Oregon Faces ASU in Pac-12 Home Opener

EUGENE, Ore. — Playing its first home game since Dec. 17, Oregon returns to Matthew Knight Arena to host Arizona State Friday in its Pac-12 home opener at 7 p.m. PT.

GAME #17
Oregon (9-7, 0-3) vs. Arizona State (8-7, 0-3)
Friday, Jan. 12 | 7 p.m. PT | Matthew Knight Arena (Eugene, Ore.)
TV: Pac-12 Oregon
Play-by-play: Rich Burk | Analyst: Angela Taylor
Radio: Oregon Sports Network (Eugene: KUGN 98.1 | Portland: KPAM 860 AM)
Play-by-play: Chris Clayton | Analyst: Bev Smith
Listen Online | Live Stats | Tickets

AT A GLANCE
Oregon returns to Matthew Knight Arena Friday for the first time since Dec. 17, following a five-game road swing that included three straight games away from home to open Pac-12 play.

The Ducks fell to 0-3 to begin conference play for the first time since 2016-17 after facing a pair of top-10 opponents in No. 2 UCLA (75-49) and No. 9 USC (68-54) last weekend.

Oregon and Arizona State will meet for the 75th time on Friday, with the sides each winning 37 times over the previous 74 matchups. UO has won eight of the last 10 meetings in the series after sweeping the season series a year ago.

LAST TIME OUT
Oregon suffered a 68-54 loss at ninth-ranked USC Sunday. Grace VanSlooten scored a game-high 18 points, including five straight to begin the fourth quarter that brought the Ducks within a point before the Trojans pulled away to a 14-point victory.

Five players got into the scoring column for Oregon, with four cracking double figures. Sofia Bell scored 11 behind 3-of-6 shooting from the 3-point line and Chance Gray also finished with 11, scoring all her points in the second half after missing Friday's game at UCLA due to injury.

Phillipina Kyei scored 10 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in turning in her Pac-12-leading ninth double-double. She now has 17 double-doubles in her career, which are tied for 12th-most in program history.

SCOUTING ARIZONA STATE
Arizona State (8-7, 0-3) enters Friday night's contest having lost three straight and five of its last six after dropping a pair of home games to ranked foes in No. 15 Utah (58-41) and No. 5 Colorado (81-68) last weekend.

ASU is led by 16.0 points per game from Jalyn Brown, with Jaddan Simmons scoring 11.9 and Trayanna Crisp adding 11.6 a game to round out three in double figures. Brown ranks seventh in the conference in scoring while Simmons second with 35.4 minutes per game and 90 free throw attempts.

As a team, the Sun Devils rank last in the Pac-12 in field goal percentage, assists per game, blocks per game, scoring defense and rebounding margin.

Through three league contests, ASU is averaging 53.7 points per game while allowing an average of 76.7 points. The Sun Devils are shooting 30.6 percent from the field and 27.7 percent from the 3-point line in Pac-12 play. In conference-only games, Brown is leading the Pac-12 at 25.0 points per game.

INSIDE THE SERIES
Friday's game will mark the 75th all-time meeting between Oregon and Arizona State, with the sides splitting the first 74 matchups (37-37). Sweeping the season series a year ago, the Ducks have won four of the last five and eight of the last 10 in the series. UO won by an average of 24.5 points in its two victories last season, winning 77-49 at Matthew Knight Arena after an 82-62 win in Tempe, matching its largest margin of victory on the road in the series done in the 1995-96 season.

Oregon is 22-13 at home all-time against ASU, going 6-4 at Matthew Knight Arena, with the last meeting coming in the regular-season finale a season ago. In that contest, UO owned a 52-37 rebounding advantage and a 26-5 lead in fast-break points.

CLOSING TIME
Oregon has been at its best when it counts this season, averaging 35.1 points in the second halves of games compared to 28.6 points in first halves. The Ducks have a plus-18 scoring margin in the fourth quarter, and hold a plus-30 scoring differential in the second half compared to a minus-22 differential in the first halves of games. As a team, UO has a higher field goal percentage (44.0%), 3-point percentage (31.7%) and free throw percentage (78.1%) in the fourth quarter than overall for the season.

» The Ducks have outscored their opponents in the fourth quarter in nine of 16 games, including six of the last nine after outscoring UCLA 15-14 Friday night.
» Leading by just four headed into the fourth quarter against Idaho on Dec. 8, Chance Gray went a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line over the game's final 3:22 to help stave off Idaho and earn an eight-point win.
» Gray knocked down all five of UO's 3-pointers against PSU, including four in the fourth quarter and three coming on consecutive trips down the floor to help seal the victory.
» In the last five minutes of games, the Ducks shoot 88.0 percent from the free throw line (44-for-50) while Gray is a perfect 18-for-18 from the stripe.
» Oregon is 3-1 this season in games decided by less than 10 points and have won four of the last six such games, dating back to last season. The Ducks are 10-6 in games decided by three points or less since the start of the 2016-17 season.
» The Ducks have played five "clutch games" - games that are within five points with five minutes or less to play - and have won four of those five: Grand Canyon, Idaho, UTSA and Oklahoma State.

KEYS TO VICTORY
This season, Oregon is 8-2 when scoring over 60 points while going 9-2 when holding opponents under 70 points. The Ducks are 8-2 when scoring more points in the paint than their opponents and 7-2 when outrebounding its opponents.

» In its nine victories, Oregon is averaging 69.9 points a game while shooting 42.6 percent from the floor while allowing 51.6 points per game.
» Over its seven losses, the Ducks score 55.9 points per game at a 38.4 percent clip and allow 78.3 points a game.
» Oregon has committed fewer turnovers than its opponent just three times this season, winning all three contests.
» UO has gone 9-0 when finishing with a higher field goal percentage than its opponent and 0-7 when opponents shoot at a higher rate from the field.