Oregon Hosts UCLA in Rescheduled Non-Conference Matchup

The Oregon Ducks have a rare Wednesday night matinee on the calendar as the UCLA Bruins come to Eugene looking for a signature win.

Despite Wednesday's game being the first meeting between the two teams this season, the Ducks will technically be on the chase for their second win over the Bruins in 2021-22. These teams had been scheduled to clash in Eugene on Jan. 28, but due to the Bruins being unable to play enough healthy players, the game was called a forfeit, counting as a win for the Ducks.

The game will not count toward Pac-12 standings, but that doesn't entail that it will mean any less for either team to come out on top. UCLA has had Oregon's number in recent seasons, including a two-game sweep last season. In fact, since Kelly Graves took over in 2014-15, only Oregon State (5) and Stanford (4) have more wins at Matthew Knight Arena over the Ducks than UCLA (3).

Oregon is coming off of a home loss to the Beavers on Monday, a game in which the Ducks trailed for most of the final three quarters. The Beavers scored 13 straight to finish the first half with a 10-point lead and were able to fend off multiple comeback attempts in the second half.

Oregon Ducks vs. Oregon State Beavers (2/13/22)

Te-Hina Paopao

Te-Hina Paopao drives past Oregon State's backcourt into the paint.

For the Ducks in Wednesday's game against UCLA, size will be an advantage. UCLA ranks ninth in the conference in both offensive and defensive rebounds and doesn't typically have a starter taller than 6-foot-2 Chantel Horvat. Former Duck Angela Dugalic recently made her UCLA debut, and at 6-foot-4, she'll provide a versatile big for the Bruins.

Nyara Sabally has come off of the bench in the past two games as she has dealt with an injury, which hasn't seemed to faze her as she's still averaged 14.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in 30.0 minutes per game.

Sabally could use a strong performance against the Bruins to boost her confidence. In her last three games, she has shot a combined 11-32 from the floor (34.4%) and has seen her points per game average fall nearly a whole point. Against a smaller Bruins lineup, expect to see her either back in the starting lineup or playing more than 30 minutes off the bench.

The point guard matchup of Te-Hina Paopao and Charisma Osborne will be an intriguing one to watch in Wednesday's matinee. Osborne ranks second in the Pac-12 in points per game (17.5) and seventh in assists (3.4).

The junior guard is coming off of the best shooting performance of her career in a win over Washington. She scored 22 points on 7-9 from the field and an impressive 5-6 from downtown. She has the second-most 20-point games of any player in the Pac-12 with seven, including in each of her last two games.

Not too far behind her is Paopao with four 20-point games. After a hot streak in January where she scored at least 21 in three straight games, she has shot just 36.4% from the field, averaging 12.2 points per game in her last nine.

Plenty of Ducks from last year's team will have revenge on their minds, as the Bruins knocked off Oregon twice, including a 73-71 heartbreaker that gave the Ducks their first loss of the season. With UCLA's NCAA Tournament hopes waning, the Bruins will be hungry for a repeat of last season, as well as vengeance for the loss on their record due to the forfeiture this season.

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