Beavers Prepared For Cougars On The Prowl Sunday At Gill
Dec. 13, 2012
THE GAME: Oregon State (6-2) returns to Gill Coliseum, where the Beavers are 4-0 this season, for a Sunday tilt with the Chicago State Cougars (3-8) in a game that will tip at 4 p.m. TELEVISION: The game will be televised nationally on Pac-12 Networks with JB Long and Lamar Hurd 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. It can also be heard on satellite radio on Sirius 123 and XM 191. ONLINE: Live updates are available by visiting osubeavers.com and clicking on Gametracker. SOCIAL MEDIA: Live updates will be available on Twitter and Facebook. PROMOTIONS : There will be a special performance by TNT Dunk Squad at halftime and all GenerationBeav members will receive free admission to the game. QUICKLY: Oregon State is 6-2 to open the season for the second consecutive year, its best start in back-to-back years since 1983-1984 (see Page 2) ... Craig Robinson notched his 100th career win with 30 of those coming during his time at Brown and 70 (and counting) at Oregon State ... Through Dec. 13 games, the Beavers are first in the Pac-12 in rebounding (41.2) and third in scoring (77.6), steals (8.8) and blocked shots (4.9) ... Sixth man Devon Collier leads the Beavers in double-figure scoring games (6) and 20-point games (3) ... Eric Moreland is second in the Pac-12 in rebounding (11.0) and third in blocked shots (2.5) ... Roberto Nelson had a career-high five steals and tied a career best with six assists at Portland State ... Ahmad Starks leads the Pac-12 in three-pointers made per game (3.0) ... Joe Burton has career highs in points (21), field goals (10) and field goals attempted (17) this season ... Burton has two 20-point games this season after entering the 2012-13 campaign with none after his first three years. THE LAST MEETING
December 21, 2011
Chicago, Ill.
vs. CHICAGO STATE: Oregon State and Chicago State meet for the fourth time in history with the Beavers holding a 3-0 advantage. The teams played last year in a homecoming for Coach Robinson and Ahmad Starks, who both grew up in the Chicago area. Starks had a solid game with 13 points, eight assists and six rebounds to lead the Beavers to a 92-66 win on Dec. 21 at the Jones Convocation Center. The teams first met on Feb. 8, 1987 in a game that was played in the middle of the Pac-10 season, which the Beavers won easily, 79-52, at Gill Coliseum. They played for the second time at Gill on Dec. 17, 1998 and Oregon State once again cruised to a comfortable 87-56 victory. The Beavers have won the three games by an average of 28 points. Chicago State assistant coach Sean Pryor played two seasons for Oregon State (1995-96, 1996-97) after transferring from Mineral Area Community College in Flat River, Mo. He played 23 games for the Beavers and averaged 1.9 points and 1.7 rebounds in 17 games as a junior. His uncle, Rick Pryor, was the head coach of Chicago State from 1990-94. ANOTHER STRONG START FOR THE BEAVERS: Oregon State has started 6-2 for the second straight season, its best start in back-to-back years since opening 6-2 in 1983 and 7-1 in 1984. The 1983-84 team got to 9-2 before dropping its third game, while the 1984-85 squad was 15-1 before losing consecutive games for a 15-3 start. Oregon State got to 10-2 last season before losing its third game to equal its best start since 1989-90 when Gary Payton was a senior and the Beavers last advanced to the NCAA Tournament. That team got to 15-2 before dropping its third game. The 1981-82 team also had a solid start by opening 14-2, while the 1980-81 team will probably never be matched as it opened a ridiculous 26-0 before losing. NO NEED FOR CONCERN: There was some concern Oregon State's offense would suffer after losing last year's leading scorer Jared Cunningham (17.9 ppg) to the NBA. There was even more concern about the offense when Angus Brandt was lost for the season with a torn ACL. Oregon State led the Pac-12 in scoring for the first-time ever last season with a school record 78.9 points per game (conference scoring records began in 1959-60). The Beavers are averaging 77.6 points this season, which would be the third-highest total in school history, trailing only last year's record mark and the 78.4 by the 1989-90 team that had some guy named Gary Payton leading the way. SPREADING THE SCORING AROUND: With the losses of Jared Cunningham (17.9 ppg last season) and Angus Brandt (11.3 ppg before the injury), Oregon State has gone to more of a team concept with four different players leading the team in scoring in games this season: Devon Collier three times, Roberto Nelson and Ahmad Starks two times each, Joe Burton once. Cunningham led Oregon State in scoring in 18 of the 36 games last season. A STEADY IMPROVEMENT: 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 team averaged 59.9 points per game and lost those 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 77.6 thus far this season. WIN #100 FOR COACH ROB: Coach Robinson notched his 100th career win when the Beavers defeated Portland State with 30 of those coming during his two years at Brown and 70 (and counting) at Oregon State. Robinson is already the seventh-winningest coach in Oregon State history, and should pass Jay John (72) and Jim Anderson (79) this season with an outside chance of catching Paul Valenti (91). The top three coaches in school history are Slats Gill (599), Ralph Miller (359) and Bob Hager (115). 