Oregon at No. 3 Arizona highlights week in Pac-12 hoops

Updated Feb. 16, 2022 2:47 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Things to watch this week in Pac-12 Conference basketball:

GAME OF THE WEEK

Oregon at No. 3 Arizona, Saturday. The Ducks and Wildcats have played some epic games in the past and this could be another. Arizona (22-2, 12-1 Pac-12) moved up a spot in this week's AP Top 25 after beating the conference's Washington schools on the road. The Wildcats have won six straight since losing to No. 13 UCLA and have one of the nation's top offenses, ranking third in Division I with 84.9 points per game. Oregon (17-8, 10-4) had appeared to be rounding into form, as it typically does late in the season under coach Dana Altman, winning 10 of 11 games before a clunker loss against California. The Ducks are 2 1/2 games behind Arizona after knocking off Washington State.

LOOKING AHEAD

UCLA and No. 17 Southern California are still in the Pac-12 race with Oregon, but can't afford too many more letdowns. They host the Washington schools. .... Colorado and Stanford, two teams clinging to NCAA Tournament hopes, play Saturday in Northern California. The Buffaloes and Utah also play at Cal, and the Oregon schools are making the difficult desert swing.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

Arizona is off to its best league start since opening the 2016-17 season 15-1. The Wildcats are currently being predicated to be a No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed, according bracketology aggregator Bracket Matrix. ... ESPN's College GameDay will be making its fourth appearance at Arizona for the Oregon game. ... Washington's Terrell Brown Jr. leads the Pac-12 in scoring (22.1 points) and steals (2.3), putting him on pace to become the fifth player in conference history to lead both categories.

PLAYER TO WATCH

Drew Peterson, USC. The senior guard picked up the slack with leading scorer and rebounder Isaiah Mobley out last week, averaging 19.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 4.5 blocks in two games to earn player of the week honors.

ON THE WOMEN’S SIDE

No. 2 Stanford's bid for a perfect Pac-12 season will face a stiff test when the Cardinal head to Oregon on Sunday. Stanford (21-3, 12-0) also plays at Oregon State on Friday. ... USC's Jordyn Jenkins was named Pac-12 of the week after averaging 22.7 points and 10.7 rebounds last week. ... Arizona State has a makeup game against Cal on Thursday before joining No. 8 Arizona in facing the Washington schools. ... UCLA also has a makeup game against Oregon on Saturday before joining USC in hosting the mountain schools.

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Compiled by AP Basketball Writer John Marshall in Phoenix.

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More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25