Pac-12 Basketball Notes: Is Oregon Really That Good? What’s With Arizona?

Last week we noted the surprising results of Arizona State (good) and UCLA (bad), and this week we are wondering whether Oregon is as good as its early results suggest and whether Arizona is worse than we were led to believe.

Why is Oregon winning?

The Ducks are the only team unbeaten in Pac-12 play at 5-0, but we are struggling to explain why.

No Oregon player ranks in the top 10 in the Pac-12 in scoring.

No Oregon player ranks in the top 10 in the Pac-12 in rebounding.

No Oregon player ranks in the top 10 in the Pac-12 in field-goal percentage.

No Oregon player ranks in the top 10 in the Pac-12 in assists.

Oregon ranks 11th in the Pac-12 in field-goal percentage defense.

The Ducks’ only proven star, 2022-23 all-conference selection N’Faly Dante, has played just two games and just one in Pac-12 play.

So how is Oregon doing it?

1. The Pac-12 has only one top-25-caliber team and the Ducks have not faced Arizona yet. The conference does not seem to be as strong as it was a year ago. None of the Pac-12 teams Oregon has beaten is among the top 50 in Monday’s NET rankings.

2. Dana Altman can coach. Oregon has won at least 20 games in each of the last 13 seasons and had a winning conference record in each of those seasons. No other Pac-12 coach can match that. (Tommy Lloyd has been at Arizona only three seasons, and the Wildcats won just 17 games in 2020-21.)

3. Shelstad Jackson, a freshman who missed the first four games of the season, leads the team in scoring (14.6), field-goal percentage (50.8%), three-point percentage (43.8%) and assists (2.8). And he’s even better in Pac-12 play: 16.8 points, 56.6% field goal percentage, 58.8% three-point percentage.

We’ll see if the success continues. The Ducks embark on the treacherous mountain trip against Colorado (10-0 at home) and Utah this week, then host Arizona State and Arizona the next week. If they come through that with a 2-2 record, Oregon could be considered legit.

This dunk by 6-foot-4 Kario Oquendo over Cal’s 6-foot-11 Fardaws Aimaq was part of the Ducks’ comeback win over the Bears.

ON. HIS. HEAD. 🔥

Kario finishes with authority! #GoDucks

📺 @Pac12Network pic.twitter.com/P4iC5j3NUJ
— Oregon Men's Basketball (@OregonMBB) January 14, 2024

Do Jerod Haase and Kyle Smith know something about Arizona?

Arizona has played three Pac-12 road games and lost two of them – by 18 points to Stanford, which has a NET ranking of 103, and Saturday’s 73-70 loss to Washington State, who limited the Wildcats to a season low in points.

Arizona’s road win at Duke to begin the season seemed to suggest the Wildcats could be dominant away from home, but those two losses indicate something different.

Or is it just that Stanford coach Jerod Haase and WSU coach Kyle Smith have discovered a secret formula on how to beat Tommy Lloyd’s Wildcats.

Arizona was ranked in the top 10 during its the losses to Stanford and WSU this year. But what is more interesting is that Stanford, which finished 7-13 in the Pac-12 last season, beat fourth-ranked Arizona by nine points last season, and WSU, which would up 17-17 overall, knocked off fifth-ranked Arizona by 13 points last season in Tucson.

Haase and Smith seem to know something other coaches don’t when it comes to facing Tommy Lloyd.

Cal: No lead is safe, no deficit insurmountable

Cal had an interesting week, overcoming a 20-point deficit – including a 19-point deficit in the second half – to beat Colorado, then blowing an 18-point, first-half lead in a loss to Oregon three days later.

This is normal operating procedure for Cal under first-year head coach Mark Madsen.

Cal has blown double-digit, second-half leads in three losses this season – losing to Pacific by eight points after leading by 10 with 15 minutes left, falling to Tulane after having an 11-point lead with 12 minutes to go, and losing to Arizona State after taking a 16-point lead with 16 minutes remaining.

This does not include blowing a 26-point, first-half lead against UC San Diego, which took the lead late in the game before Cal recovered to win by four.

Nor does it include a loss to Montana State, which led by 14 with 15 minutes left before Cal closed to within one point and lost by three.

Nor does it include an overtime loss to San Diego State in which the Bears rallied from a 12-point deficit with nine minutes left to force overtime.

Nor does it include a loss to USC in which the Trojans held a 17-point lead with 12:27 remaining before Cal closed to within four points with 30 seconds left.

Pac-12 Player of the Year Standings

(A team’s place in the standings matters)

1. Shelstad Jackson, Oregon – 16.8 points, 56.6% shooting, 58.8% 3-point shooting during conference play for a first-place team.

2. Caleb Love, Arizona – 18.3 points per game and averaging 22.4 points in Pac-12 play.

3. Frankie Collins, Arizona State – 13.6 points (16.2 in Pac-12 play), 5.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists.

4. KJ Simpson, Colorado – 19.3 points, 51.4% field-goal shooting, 46.2% 3-point shooting, 4.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists

5. Jaylon Tyson, Cal – If the Bears had a winning Pac-12 record Tyson might be No. 1. He has scored 20 points or more in six straight games.

Top Five Pac-12 Teams

(Based on results, not the eye test)

1. Oregon (13-3, 5-0 Pac-12) – The only team unbeaten in conference play.

2. Stanford (9-7, 4-2) – The Cardinal’s overall record doesn’t look great but wins over Arizona and Utah leave it near the top for now.

3. Arizona (12-4, 3-2) – The Wildcats slipped to No. 12 in this week’s AP rankings.

4. Arizona State (10-6, 4-1) – That 15-point loss to Washington did not help the Sun Devils' image.

5. Washington State (12-5, 3-3) – Idaho transfer Isaac Jones averaged 25.0 points and 12.0 rebounds in wins over USC and Arizona this past week.

Cover photo of Shelstad Jackson by Ben Lonergan, The Register-Guard , USA TODAY Sports

Follow Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

Find Cal Sports Report on Facebook by going to https://www.facebook.com/si.calsportsreport

Add us as a preferred source on Google