and presses sprinkled in everywhere.
Oregon State is known to switch defenses as game situations dictate, while Oregon will sometimes do it even within a single possession.
But the Ducks and Beavers might want to be careful using any zone against Arizona this weekend, if the Wildcatsβ 95-72 win at Washington last Saturday is any indication: UA tore apart the Huskiesβ full-time 2-3 zone, widely regarded as one of the conferenceβs most difficult to deal with.
The Wildcats pounded the ball through the zone into Azuolas Tubelis and Oumar Ballo, with both bigs carefully handling the ball and recording double-doubles. Instead of forcing shots when the zone collapsed on them, they often dished it off, with Tubelis recording four assists and Ballo collecting a career-high six with zero turnovers.
Their success also helped create good looks for guard Kerr Kriisa, who hit 6 of 11 3-pointers.
βWe moved the ball around a little bit more than we did the first time,β UA coach Tommy Lloyd said Monday on his radio show, referring to UAβs 70-67 win over Washington on Jan. 5 at McKale Center. The second time Ballo βgot a few touches in the high post, he got a few touches in the mid post, and he was able to kind of make plays, kick-outs, and find guys. He did a really good job of finding the open guy, and the guys were shot-ready.β
In the first matchup against Washington, Lloyd said Ballo wasnβt as mobile because of an illness he suffered earlier that week.
βWe kept him in the low post baseline against that zone,β Lloyd said. βBut moving him around (Saturday), heβs a big target in there. That helped us, and it helped him.β
Together, Ballo and Tubelis handled the zone so efficiently that Lloyd said he met with them on Monday to compliment them.
βThey did a great job of catching the ball and of playing with the concepts of the zone offense and looking down, looking opposite, looking back out top,β Lloyd said. βAnd then you have number advantages a lot of times against that zone when you get the ball inside. Theyβve dropped three defenders into the paint, thereβs two defenders that cover the perimeter β and thereβs a lot of perimeter to cover.
βSo if they have a little bit of a quarterback mentality β`check one, check twoβ β a lot of times they can find a wide-open guy.β
Another reason Oregon might not want to play much zone Thursday: The Ducks did just fine without it for much of their 87-68 win over Arizona on Jan. 14 in Eugene. In that game, Arizona shot just 37.5% while Oregon scored 19 points off 16 Arizona turnovers.
βThey basically manned us the whole game there and kind of had their way with us,β Lloyd said. βThey mix in a few possessions of 1-3-1 zone, and traditionally theyβve done some pressing back to this kind of switching zone man-to-man deal, but they really havenβt been doing that as much lately.
βI think they feel like theyβre in a good way, and they should because theyβre playing really well. So my guess would be theyβre going to play a lot of man-to-man defense, rely on their bigs and the rim protection, and their guard pressure, to give their opponents fits.β
While Arizona has won all four games it has played since Jan. 14, the Ducks have gone 3-1. They split the Bay Area trip before sweeping Colorado and Utah at home last weekend.
Stanford tip time set
Arizonaβs Feb. 11 game at Stanford will tip off at 6 p.m. Tucson time. The game, which had been listed as TBD until Tuesday, will be carried on ESPN2.
The Wildcats are scheduled for a 9 p.m. game on Feb. 9 at Cal. The UA Foundation will host an event in Menlo Park, California, between the Bay Area games on Feb. 10. Lloyd, UA staffer and former standout player Reggie Geary and Athletic Director Dave Heeke are scheduled to appear at the event.
University of Arizona president Robert Robbins, left, and director of athletics Dave Heeke help Bill Walton unveil the schoolβs gift to him of a custom decorated chair before Arizonaβs game against Washington State at McKale Center, Tucson, Ariz., January 6, 2023.
Waltonβs world
Bill Walton and Dave Pasch are scheduled to work the ESPN broadcast of Thursdayβs UA-UO game, the last time they are scheduled to work together at McKale Center this season.
Walton is also scheduled to be at McKale on Feb. 16 to work Arizonaβs game with Utah for Pac-12 Networks, while he and Pasch are scheduled to work both of Arizonaβs games in Los Angeles over the final weekend of the regular season. The Wildcats are scheduled to play at USC on March 2 on ESPN or ESPN2, then at UCLA on March 4 in front of an ESPN audience.
