Pregame: The Beavers are in the desert tonight for a showdown with No. 20 Arizona State. The FSN telecast will conflict with the BCS National Championship Game (Florida vs. Oklahoma) on FOX, but those with a "recall" button on their remote (all of you, right) or "Picture in Picture" should have no excuse to watch both games. And if you're so inclined, stop by BtD during the game to show some love in the comment section. Keys to the game:
- Keep Improving: The win over USC was huge, and we don't need a letdown now. Build on Sunday's win.
- Execute: Clearly, the offense and defense was working down the stretch in Sunday's game. We're going to need to slow down James Harden and the Devil offense with our defense (1-3-1?), and settle into the Princeton offense.
- Find a leader: Calvin Haynes and Roeland Schaftenaar were the guys the Beavers turned to down the stretch Sunday. Who will it be tonight? Daniel Deane had a few off-nights last week, maybe it's his time to step up to form a formidable trio.
Halftime: The score at half (30-15) indicates that the Beavers have been running the offense and slowing things down, but the shots aren't falling. ASU is a very streaky shooting team, and as we saw at the end of the first half, it doesn't take them long to build a lead. The Beavers will need to play a nearly perfect second half in order to make this game close down the stretch. Somebody is going to need to step up and make shots from the perimeter... there's now we we can get back in this game shooting 50% and using a full shot clock on every possession. Once again, at the half, it's Arizona State 30, Oregon State 15.
Final Score: Arizona State 69, Oregon State 38.
--Jake (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)