Pregame: The Beavers and Cougars meet up tonight in a clash of two of the statistically worst offensive teams in the nation-- this game will be all about defense. However, the Cougars boast a ridiculously good defense under third year coach Tony Bennett. The Beavers will need to find a way to get to the basket against the Cougars if they want to stay in this one, because this is one of the most winnable games left on the schedule.
Keys:
- Find some offense- The Cougars are good on defense but not as good on offense, so the Beavers will need to gain ground by finding a way to score. Getting Deane back in the swing of things would be good, and Schaftenaar will have to play well if we want a way to win, as will Calvin Haynes.
- Box out- We can't afford to give anyone second chances, so we need to control the defensive boards.
- Dodge the Hype- The winer of this game may only score 30 points, since both offenses will have to dodge the opponent's defenses as well as a multitude of Obama/Inauguration references throughout the game. Whoops, I think I messed that up... it's the FSN viewers who will likely have issues dodging Robinson personal life information overload.
Halftime: Great half for the Beavers, as they lead by three at halftime. Would have liked to see a basket out of the timeout right before halftime to take even more momentum into the second half, but there's not a whole lot to complain about. The Beavers are winning the turnover battle 7-2, the Beavers have 10 points off rebounds, and we're out-rebounding the Beavers 6-0 on the offensive glass. Haynes has nine, Wallace has six, Deane has six, Seth Tarver has four, and Roeland Schaftenaar has three. Again, at halftime, it's Oregon State 33, Washington State 30.
Final: Washington State 61, Oregon State 57.
--Jake (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)