Jay Bilas explains why Arizona is vulnerable in road game vs. Oregon

Arizona is in need of a bounce-back victory, but college hoops analyst Jay Bilas isn’t so confident in the Wildcats as they travel to Eugene to face Oregon.

The Wildcats fell in heartbreak fashion in Corvalis against Oregon State earlier in the week thanks to a moonshot buzzer-beater three to win it for OSU’s Jordan Pope — one of the most aesthetically-pleasing jumpers of the entire college hoops season. But Arizona must pick themselves up by their bootstraps and lock in for an even tougher road test just down the road vs. Oregon.

Since conference play began, top teams like the Wildcats have made a habit of losing on the road, even to non-top-25 teams. Saturday only brings another slew of opportunities for some more unranked teams to pick off the nation’s best on their home court. So, when asked on SportsCenter which of the top-10 squads is most vulnerable on the road today, Jay Bilas pointed to Eugene, where he likes the Ducks to really push Arizona.

“I would probably go with Arizona,” he answered, and then broke down what he likes from the Oregon lineup.

“They’re on the road at Oregon. Oregon’s got Jermaine Couisnard and Jackson Shelstad in the backcourt. Couisnard is leading them in scoring, assists, steals, three-pointers. But they’ve also got size with N’Faly Dante inside, who’s averaging about 14 points, almost nine rebounds a game.”

Bilas continued, noting the common nature of road losses for top teams while boasting that Oregon is a tough place to win.

“Oregon is really difficult to play at home under Dana Altman. And, you know, it seems like road games for top-10 teams have been a House of Horrors no matter where they’re playing. But I think the most vulnerable is probably Arizona — coming off that buzzer-beating loss at Oregon State — having to go to Oregon.”

With the Ducks getting closer to full strength with a guy like Dante back in the lineup, they’re perhaps even better than their solid 14-5 record suggests. Unfortunately for Arizona, the easier task was earlier in the week, and they lost that. It’ll take one heck of an effort to avoid an 0-2 trip to the Beaver State.