Tonight marks the beginning of the second time around the Pac-10 for the Beavers. Although they didn't start off the Pac-10 season playing the Bay Area schools, it'll be the first time Oregon State has seen an opponent for the second time this season.
The Bears, led by Ryan Anderson, are 13-7 overall and 4-5 in the Pac-10. Ryan averages 22.2 points per game with ten boards, which makes him a big time threat inside. When these two teams played on January 12, he had 17 points and 17 rebounds.
Ryan Anderson launches from deep. AP Photo/ Dean Hare
Other threats for the Bears are Patrick Christopher and DeVon Hardin, among others. Christopher had 11 back in January against the Beavers, and Hardin had 8. Hardin, who is also a load inside, had seven boards that game. He averages about eight per game.
Seth Tarver leads the Beavers in points with 11.4 per game, although he hasn't been at the top of his game recently. Marcel Jones is behind him with 10.2. Marcel is another player who needs to snap out of his funk quickly if the Beavers want to put a few tallies in the win column.
Marcel is leading the Beavs on the boards with 5.9 per game. Omari Johnson and Seth Tarver also are high on the leaderboard in that statistic, a stat the Beavers have been sharing throughout the team this whole year. There's not one guy we rely on for rebounds, but it's a team effort most of the time.
If the Beavers want a shot at this game, they'll have to contain Cal's high-octane offense. The Bears won 69-59 back in January, but they average nearly 80 points per game. Cal has scored over 100 points on two occasions this season; 117 vs. Jackson State and and 102 vs. Long Beach State.
GO BEAVERS!
--JB--