Beavers Traveling North On I-5 For Clash With Vikings In Rose City
Dec. 10, 2012
THE GAME: Oregon State (5-2) will play in Portland for the first time in seven years when the Beavers battle the Portland State Vikings (1-4) for the first time at the 1,500-seat Peter W. Stott Center at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. TELEVISION: The game will be televised on Comcast SportsNet Northwest with Bob Akamian and Jordan Kent 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. ONLINE: Live statistics are available online at this link. SOCIAL MEDIA: Live updates will be available on Twitter and Facebook. QUICKLY: Oregon State has held five of its opponents below 40 percent shooting from the field and are 5-0 in those games; the Beavers held seven of their 36 opponents below that clip last season ... Oregon State leads the Pac-12 in rebounding with 42.7 per game (17th in the nation) ... Eric Moreland leads the Pac-12 and is fifth in the nation with 11.6 rebounds per game ... Moreland already has three double-doubles to equal his total from all of last season ... Ahmad Starks has made a three-pointer in 15 consecutive games dating back to last season and has knocked down 12 in the past two games ... Starks leads the Pac-12 with 3.4 three-pointers per game ... Roberto Nelson made a career-high nine field goals and tied his career best with five three-pointers in the win over Grambling State ... Joe Burton, Devon Collier and Moreland are shooting a combined 54.3 percent (83-for-153) from the field ... Freshman Jarmal Reid has started three consecutive games ... Craig Robinson's next win will be the 100th of his head coaching career with 30 at Brown and 69 thus far at Oregon State. THE LAST MEETING
December 18, 2011
Corvallis, Ore.
vs. PORTLAND STATE: Oregon State and Portland State meet for the 13th time in history with the Beavers holding a 12-0 advantage. Three of the games have been played in Portland, but this will the first at the 1,500-seat Peter W. Stott Center. It will also mark the first time Portland State has played a Pac-12 team in its home arena. The first game in Portland, which was the third overall in the series, was played Dec. 16, 1976 at Memorial Coliseum with the Beavers winning 89-79. The second game was also played at Memorial Coliseum with Oregon State cruising to a 102-58 win on Dec. 8, 1980, while the last meeting in Portland was at the Rose Garden on Dec. 12, 2001 with the Beavers pulling out a 51-46 win. The teams played last season for the first time in nine years with Oregon State winning, 101-68, on Dec. 18 at Gill Coliseum. All nine of Oregon State's home games in the series have been played at Gill with the first on Dec. 11, 1974 when the Beavers won 76-70. This will be Oregon State's first game in Portland since Dec. 17, 2005 when the Beavers defeated Georgia, 64-60, in a neutral site contest that was played at the Rose Garden. IT'S BEEN A WHIRLWIND, BUT AN INCREDIBLE JOURNEY: From August to November, the Oregon State men's basketball team traveled to Paris, Barcelona, Madrid, New York, Washington, D.C. and Kansas City, with several layovers in airports along the way. Some of the highlights on the journey included stops at the Eiffel Tower and Dali Museum, games at Madison Square Garden and the Sprint Center, and a Thanksgiving meal at the White House with President Obama, the First Lady and First Family. The Beavers logged an approximate 22,459 nautical miles and 62 hours in the air during their trips the past four months. That doesn't include the one-and-a-half hour drive from Corvallis to Portland and back for each trip. Or the time spent sitting at airports for layovers or delayed flights. FOUR MORE STOPS PER GAME: Coach Robinson has talked about how important it is for Oregon State's defense to get four more stops per game after the Beavers lost six games by five points or less last season. The Beavers are allowing 67.3 points per game with their opponents shooting just 39.3 percent from the field and 33.8 percent from the three-point line. Last season teams averaged 72.7 points per game and shot 45.5 percent from the field and 38.8 percent from deep. Oregon State has held five of its seven opponents below 40 percent shooting and is 5-0 in those games. The Beavers held only seven of their 36 opponents below that clip last season and were 6-1 in those games. DEFENSIVELY II: Oregon State is averaging 4.9 blocked shots per game