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 68.1 points per game with their opponents shooting 41.3 percent from the field and 32.4 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 eight 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. Oregon State is 1-1 in games decided by five points or less this season. BLOCK PARTY 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 20 in his sophomore campaign. STEALS STILL COMING: Another concern about losing Jared Cunningham was the steals department as he led the Pac-12 in that category in back-to-back seasons and helped the Beavers lead the conference in steals three straight years. The Beavers are still finding a way to get steals with 8.8 per game this season, which is good enough for third in the conference through Dec. 13 games. Oregon State averaged 9.1 (sixth in the nation) last season, 9.5 (fifth in the nation) in 2010-11 and 8.2 in 2009-10 to lead the league. 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 41.2 boards per game. The Beavers have outrebounded five 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 58-5 when leading with five minutes to play, including a 6-0 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. 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 eight games and has thrived in the role by averaging 14.3 points, the second-highest total on the team, and 6.3 rebounds per game. Collier leads the team in double-figure scoring games (6), 20-point games (3) and has led the team in scoring a team-high three times. The three 20-point games (21 vs. Alabama, 27 vs. Purdue, 23 at Portland State) equals the total number he had in his first two seasons. AS EFFICIENT AS EVER: Devon Collier is shooting 54.3 percent (38-of-70) 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. MORELAND BOARDING: Eric Moreland is averaging 11 rebounds per game (88 total), the second-best total in the Pac-12 through Dec. 13 games (Colorado's Andre Roberson leads at 12.3 per game). 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 Sophomore Rebounding List Freshman Rebounding List MORELAND'S OWN BLOCK PARTY: Eric Moreland has 20 blocked shots this season and is third in the Pac-12 with 2.5 per game through Dec. 13 games 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 20 this season, he has moved into fifth on Oregon State's career list with 92. He has also moved into sixth on the sophomore list after shattering the freshman record with 69 last season. Career Blocked Shots List Sophomore Blocked Shots List 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 24 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. BURTON BOARDING: Joe Burton has 569 career rebounds and needs only 29 more to move into Oregon State's career top-10 list. Marcel Jones (2004-08) is currently 10th on the list with 598, while Mel Counts is the all-time leader with 1,375 boards. 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 48 games, but had a streak of 15 consecutive games snapped when he failed to make one at Portland State. He is well on the way to leading the team in triples for the third consecutive year with 24 already (Roberto Nelson is second with 13). Starks leads the Pac-12 in three-pointers made per game (3.0) and is on pace for 96 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 third on the team with 14.1 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 a team-best 43.3 (13-of-30), a major improvement over his career 33.8 percent (66-of-195) entering this season. 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. He has played in all eight games and is shooting an efficient 61.5 percent (8-for-13) from the field. He also has 13 assists, eight steals and seven rebounds with only nine turnovers in 15.1 minutes per game. 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 four games for Brandt and Olaf Schaftenaar has scored 20 points in the four games. Langston Morris-Walker has also played in the four games since Brandt's injury, while Victor Robbins grabbed five rebounds against Grambling State in a season-high 15 minutes. 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. 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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Oregon State ran past Chicago State, 92-66, on Wednesday night at the Jones Convocation Center to conclude its non-conference slate with a 10-2 record, its best start since 1989-90 when the Beavers last advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
