They may be in a new conference, but the matchup on Thursday between the No. 16 ranked Oregon Ducks (16-4, 5-4 Big Ten) and the UCLA Bruins (15-6, 6-4 Big Ten) inside Pauley Pavilion will be a battle to keep both teams inside the top half of the expanded Big Ten.
Oregon raced out to a 9-0 start to the season, but the Ducks have struggled once the school began Big Ten play. All four losses have come to teams inside their conference, including the 73-71 home defeat to the Bruins in December.
UCLA was primed to be atop the conference standings this season after starting the season with an 11-2 mark. A four-game losing streak to start 2025 hurt the Bruins’ chances of finishing atop the league, but UCLA has won four straight games since that earlier skid.
Can UCLA win another close game over the Ducks, or does Oregon finally have their conference foe’s number? We’ll cover that and provide our three best player prop bets for Thursday’s game.
The Ducks have a budding star in sophomore guard Jackson Shelstad. Currently, he’s leading his team in minutes played per game while contributing 12.7 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.7 assists each night. Shelstad has scored at least 15 points in five of his team’s previous six outings, increasing his production as the season progresses.
In his team’s earlier battle with the Bruins, Shelstad finished with 11 points and a pair of rebounds and assists in his team’s loss. With Oregon’s reliance on their big man (see below), bettors should take the under on this player prop bet.
The Bruins are a guard-heavy team, featuring nine players on their roster designated at that position. UCLA relies heavily on 6-foot-6 guard Kobe Johnson as he’s logging the most minutes among his teammates this season.
Johnson has the rare distinction of being his team’s leading rebound despite being a guard. In his first matchup against the Ducks, Johnson finished with just five rebounds as foul trouble kept him out of the lineup. Expect him to rectify this situation and finish with at least six boards on Thursday, covering this player prop bet.
Oregon has a force inside with 7-footer Nate Bittle. The senior is averaging 12.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in his fourth season in Eugene, leading the Ducks in both scoring and rebounding.
In his team’s earlier matchup against the Bruins, Bittle was dominant. He recorded 22 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists to lead his team in all three categories. There’s little reason for bettors to expect his performance will decline. Smart money will be on Bittle finishing with more than 21 points, rebounds, and assists combined in tonight’s contest.
This conference battle is crucial for Oregon after the Ducks have dropped two of their past three games. A win would push the school into the league’s top seven programs, giving them a better chance to make a run in the Big Ten tournament that’s just six weeks away.
It would be easy to pick UCLA to win this game as the team continues to find ways to win. A 3.5-point spread is significant in this matchup as the teams have already battled to a two-point game earlier this season.
That makes the best bet for the final combined score to exceed 140 points. Even though UCLA ranked 30th in the nation in scoring defense, the Ducks have exceeded 70 points in all but three games thus far. Expect the Ducks to win a close one with both teams scoring above 70 points on Thursday.
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Earnest is a 25-year veteran of the newspaper industry. He's spent the majority of his early years working as a sports reporter and editor. He made the move back to the digital world in 2022, joining EatWatchBet as a senior writer. Ernie covers college football betting, fantasy football, and NFL betting for EatWatchBet.