this season after finishing second in the Pac-12 in blocked shots at 4.61 per game last year, trailing only UCLA by 0.03 (4.64). The Beavers tied a school record with 11 blocked shots against Montana State, a year after setting the record in the 103-101 quadruple-overtime loss to Stanford. Eric Moreland, who led the conference in blocks last season at 1.9 per game, already has 17 in his sophomore campaign. DEFENSIVELY III: Oregon State is averaging 8.3 steals per game this season after leading the Pac-12 in that category the past three years with 9.1 (sixth in the nation) last season, 9.5 (fifth in the nation) in 2010-11 and 8.2 in 2009-10. Individually, an Oregon State player led the conference in steals the past three seasons with Jared Cunningham (2.5) in 2011-12 and (2.8) 2010-11 and Seth Tarver (2.2) in 2009-10. CRASHING THE BOARDS: Another point of emphasis during the offseason was rebounding, and Oregon State has seen the results by leading the Pac-12 with 42.7 boards per game. The Beavers have outrebounded five of the seven teams they've played by a 234-175 advantage in those games, including 52 in the season opener against Niagara and 51 against Montana State. Oregon State had 50 or more boards in only one game last season, the quadruple-overtime thriller against Stanford. THE FIVE-MINUTE MARK: Having the lead at the five-minute mark has been very important for Oregon State during the Craig Robinson era as the Beavers are 57-5 when leading with five minutes to play, including a 5-0 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. OFFENSIVELY: 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 77.4 thus far this season. Oregon State enjoyed it best offensive season in school history last season as it led the Pac-12 in scoring for the first time ever at 78.9 points per game. Despite losing last year's leading scorer Jared Cunningham (17.9 ppg) to the NBA, the Beavers are averaging only a point and a half less per game this season. MORELAND BOARDING: Eric Moreland is averaging 11.6 rebounds per game (81 total) to lead the Pac-12 and put him fifth in the nation through Dec. 9 games. 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 crushed the freshman rebounding record that was held for 38 years by Lonnie Shelton last season, but would need a monster year to break the sophomore record of 401 that's held by Counts. Players To Average Double-Figure Rebounding In A Season Freshman Rebounding List Sophomore Rebounding List MORELAND'S OWN BLOCK PARTY: Eric Moreland has 17 blocked shots this season and is third in the Pac-12 with 2.4 per game after leading the conference in blocks last season (1.9). With three blocks during his freshman season when he was injured, a single-season school-record 69 last year and 17 this season, he has moved into fifth on Oregon State's career list with 86 and should be at least second by the end of his sophomore campaign. Career Blocked Shots List Single-Season Blocked Shots 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 (1989), Josh Steinthal (1999) and Nick DeWitz (2005). After making five more in the next game against Grambling State, Starks moved into sixth on Oregon State's career three-point list with 145 and only 35 behind the all-time mark that is held by Chris Stephens. Single-Game 3-FG Made Records Career 3-FG Made List STARKS FROM DEEP: Ahmad Starks has knocked down a three-pointer in 43 of his past 47 games, including 15 straight games dating back to last season, and is well on the way to leading the team in triples for the third consecutive year with 24 already (Roberto Nelson is second with 12). Starks leads the Pac-12 in three-pointers made per game (3.4) and is on pace for 108 in a guaranteed 32 games, which would shatter the Oregon State single-season and junior records that are held by Gary Payton (82). Starks is second on the single-season list after finishing with 79 during his sophomore campaign. Single-Season 3-FG Made List Junior 3-FG Made List IT'S ROBERTO'S TIME: Roberto Nelson, who came off the bench in all 36 games last season, replaced Jared Cunningham in the starting lineup and is second on the team with 13.9 points per game. Nelson has two 20-plus point games this season (22 vs. Niagara, 26 vs. Grambling State) to equal the number of 20-point games he had all of last season. After tying his career high with five three-pointers (on six attempts) against Grambling State, Nelson improved his