The Beavers start this week off with a new coach, and hopefully as a new team. However, there's no time to waste, as the Trojans and the Bruins will be in town on Thursday and Saturday:

Really, Kevin Mouton and the Beavers have nothing to lose. The program was self destructing under Jay John, and we were headed down the wrong path. 0-18 in the Pac-10 is unacceptable, especially when every other team in the conference puts competitive teams on the court. There's no reason Oregon State can't produce a team like that, considering that we are the thirteenth winningest program in the nation.

USC will come into Gill with a two game winning streak that included victories over the Huskies and the Bruins. The Trojans beat the Huskies by 15, thanks to four players who scored in double figures. Dwight Lewis led the team with 17, followed by O.J. Mayo with 15 and Taj Gibson and Davon Jefferson with 10. USC knocked off UCLA thanks to great performances by freshmen O.J. Mayo and Davon Jefferson. Jefferson put up a season best 25 points, and O.J. added 16.

The Trojans are 10-6 on the year, and find themselves in sixth place in the Pac-10 conference. They're 2-3 in conference play, having dropped their first three games to Cal, Stanford, and Washington State. They'll look to keep their two game winning streak alive Thursday at Gill, a game you can watch live on FSN.

The 16-2 UCLA Bruins will roll into Corvallis on Saturday after their date with the Ducks on Thursday. That game will mark the return of Kevin Love to the state of Oregon, and he'll likely make some noise. Kevin has been averaging 16.8 points and 10.3 rebounds per game, numbers that are almost unheard of, especially for a freshman. He will present major matchup problems for the Beavers. C.J will likely be in foul trouble the whole game, and the fact that Kevin has about 20-30 pounds on our three biggest guys doesn't help. We'll see what Coach Mouton draws up to defend the Bruins.

You'll also be able to watch the Beavers and the Bruins on FSN.

GO BEAVERS!

--JB--