Beavers Set For Primetime Civil War Against Ducks In Pac-12 Opener
Jan. 2, 2013
THE GAME: Oregon State (10-3) opens its Pac-12 season in a big way when rival Oregon (11-2) visits Gill Coliseum at 7 p.m. on Sunday in the 338th Civil War presented by PacificSource Health Plans, NW Ford Dealers, McDonald's and Wells Fargo. TELEVISION: The game will be televised nationally on Fox Sports Net with Steve Physioc and Corey Williams calling the action. RADIO: The game will air live on Beaver Sports Radio Network with Mike Parker calling the action. It can also be heard online at this link for a fee and on satellite radio on SiriusXM 91. ONLINE: Live updates are available by visiting osubeavers.com and clicking on Gametracker. SOCIAL MEDIA: Live updates will be available on Twitter and Facebook. QUICKLY: Oregon State and Oregon meet for the 338th time, making it the most-contested rivalry in college basketball ... The Beavers have defeated the Ducks 184 times, the second-most wins against a single team in NCAA history (Washington has defeated Oregon 187 times) ... Oregon State leads the Pac-12 in three-point percentage (.405) and is second in the conference in scoring (77.9), rebounding (40.5) and blocked shots (5.3) ... Eric Moreland has a double-double in four consecutive games and leads the Pac-12 with seven on the season ... Moreland is second in the Pac-12 in rebounding (11.2) and blocked shots (2.7) ... Moreland (t3rd, .625), Devon Collier (t7th, .571) and Joe Burton (10th, .538) are all in the top-10 in the Pac-12 in field goal percentage ... Burton moved into Oregon State's top-10 career rebounding list with 605 boards ... Roberto Nelson concluded a hot-shooting month of December by averaging 19.3 points and knocking down 60.7 percent from beyond the arc. vs. OREGON: Oregon State and Oregon have played an NCAA-record 337 games with the Beavers holding a 184-153 advantage. The Beavers lead the series 99-61 in games played in Corvallis, including a 56-29 advantage at Gill Coliseum. The teams split the series last season with each winning on the opponent's floor. The Beavers won the first game, 76-71, on Jan. 29 at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene. After trailing 28-23 at halftime, Oregon State scored 53 second half points on a sizzling 57 percent from the field for the come-from-behind win. Jared Cunningham dominated the second half with 24 points and finished with 27 in the game to earn Pac-12 Player of the Week honors. The Ducks avenged the loss by claiming a narrow 74-73 victory on Feb. 26 at Gill Coliseum. The Beavers rallied from 10 points down and had an opportunity to tie the game, but a Challe Barton three-point attempt with three seconds left bounced off the rim. BEAVERS vs. DUCKS IN CONFERENE OPENER: Oregon State and Oregon have met eight times previously in the Pac-12 opener since the conference expanded to 10 teams in 1978-79. The Beavers won the first two meetings but the Ducks have won the last six, including the last time they played in the conference opener on Dec. 30, 2006 at Gill. Dec. 21, 1978 -- Oregon State 85, Oregon 58 (Corvallis) ANOTHER STRONG START TO THE SEASON: Oregon State is 10-3 for the second consecutive season. It's just the fourth time in school history the Beavers have at least 10 wins in their first 13 games in back-to-back seasons. The longest streak is five consecutive seasons between 1921-22 and 1925-26, while the Orange Express teams from the early 80's did it three straight times. 2012-13 -- 10-3 1981-82 -- 11-2 1925-26 -- 11-2 1906-07 -- 13-0 THE OFFENSE KEEPS ON TICKING: Oregon State's offense hasn't missed a beat despite losing last year's leading scorer Jared Cunningham (17.9 ppg) to the NBA and Angus Brandt to a season-ending injury. The Beavers are averaging 77.9 points per game this season, which is second in the Pac-12 and just one point less than last year when Oregon State led the conference in scoring for the first-time ever with a school-record 78.9 points per game (conference scoring records began in 1959-60). SPREADING THE SCORING AROUND: Oregon State has gone to more of a team concept with five different players leading the team in scoring in games this season: Devon Collier 3, Roberto Nelson 3, Ahmad Starks 3, Joe Burton 1, Eric Moreland 1 (Nelson and Moreland shared scoring honors in two games). Jared Cunningham led the Beavers in scoring in 18 of the 36 games last season. SHOOTING IT WELL FROM DEEP: Oregon State is leading the Pac-12 in three-point percentage at 40.5 percent (77-of-190). The best percentage in school history is 40.6 percent (97-of-239) in 1987-88, which is the only time the Beavers have shot better than 40 percent from the three-point line in a season. BUILDING IT ONE BRICK AT A TIME: Some people have forgotten that Craig Robinson took over a team that went 0-18 in the Pac-10 the season before he arrived. That 2007-08 team averaged 59.9 points per game and lost those 18 conference games by nearly 20 points