percentage from beyond the arc to 42.9 (12-of-28), a major improvement over his career 33.8 percent (66-of-195) entering this season. PENCIL BURTON INTO THE LINEUP: Joe 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. BURTON DISHING DIMES: Joe Burton leads the Beavers in assists with 22 through seven games and has a chance to lead the team in that category for the third consecutive 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. SIXTH MAN SPECIALIST: Devon Collier has taken over the role of Oregon State's sixth man after starting 57 of 66 games in his career entering this season. He has come off the bench in all seven games and has thrived in the role by averaging 13 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Collier, a native of the Bronx, went crazy during his homecoming to New York for the 2K Sports Classic with 21 points against Alabama and a career-high 27 against Purdue. It was the fourth and fifth 20-plus point games of his career and the second time he went for 20 or more in back-to-back games after scoring 21 at Arizona State (Jan. 14) and 20 against UCLA (Jan. 19) last season. It was also the second time he led the team in scoring in consecutive games after getting 19 against Vanderbilt (Nov. 21) and 15 at Towson (Nov. 26) last season. COLLIER SHOOTING: Devon Collier is shooting 53.6 percent (30-of-56) from the field after leading the Pac-12 and finishing fifth in the nation in field goal percentage at 61.5 percent (176-of-286) last season. It was the first time an Oregon State player led the conference in field goal percentage since Scott Haskin in 1991-92 (.612) and the second straight season Collier led the team in field goal percentage after making 57.8 percent of his shots two years ago. FRESHMEN GETTING SOME RUN: The loss of Angus Brandt will provide more playing time for Oregon State's four freshmen as Jarmal Reid has started the past three games for Brandt and Olaf Schaftenaar has scored 20 points in the three games. Langston Morris-Walker has also played in the three games since Brandt's injury, while Victor Robbins grabbed five rebounds against Grambling State in a season-high 15 minutes. 100+ SCORING GAMES: Oregon State set a team record with four 100-point games last season and has now hit the century mark 31 times in school history after scoring 102 in the season opener against Niagara. The 1978-79, 1979-80 and 1988-89 teams all scored 100 or more points in a game three times. The Beavers also set a school record with 90-point (9) and 80-point (17) scoring games last season. 100-Point Games in 2011-12 Season MISSING ANGUS: The loss of Angus Brandt will hurt much more than the 11.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game he provided this season. Coach Robinson called him the "heart and soul" of the team as a two-time team captain and the first person in the gym for every practice and game. He started 50 of 51 games before the injury with the lone non-start against Colorado last season when he gave his starting nod to Kevin McShane on Senior Night. 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 OUT FOR THE YEAR: Sophomore forward Daniel Gomis will miss the season after having surgery on the left leg he broke two summers ago in his native Senegal. Gomis tried to work through the injury, but team doctors felt it was necessary to take the rod out that was placed in his leg after the injury and allow it to heal properly. ROBINSON'S RECORD: It's been noted often that Craig Robinson had more wins (64) in his first four years at Oregon State than Slats Gill (57) and Ralph Miller (58) in the same timeframe. It was the fifth year for both Hall of Fame coaches when they had their breakthrough seasons with Gill winning 21 and Miller claiming 19. With 16 victories this season, Robinson would become the fifth-winningest coach in Oregon State history and 28 would move him all the way to fourth, trailing only Gill (599), Miller (359) and Bob Hager (115). Support Oregon State University Athletics by making your tax deductible donation to the Beaver Athletic Student Fund. 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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Oregon State hit a season-high 13 three-point field goals, including seven in the second half, as it turned a close game into a 101-68 rout of the Portland State Vikings in the final non-conference game of the season at Gill Coliseum in front of 5,248 fans.
