Utah comes into Eugene looking for a win against the Oregon Ducks to keep pace. With a win, Oregon will have a two game lead in the Pac-12 as they hit the road this week.
More from Autzen Zoo
- Oregon football: Ducks and Coach Prime playing it cordial leading up to Saturday
- Oregon Basketball: Non-conference slate features Michigan coming to Eugene
- Oregon football: Ducks find complete game effort in win vs Hawaii
- Oregon Ducks must get run game going against Hawaii
- 8 Pac-12 teams represented in Associated Press Top 25 after Week 2
Over the last few seasons the Arizona Wildcats have held the Pac-12 banner and made the Conference relevant when it came to the post season. As it stands now, the Oregon Ducks still have a ways to go to match what Arizona has done for the league, but standing in first place is not a bad place to start. Now, Dana Altman will prepare his team to defend it.
Oregon faces Utah on Sunday who come in looking for revenge on the Ducks who beat them in Salt Lake City a few weeks ago. The Utes come in on a roll winning five of their last six games. A win by Oregon gets them to 20 wins on the year for the first time in a very long time, since 1944 according to GoDucks.com. Dillon Brooks will again look to lead the home team averaging 17 points per game this season. With how the weekend has shaken out in the Conference, a win will also give Oregon a two game lead in the Conference.
Last Time Out(vs Colorado)
- Oregon shot 41 percent and had four players in double figures led by Elgin Cook with 18 points.
- On Defense, Chris Boucher added 6 blocked shots on the night.
- Oregon broke out to a 19-7 lead and had an 8-0 run during the opening stretch of the game vs the Buffaloes
Utah saw a 5 game winning streak come to an end at Oregon State on Thursday and have a better presence inside than Oregon. The game, similar to the game a few weeks ago will need to be defended and played well in the paint for the Oregon Ducks. Jakob Poeltl leads Utah with 17 points per game and is also hitting 65 percent of his shots from the floor. The Utes have five players that are hitting at 40 percent or better from beyond the arc. Jordan Loverage and Dakarai Tucker will look to keep the Utes in the game if Oregon pulls ahead.
Next: Oregon Running Back Thomas Tyner Retires From Football
Pulling ahead has been a strong suit of late for Oregon. On Thursday they had the game in hand in the first half pulling out to a 19-7 lead with a double digit lead to end the first half against a fiesty Colorado team. Oregon has yet to lose at home this season and the most important turf to defend on Sunday is Matthew Knight Arena. Tipoff between Oregon and Utah is set for 1pm on ESPN2.