per game (77.2-57.6). Oregon State's offense has continued to improve as Coach Robinson and his staff have gotten their own players into the program. The Beavers averaged 60.8 points in his first season, 60.3 his second year, 69.3 in year three, 78.9 last season and 77.9 thus far this season. KEEPING THE OPPONENT BELOW 40 PERCENT: Oregon State has held eight of its 13 opponents below 40 percent shooting and is 7-1 in those games (Towson shot 38.5 percent in the loss). The Beavers held only seven of their 36 opponents below that clip last season and were 6-1 in those games. On the season, Oregon State's opponents are shooting 40.7 percent from the field and 31.1 percent from the three-point line. Last season teams shot 45.5 percent from the field and 38.8 percent from deep. BLOCK PARTY: Oregon State is averaging 5.3 blocked shots per game this season, which is second in the Pac-12 and would be a school record if the season ended today. The Beavers averaged 4.61 blocks per game last season to finish second in the Pac-12 and trail only UCLA by 0.03 (4.64). The Oregon State school record for blocked shots in a season is 4.7 in 2005-06. CRASHING THE BOARDS: Another point of emphasis during the offseason was rebounding, and Oregon State has seen the results by averaging more than five rebounds per game this season (40.5) than it did last season (34.8). The Beavers are third in the Pac-12 in rebounding and third in offensive rebounding (13.5). THE FIVE-MINUTE MARK: Having the lead at the five-minute mark has been very important during the Craig Robinson era as the Beavers are 62-6 when leading with five minutes to play, including a 10-1 mark this season. On the flip side, Oregon State is 8-68 when trailing with five minutes to play in the same timeframe, with an 0-2 record this season. ROBINSON MOVING UP THE LIST: Craig Robinson is the sixth-winningest coach in Oregon State history with 74 victories. He should pass Jim Anderson (79) this season with an outside chance of catching Paul Valenti (91). The top three coaches in Oregon State history are Slats Gill (599), Ralph Miller (359) and Bob Hager (115). Robinson also notched his 100th career win this season with 30 coming during his two seasons at Brown. MR. DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Eric Moreland has a double-double in four consecutive games and leads the Pac-12 with seven on the season. Moreland needs a double-double against Oregon to tie him for the fourth-longest streak in school history and needs five more this season to move him into the school's single-season top-10 list. Single-Season Double-Double List Consecutive Double-Doubles List MORELAND BOARDING: Eric Moreland is averaging 11.2 rebounds per game (146 total), the second-best total in the Pac-12. Only one Oregon State player has led the conference in rebounding since 1985, and that was Philip Ricci in 2002-03 (8.2 per game). A total of nine Oregon State players have averaged double-figure rebounds in a season, but the last time it happened was 1963-64 when Mel Counts had a double-double in all 29 games and averaged 16.9 boards. MORELAND'S OWN BLOCK PARTY: Eric Moreland has 10 blocked shots in the past two games, including tying the Oregon State single-game school record with six blocks against Towson. It's the second time Moreland has six blocks in a game after getting that many in the quadruple-overtime game against Stanford last season. Other Oregon State players with six swats in a game are Nick DeWitz, Clifton Jones, Todd Marshall and Steve Johnson (twice). Moreland already owns the school freshman mark and has moved into fourth on both the sophomore and career lists. Career Blocked Shots List Sophomore Blocked Shots List MORELAND ON THE OFFENSIVE END: Eric Moreland continues to improve on the offensive end as he is averaging 13.6 points in December, the third-highest on the team this month, which includes a career-high 20 points against San Diego. He also leads the team in field goal percentage at 62.5 percent (55-of-88), which is tied for third in the Pac-12. ROBERTO'S NOVEMBER vs. ROBERTO'S DECEMBER: Roberto Nelson moved into the starting lineup this season after coming off the bench in all 36 games last season and it apparently took him time to get used to starting. In November he averaged 11.8 points and shot 36.2 percent (21-of-58) from the field and 31.8 percent (7-of-22) from the three-point line. In December he averaged 19.3 points and shot 51.3 percent (41-of-80) from the field and 60.7 percent (17-of-28) from deep. ROBERTO'S SCORING SPREE: Roberto Nelson has used his current scoring spree to lead the team at 15.8 points per game, which is eighth in the Pac-12. He has four 20-plus point games this season, which is already one more than what he had in his first two seasons combined. His 34-point game against Chicago State equaled a career high, which he set at Arizona State on March 5, 2011 when he broke the Oregon State freshman record. ROBERTO SCORING