LAS VEGAS (AP)-No. 9 seed Utah (16-14, 7-11) vs. No. 8 seed Oregon State (17-13, 7-11)
Pac-12 Conference Tournament First Round, T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas; Wednesday, 12 p.m. MDT
BOTTOM LINE: Utah is set to take on Oregon State in the first round of the Pac-12 tourney. The teams split the regular season series at one win apiece. The teams last faced each other on Feb. 13, when the Beavers shot 47.1 percent from the field while holding Utah to just 37.3 percent en route to the 19-point victory.
BIG MEN ON CAMPUS: Oregon State’s Tres Tinkle has averaged 18.4 points and seven rebounds while Ethan Thompson has put up 14.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists. For the Runnin’ Utes, Timmy Allen has averaged 17.5 points and 7.3 rebounds while Rylan Jones has put up 8.9 points and 4.1 assists.
CREATING OFFENSE: Thompson has made or assisted on 50 percent of all Oregon State field goals over the last five games. Thompson has accounted for 27 field goals and 29 assists in those games.
ASSIST DISTRIBUTION: The Beavers have recently gotten baskets via assists more often than the Runnin’ Utes. Oregon State has an assist on 45 of 64 field goals (70.3 percent) across its past three matchups while Utah has assists on 35 of 79 field goals (44.3 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: Oregon State has attempted the second-most free throws among all Pac-12 teams. The Beavers have averaged 21.1 foul shots per game this season.
