Beavers Must Bring Their ‘A' Game to Finish of CBI Championship

The Beavers will look to win their first ever post-season tournament tonight in El Paso, where they will meet the UTEP Miners in Game 2 of the CBI Championship Series. Oregon State won Game 1 by the score of 75-69 on Monday night.

But that game, played at Gill Coliseum, was the easy one.

The series now moves to El Paso and Dan Haskins arena, where the Miners are expecting a sellout (12,000) tonight. The rumor out there is that a UTEP player compared the atmosphere inside Gill on Monday night to Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium. If it really affected the UTEP guys that much, I'm just wondering what a rowdy bunch of Texans will do to the Beavers tonight.

The Beavers have played their first four CBI games all at home... by contrast, the Miners have played three road games and one home game, against Richmond, up to this point.

UTEP obviously did not play to their ability in Game 1 of the series. They missed shots they normally make, didn't get calls as they were dribbling and driving to the basket, and witnessed the Beavers put on a shooting clinic-- it all contributed to their demise. In Game 2, if some of those shots fall for the Miners, they get a few calls, and the Beavers cool off on the road, we could be looking at a Game 3 matchup on Friday.

Coach Robinson has said that the Beavers' best chance to win the game is tonight, and he's right. If UTEP gets the momentum on their side in this game, they could easily run away with the game, and be in prime position for Game 3 of the series.

In Game 1, Conference USA's all-time leading scorer, Stefon Jackson, when 6-for-21, scoring more than ten points below his season average. If history proves correctly, he won't have another abysmal shooting performance on his home court.

But then again, the Beavers always win in El Paso... right?

Tip-off is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. on HDNet. 

--Jake (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)