AND DISHING: Roberto Nelson is leading the team in scoring (15.8) and assists (3.2) and could become the first Oregon State player to lead the team in both categories in a season since Deaundra Tanner in 1999-00. Other Beavers to lead the team in scoring and assists in a season are Freddie Boyd, Lester Conner, Gary Payton, Brent Barry and Carson Cunningham. BACK TO SIXTH MAN: After getting his first start of the season against Howard, Devon Collier is back to his sixth-man role. He is enjoying his best offensive season as a Beaver, averaging 14.8 points per game for the second-highest total on the team and ninth best in the Pac-12. Collier also leads the team in double-figure scoring games (10) and 20-point games (4, tied with Roberto Nelson). The four 20-point games is one more than he had in his first two seasons combined. He is shooting 57.1 percent (68-of-119) from the field, which is tied for seventh in the Pac-12, after leading the Pac-12 and finishing fifth in the nation in field goal percentage at 61.5 percent (176-of-286) last season. BURTON MOVING UP CAREER LISTS: Joe Burton had 10 rebounds against Texas-Pan American to move into Oregon State's career top-10 list with 605 boards. Burton has only missed one game in his Oregon State career and has a chance to play in more games than any player in school history. With the Beavers guaranteed 32 games this season, Burton would tie Josh Tarver (2006-10) for the all-time record with 130 career games and could pass him depending on postseason play. Career Rebounds List Career Games Played List BURTON DISHING DIMES: Joe Burton is second on the team in assists with 40 (Roberto Nelson leads with 42) and has a chance to lead the team in that category for the third straight year. Other Oregon State players to lead the team in assists three years include George Tucker (1975-77), Dwayne Allen (1978-80), Gary Payton (1987-90), Charles McKinney (1991-93) and Deaundra Tanner (1999-01). Payton is the only player to lead the team four times. STARKS OUT OF HIS SLUMP: Ahmad Starks made 5-of-7 three-pointers against Texas-Pan American and scored 21 points to break out of a slump in which he didn't score in double figures in five straight games. He has knocked down 33 triples this season and has a chance to lead the team in three-pointers for the third consecutive year (Roberto Nelson is second with 24). Despite his slump, he is still third in the Pac-12 in three-pointers made per game (2.5) and is on pace for 80 three-pointers in a guaranteed 32 games, which gives him an outside chance to break the Oregon State single-season and junior records that are held by Gary Payton (82). Single-Season 3-FG Made List Junior 3-FG Made List STARKS ADDS TO HIS RESUME: Ahmad Starks knocked down seven three-pointers against Kansas to tie the Oregon State single-game record that is also held by Gary Payton, Josh Steinthal and Nick DeWitz. Starks moved into sixth on Oregon State's career three-point list with 154 and only 26 behind the record that is held by Chris Stephens. Single-Game 3-FG Made Records Career 3-FG Made List CHALLE DOING THE LITTLE THINGS: Sophomore Challe Barton might not fill up a box score with stats, but he does the little things on the floor to help the team as the backup point guard. He has played in all 13 games and is shooting an efficient 52.4 percent (11-for-21) from the field. He also has 24 assists (including a career-high six dimes against Chicago State), 11 steals and 13 rebounds in 15.1 minutes per game. JARMAL GETTING COMFORTABLE: Freshman Jarmal Reid replaced Angus Brandt in the starting lineup and now has nine starts on the season. He is getting more comfortable with 17 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots in the past four games and showed off his athleticism with two highlight dunks against San Diego. MISSING ANGUS & GOMIS: Senior center Angus Brandt and sophomore forward Daniel Gomis both had surgery and will miss the remainder of the season. Brandt suffered an isolated tear of the ACL in his right knee against Purdue. He was averaging 11.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game before the injury. Brandt will have to apply for a medical hardship from the Pac-12 office, which should be approved since he played in nine games or less during the first half of the season. The official word is expected in March during the Pac-12 Tournament. Gomis had surgery on the left leg he broke two summers ago in his native Senegal and will redshirt this season, making him a redshirt sophomore for the 2013-14 season. Support Oregon State University Athletics by making your tax deductible donation to Our Beaver Nation. For more information follow this link or call 541-737-2370. Former Student-Athletes are invited to join the Varsity O Facebook Page for upcoming Alumni events. Follow Oregon State Athletics On YouTube. Follow this link to find out more about the Pac-12 Networks.
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