Things looked promising in the first half, when the Beavers at one time had gotten out to a 11 point lead, but the Ducks rallied and went on a 20-4 run into halftime, and the Beavers would never take control of the lead again. The Beavers didn't score for about the last 7 minutes and 30 seconds of the first half, allowing the Ducks to take a 7 point lead into halftime. Sasa Cuic picked up his fourth personal foul with 19:23 remaining in the second half, which hurt us badly. He still played considerable minutes with 4 fouls, but I could tell he wasn't playing to his full potential.
The first half included some of the sloppiest basketball I've seen in a long time by both teams. Lots of turnovers and up and down action, which is what the fans want to see, but it's not how you want the game to go, especially when you're playing the Ducks.
The reason the Ducks are having so much success this year is they always have guys that consistently score points, their guards can get the ball into the low post, or stand on the perimeter and drain three pointers. The Beavers need to find out who their big scorers are (Cuic, Jones, Tarver, etc.) and continue to get the ball into them as much as possible.
The Beavers really need to improve their three point shooting. They're ranked 282nd nationally from behind the arc, and I that's hurting them. At the college level you need to be able to make threes to come back from large deficits, and that would of helped the Beavers out today.
Something else that could be improved on from today's game are free throws. The Ducks were 17 of 21 for 80%. The Beavers were 8 of 14 for 57%. If the Beavers could of matched the Ducks and shot 80%, that would of given us 3 more points, the same number we lost by.
Turnovers hurt the Beavers today too, but it was a problem for both teams, even more so for the Ducks.
Starters
Josh Tarver: 15 points (6-12) 4 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 4 Turnovers, 2 Steals, and 1 Foul in 39 minutes
Josh got it done for the most part, making some key shots in the first and second half. He had a couple nice steals taken for layups in the first half, as well as a clutch three pointer that helped get the Beavers up by 11 at one point.
Wesley Washington: 11 points (5-10) 3 Rebounds, 1 Assist, 2 steals, and 3 Fouls in 36 minutes
Wesley is usually not a guy who makes a big contribution as a scorer, but he stepped up today when Cuic got in foul trouble. Washington averaged 6.1 points a game prior to today, and look for Washington to get more opportunities to score in the future. We know he can, and the Beavers need more threats on offense.
Sasa Cuic: 16 points (6-13) 0 Rebounds, 1 Assist, and 4 Fouls in 35 minutes
Sasa's foul trouble really hurt is today. He didn't make much noise in any stat categories besides points and fouls, which could of been because he was playing conservative, playing most of his second half with 4 fouls. He didn't have any rebounds or blocks. It would of helped if he would of been able to play more aggressively late in the game when we needed rebounds and forced turnovers. His 3rd foul, which was called on offense and away from the ball, is what really hurt us. He picked up his fourth personal only 0:37 seconds into the fourth quarter.
Kyle Jeffers: 10 points (5-7), 9 Rebounds, 1 Block, and 4 Fouls in 32 minutes
Jeffers played nearly all of the first half, and made some key shots low in the paint that helped build the lead. He also scored a nice layup on the opening possession of the second half, which helped quickly knock 2 points of the Ducks' 7 point halftime lead
Marcel Jones: 16 points (7-13) 7 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 3 Steals, and 2 Fouls in 30 minutes
Not the best day shooting for Marcel, who went 2-2 on layins, 2-2 on dunks, but 3-7 on jumpers. He missed some shots down the stretch that could of helped us out, but he made the three pointer right at the end of the game to make the final score look better.
Bench
Jack McGillis: 5 Points (1-4) 2 Steals, 1 Block, and 1 Foul in 7 Minutes
From memory, I remember Jack having some unnecessary turnovers that gave the Ducks momentum. He was only in the game for 7 minutes, and in my opinion 2 turnovers in 7 minutes isn't very good. The first half was sloppy overall, however, so he isn't the only one worthy of the blame.
Michael Johnson: 2 Rebounds and 3 Fouls in 6 Minutes
I don't remember the fouls, so they must of been the desperation type towards the end of the game.
Calvin Hampton: 1 Rebound in 2 Minutes
Calvin didn't get as much love from the coaches as he has been in recent games. His time will come.
Team Stats
Beavers | Ducks | |
73 | Points | 76 |
30-59, 50% | Field Goals | 25-54, 46% |
8-14, 57% | Free Throws | 17-21, 80% |
5-17, 29% | 3-Pointers | 9-20, 44% |
5 | Off. Rebounds | 5 |
21 | Def. Rebounds | 20 |
26 | Total Rebounds | 25 |
7 | Assists | 12 |
2 | Blocks | 0 |
18 | Fouls | 15 |
9 | Steals | 10 |
15 | Turnovers | 16 |
Either way, this has been a great calendar year for OSU Athletics. A National Baseball Championship, a top ten performance from the Softball team, and the Football team going 10-4, beating #3 USC, Oregon, Hawaii, and Missouri in the Sun Bowl down the stretch to win 8 of their last 9 games. I'll dwell more on this tomorrow as we look back at 2006. Or as the voice of the Beavers Mike Parker would say, "Twenty-oh-six."
Go Beavers!
Next Up: Thursday, January 4th, vs. #1 UCLA