TUCSON, Ariz. -- Arizona had its way with Oregon last season, winning the three meetings by an average of almost 27 points a game. The Ducks remembered, and they got some streak-busting payback.
No. 23 Oregon broke No. 18 Arizona's 49-game, home-court winning streak with an 83-75 Pac-12 victory over the Wildcats at McKale Center on Thursday.
Arizona's string of home-court success was the longest active run in Division I.
"We've been chasing Arizona, and we still are," Oregon coach Dana Altman said. "Forty-nine games in a row is unbelievable. This is the program that is setting the standard in the Pac-12 right now. It's not even debatable.
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"When we recruit players, one of the first questions we ask is can he help us win the league. Can he help us beat Arizona?"
Oregon (17-4, 6-2) showed that it could, proving itself despite falling behind 26-13 when the Wildcats made 12 of their first 13 field-goal attempts. The Ducks lost by 34 at McKale Center last year.
"That was embarrassing," Oregon reserve forward Dwayne Benjamin said of the 2015 result. "I definitely went in there and said it's not going to happen again. We can't let that happen again."
Guard Dillon Brooks scored 24 points, and he had 10 points in the final 10 minutes as the Ducks pulled away. Benjamin added 15 points for Oregon, which is tied with Washington for the Pac-12 lead.
Wildcats guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 64 with 7:28 remaining, but Oregon scored the next eight points on a jumper and three free throws by Benjamin and a 3-pointer by Brooks.
"It was a big win," Brooks said. "It was a big streak to break."
Brooks' layup with 1:01 remaining gave the Ducks an 80-69 lead. Guard Gabe York made two 3-pointers to bring Arizona within 81-75 with 34.6 seconds left, but the Wildcats (16-5, 4-4) got no closer.
Forward Ryan Anderson had 22 points for Arizona, and York added 18 as the Wildcats lost their second straight.
"I just want to say on behalf of the team, we apologize to the fans, players, coaches, all the guys that put work into the streak and the players that gave us the beautiful facilities that we have," Anderson said.
"In general, we are not up to the standard we need to be, and we have to figure that out."
Arizona committed 19 turnovers, the third time this season it had at least that many. It lost the other games, to Providence and USC. Oregon gave the ball away only six times.
The athletic, active Ducks forced many of the giveaways after switching from a man-to-man defense to a 2-3 zone nine minutes into the game to counteract Arizona's hot shooting. Oregon outscored the Wildcats 70-49 the rest of the way.
"They didn't know what to do with it," Brooks said of the zone. "Our zone is a different kind of zone. It's like a matchup zone. We get after it and force turnovers."
Anderson had 16 points in the first half, and Jackson-Cartwright's first 3-pointer gave Arizona 26-13 lead with 11:22 to go, but after switching to the zone, the Ducks pulled within 42-41 at the half.
Brooks' 3-pointer capped a 10-0 run for a 52-46 lead early in the second half, and Arizona never led again.
"The program history speaks for itself, and McKale is just an amazing place," Arizona coach Sean Miller said. "Nothing about that atmosphere was a part of our game tonight."
NOTES: After Arizona's loss, Wichita State owns the longest home-court winning streak in Division I at 41 games. ... Arizona and Oregon do not meet in Eugene this season due to the Pac-12's unbalanced schedule, making Oregon's victory important in any tie-breaking scenarios. The Arizona schools do not play the Oregon schools on the road or the mountain schools, Utah and Colorado, at home. The Oregon schools do not play the Washington schools on the road. ... Oregon and Arizona had three non-conference opponents in common. Both teams Long Beach State. Arizona beat UNLV and Boise State. Oregon lost to both. ... Oregon was ranked No. 6 in the NCAA RPI rankings entering the game, tops in the Pac-12. The Ducks' strength of schedule was No. 4 in the NCAA rankings, also best in the league.
