Nov. 22, 2010

Complete Release in PDF Format

Online Coverage: Gametracker | Live Video

THE GAME: Oregon State (1-2) hosts the Charlotte 49ers (2-3) on Wednesday, Nov. 24, at 7 p.m. at legendary Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, Ore.

RADIO: The game will air live on the Beaver Sports Network and Beaver Nation Online (www.osubeavers.com) with Mike Parker calling the action. The game can also be heard on Sirius on Channel 219 and XM Radio on Channel 193.

TELEVISION: The game will be televised live on FSN Northwest with Rich Burk, Lamar Hurd and Jen Mueller calling the action.

ONLINE: Catch live updates of the game by visiting osubeavers.com and clicking on Gametracker. The game will also be available via a video stream on Beaver Nation Online for a fee.

THE SERIES: Oregon State and Charlotte meet for the first time in history.

SCOUTING CHARLOTTE: Charlotte returns four starters from a team that went 19-12 last season and 9-7 in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Alan Major is in his first year with the 49ers after spending the past nine seasons as an assistant coach at The Ohio State University. Charlotte is off to a 2-3 start this year with wins against South Carolina State and East Carolina and losses to Gardner-Webb, George Mason and Coastal Carolina. Senior Shamari Spears is leading the 49ers in scoring at 18.3 points per game. Sophomore guard Jamar Briscoe sat out last year after transferring from NC Central where he was the nation's second leading freshman scorer with 17.8 points per game. He is averaging 16.8 points per game this season for Charlotte. Junior guard Derrio Green (13.8) and sophomore forward Chris Braswell (10.6) are also averaging in double figures. Senior forward An'Juan Wilderness is the other starter and was an Atlantic 10 all-Rookie choice as a freshman.

DEFENSE IS FORCING TURNOVERS: The Beavers have forced more turnovers than their opponents in all three games this season, including 24 against UT-Arlington and 25 against Seattle. Their season-high last year in opponent turnovers was 23. They had 17 steals against Seattle and are averaging 14 steals per game this season to rank first in the Pac-10. They had a season-high 14 steals in three games last year.

OFFENSE IS SCORING: Oregon State is averaging 70.3 points after its first two games this season after averaging 60.3 points per game last season. The Beavers equaled last season's game-high with 80 points against Seattle. They had 80 in a win over California on Feb. 18, 2010. Their 43 first half points against Seattle was more than they scored in the first half of any game last season.

YOUNG AND ATHLETIC: Oregon State head coach Craig Robinson has talked often about the youth and athleticism on the Beavers this year. The roster includes five freshmen, two redshirt freshmen and three sophomores. The newcomers include Ahmad Starks, Devon Collier, Eric Moreland, Chris Brown and walk-on Daniel Jones.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Oregon State plays more non-conference road games than any team in the Pac-10 this season with four (at Seattle, at Howard, at Colorado, at Montana). Arizona State and USC play three non-conference road games, while Arizona, Stanford and Washington State play two. California, Oregon, UCLA and Washington all play one.

OMARI IS ROLLING: Senior forward Omari Johnson is off to a hot start. He scored 15 points in the first two games and had a career-high 13 rebounds against Seattle University. In that game, he recorded his second career double-double and tied a career-high with 35 minutes. He added a career-high six steals against Texas Southern and has made two three-pointers in all three games this season.

HAYNES SCORING WATCH: Senior guard Calvin Haynes needs eight points to become the 35th Oregon State player to score 1,000 points in his career. He scored 389 points as a sophomore and 399 points last season as a junior. He needs to score 363 points this season to move into the Beavers' all-time top ten scoring list.

1-3-1 ZONE DEFENSE: Oregon State's 1-3-1 defense has wreaked havoc for opposing teams with the graduated Seth Tarver manning the top of the zone. Tarver led the Pac-10 in steals his senior season and was named the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year. The Beavers are expected to use several players at the top of the 1-3-1 this season, including big players like Omari Johnson, Kevin McShane, Joe Burton and Eric Moreland.

ROBERTO WATCH: Redshirt freshman guard Roberto Nelson is expected to be eligible to play on Dec. 10 and should see his first action for the Beavers on Dec. 12 against Texas-Pan American at Gill Coliseum. He had to sit out his first year due to being a half-credit short per NCAA rules.

A LOOK AHEAD: Oregon State concludes its November schedule with a trip to Washington, D.C. to face Howard on Saturday, Nov. 27, at 1 p.m. PT (4 p.m. ET). The Beavers have played Howard three previous times, including twice in 2008-09, and hold a 2-1 advantage in the series.

Oregon State returns to Gill Coliseum on Dec. 1 to face Utah Valley from the Great West Conference in the first-ever meeting between the two schools in a 7 p.m. tip.

The Beavers will travel to Boulder on Dec. 4 to play Colorado at 7 p.m. PT (8 p.m. MT) in the Pac-10/Big 12 Hardwood Series. The Buffs hold a 5-2 advantage in the series. The game will be televised nationally on ESPNU.

Oregon State then has eight days off before returning home on Dec. 12 to play Texas-Pan American in the second-ever meeting between the two schools.

The Beavers will travel to Missoula, Mont., to play the Montana Grizzlies on Wednesday, Dec. 15, at 6 p.m. PT (7 p.m. MT). Oregon State holds a 14-3 advantage in the series with the last game in 1972.