Oregon Closes Out Regular Season With Road Matchup Against Utah

It's been a seesaw of a season for the Oregon Ducks in 2021-22. From early injuries leading to a sloppy 3-3 start, to an eight-game winning streak including a pair of top 10 wins, to a 4-5 stretch over their last nine games, the Ducks could use a strong finish in Salt Lake City.

Judging based on the series history alone, it looks like the Ducks should take care of business, but this Utah Utes team has taken a big leap in year six under Head Coach Lynne Roberts.

The Oregon Ducks have won 12 straight against the Utah Utes — their longest active win streak against any opponent. Prior to their 70-66 win at Matthew Knight Arena on Jan. 26, the Ducks had won the previous 11 meetings by double digits, with an average margin of victory of 20.6 points.

Since Utah's 18-1 start to the 2018-19 season that was halted by the Ducks, the Utes have gone 38-51. With a win over the Ducks on Saturday, the Utes would put themselves in the driver's seat for their first NCAA tournament berth in 11 years.

This Utah team's calling has been its efficient shooting at all three levels. Leading the conference in scoring (78.0 points per game), three-point percentage (35.8%), free throw percentage (78.8%), and three-pointers made per game (9.65), the Utes are a lethal offensive team.

While the Utes have not shot nearly as well from three over their last three games (29.2%), the Ducks have been worse over the same stretch (25.7%). For the Ducks to keep up with the shooting prowess of Utah, they'll have to answer triples with triples.

Endyia Rogers is one player that can help the Ducks do just that, as she paced them with a season-high 28 points as well as a season-high four threes against Colorado. She provided plenty of clutch buckets late in the game that kept them in it until the final buzzer.

Sydney Parrish is one of the purest shooters in the Pac-12 but has been in a bit of a rut in the month of February, shooting at a 25.0% clip from downtown. When she finds her rhythm, she can shoot the lights out, and the Ducks will need her to light it up on Saturday.

Kylee Watson, Sydney Parrish, & Te-Hina Paopao vs. Stanford

The Utes are a unique team in that they have players at every position that can shoot from the outside, and they are one of the deepest teams in the conference. When they bring players off the bench like Brynna Maxwell, Dasia Young, and Peyton McFarland off the bench, there is no drop off in production.

They use a balanced offensive attack, as six players average seven points per game or more, with no one averaging more than 12.0 points. Gianna Kneepkens, Utah's leading scorer this season, scored a game-high 17 points the last time these two teams met. The true freshman put up 13 points in the fourth quarter to keep the Utes within one or two possessions throughout the period.

Utah has three players in the top 10 in the Pac-12 in three-point percentage, with Kennady McQueen ranking second at 45.4%. The Utes move the ball well, led by the Pac-12 leader in assists Dru Gylten, and have excellent player movement to create open looks.

Their recipe this season, however, has been to outshoot teams as they rank last in the Pac-12 in scoring defense and field goal percentage allowed. Two key players that can act as a remedy for Oregon against this strategy are Nyara Sabally and Sedona Prince.

Sabally scored 15 points on 7-8 shooting against the Utes in their first meeting. While Prince didn't score in eight minutes off the bench, her size down low will be a mismatch against any defender. If she has her mid-range jumper falling early, she could provide a big lift for Oregon.

Oregon will need all the help it can get to finish the regular season strong heading into the Pac-12 Tournament, which begins on March 2. If the Ducks win, they will clinch a first-round bye in the tournament. A loss would mean the Ducks would need some help from California against Washington State and/or from USC against Arizona on Saturday to secure the bye.

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