TUCSON, Ariz. – After defeating No. 3 Arizona State in their Pac-12 home opener on Dec. 30, the Arizona Wildcats are set to host their first game in McKale in 2018. UA welcomes the Oregon State Beavers to McKale Center on Thursday night at 7 p.m. (MST) on the Pac-12 Network.

No. 17/21 Arizona vs. Oregon State
Thursday, Jan. 11 at 7:00 p.m. (MST)
TV: Pac-12 Network (J.B. Long & Eddie House)
Radio: Arizona IMG Radio Network (Brian Jeffries & Ryan Hansen)
Twitter: @APlayersProgram
#BearDown
 
Arizona returns to the friendly confines of McKale Center on Thursday evening where the Wildcats have won 78 of their last 80 games going back to the 2013-13 season. Arizona is 131-13 (.910) at home under head coach Sean Miller with a mark of 64-9 (.877) in Pac-12 games.

The Wildcats split their trip to the Mountain schools last week. Arizona cut a 20-point deficit down to as few as three points in the loss at Colorado. Deandre Ayton finished with a game-high 26 points while Dusan Ristic secured his third double-double of the season (fifth of his career) with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Head coach Sean Miller has a career mark of 10-4 versus Oregon State with all 10 of those victories coming in the last 11 games versus the Beavers. UA's average margin of victory in Miller's 10 wins over OSU is 17.3 points per game.

Deandre Ayton is averaging 20.4 points and 11.6 rebounds per game while shooting 62.5 percent from the field for the season. The freshman is one of just three players in the nation to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds per game while shooting over 60 percent from the field. Joining Ayton in that distinction are Duke's Marvin Bagley III and Saint Mary's Jock Landale.

UA's all-time home record of 33-6 (.846) versus Oregon State in Tucson ranks as the program's highest home winning percentage versus a Pac-12 foe, narrowly edging both Washington schools at 31-7 (.816).

Senior Parker Jackson-Cartwright finished the Colorado game with eight assists to just one turnover. It was the point guard's 15^th game of six or more assists with one or fewer turnovers but the first in a road game. In the 14 previous games achieving the feat, 12 had been at home and two in neutral site games.

With 13 points against the Buffaloes, Dusan Ristic has now scored in double figures in each of his last four games. It's his longest such streak since scoring 10 or more points in five consecutive games in January and February of last year. Ristic's longest double-digit scoring streak is six straight games earlier last season.

Forward Deandre Ayton has scored 20 or more points in his last three games, averaging 24.3 points versus Arizona State, Utah and Colorado. He joins Lauri Markkanen and Derrick Williams as the only UA freshmen of the Sean Miller era (2009 to present) to score 20 or more points in three consecutive games. Arizona's all-time record for consecutive games of 20 or more points is eight by Coniel Norman in 1972-73. Norman would achieve the feat twice that season.