Oregon Ducks Underdogs vs. Arizona Wildcats In NCAA Tournament: March Madness Upset?

Preview, TV channel, and betting odds for the men's basketball matchup between the Oregon Ducks and the Arizona Wildcats on Friday, March 21, in the round of 32 game in the NCAA Tournament.

Mar 21, 2025; Seattle, WA, USA; Oregon Ducks forward Supreme Cook (7) dribbles the ball against the Liberty Flames during the second half in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images / Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

The Oregon Ducks took care of business in their opening round matchup of the NCAA Tournament, defeating Liberty 81-52 on Friday night. It's the ninth time the Ducks have won their opening round game under coach Dana Altman.

Oregon will return back to the Climate Pledge Arena to take on the Arizona Wildcats on Sunday at 6:40 p.m. PT. The game will be broadcast on TBS.

Mar 21, 2025; Seattle, WA, USA; Oregon Ducks forward Mookie Cook (11) reacts with teammates against the Liberty Flames during the second half in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images / Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

For the first time, in a long time, Oregon did not take on the Wildcats in conference play during the regular season since both teams split apart from the Pac-12 at the end of last season. The last time both teams faced off was in the 2024 Pac-12 Basketball Tournament quarterfinals, where the Ducks got the better of the Wildcats in a 67-59 win.

However, despite holding the latest win in their long-time history, the Ducks come into their second game of the weekend as the underdogs. According to DraftKings, the Wildcats open up as -4.5 favorites over the Ducks for Sunday's second-round game. 

Both teams didn't need to dive deep into the playbooks to take down their opening round opponent. Oregon won by a margin of 29 points over the Conference USA champion, meanwhile Arizona dispatched the MAC champions, Akron, by 28 points in their win on Friday night.

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Mar 21, 2025; Seattle, WA, USA; Oregon Ducks guard Jadrian Tracey (2) dribbles the ball against Liberty Flames guard Colin Porter (0) during the second half in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images / Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

One of the biggest keys of the game for the Ducks if they want to win is stopping Caleb Love from having a big game. The senior guard leads the Wildcats with 16.6 points per game, but is prone to having off-nights shooting the ball.

In their latest matchup last season, the Ducks held Love to just six points as he shot 2-11 from the field. Altman obviously knows how to scheme around the offensive threat and will need to come up with another game plan to shutdown Love.

The Ducks are coming off one of the best defensive games of the season in their win over the Flames. Oregon held Liberty to just 51 points, which is the lowest total they've allowed since their Dec. 29 win over Weber State. If the Ducks are able to carry their defensive intensity into the game vs. the Wildcats, it would be a big boost to their upset bid.

Oregon will look to rely on their big man Nate Bittle as a matchup to watch. Bittle's size at 7-0, 220 pounds is hard to guard and Arizona's rotation has no one who immediately matches up to his combination of size and athleticism. Altman should try and run the offense more in the low post to maximize his size advantage in the frontcourt.

• Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. 
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