GAME NOTES: The Oregon State Beavers will conclude their annual Bay Area trip tonight as they face the Stanford Cardinal in a Pac-10 matchup at Maples Pavilion.
Oregon State has not fared well on its recent trip, or on the road as a whole. The Beavers lost at California on Thursday night and have yet to win a Pac-10 road game this season. Overall, they have dropped two straight and five of their last six.
Stanford’s four game homestand rolls on tonight against Oregon State. The Cardinal began the home stretch with a 67-59 loss to Oregon on Thursday night. The Cardinal have now lost four games in a row and sit at 3-5 in Pac-10 play.
With respect the all-time series, tonight’s game marks the 131st meeting between Oregon State and Stanford. The Beavers currently hold a 69-61 lead over the Cardinal.
Oregon State put up little resistance in its 85-57 loss to Cal on Thursday night. Trailing by 10 at the break, the Beavers gave up 49 second half points to suffer the embarrassing defeat. Cal shot 50.8 percent on the night and handed out 23 assists. Really, though, it was the Oregon State offense which truly suffered, hitting 19-of-59 field goal attempts on the night. Jared Cunningham led the Beavers in defeat, as 11 of his 15 points came from the charity stripe. Devon Collier also had a strong game, with 14 points, six rebounds, two assists and three steals. Lathen Wallace and Calvin Haynes led the Oregon State bench to the tune of 12 and 10 points, respectively. The Beavers score a solid 71.7 pg on the year, but allow an unforgivable 73.1 ppg on the other end. The relatively high number of points allowed per game is made more surprising by the fact that the Beavers lead the nation with 10.32 steals per game and have compiled more steals than their opponents in 14 of 19 games. They also have committed fewer turnover than their opponents in 12 of 19 games, leading to a plus-2.8 turnover margin.
The Stanford offense was virtually nonexistent in its loss to Oregon, handing out 10 assists against 18 turnovers. The Cardinal shot 41.7 percent from the field and 31.6 percent from three-point range. Tied with the Ducks at halftime, the Cardinal was outscored 38-30 in the second half to suffer the loss. Dwight Powell managed to have a solid night in defeat, scoring a team- high 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting and grabbing six boards. Jeremy Green added 13 points, although he went just 3-of-10 from the field and committed three turnovers. Anthony Brown came off the bench to score 12 points in 24 minutes of action. Stanford specializes in low-scoring games, scoring 63.2 ppg. During its current four game slump the Cardinal has not scored more than 59 points in a contest, and managed just 42 points against USC on Jan. 20th. Green leads the low-scoring attack with 14.6 pg, but he shoots just 37.6 percent from the floor. Stanford manages to stay in games due to its stingy defense, which is allowing just 60.9 ppg.
Neither team has thrived lately. Although the Oregon State defense gives up points, it does force teams into mistakes. Tonight’s matchup against the low- scoring Cardinal gives the Beavers a perfect opportunity to utilize their active hands to contain a team and earn a win.
GAME NOTES: The Oregon State Beavers will conclude their annual Bay Area trip tonight as they face the Stanford Cardinal in a Pac-10 matchup at Maples Pavilion.
FACTS & STATS: Site: Maples Pavilion (7,329) — Stanford, California. Television: CSN-BAY. Home Record: Oregon State 7-5, Stanford 8-2. Away Record: Oregon State 1-6, Stanford 1-5. Neutral Record: Oregon State 0-0, Stanford 1-2. Conference Record: Oregon State 3-5, Stanford 3-5. Series Record: Oregon State leads, 69-61.
Saturday, January 29th, 10:00 p.m. (et)
Oregon State 70, Stanford 61