Oregon State vs. Seattle U / 5:30PM / TV on FSN NW
Pac-10 play is just one week old, but it already feels like the Beavers are in the thick of the schedule, as they've been on the losing end of two close games and just finished a grueling weekend of basketball.
That's why what should be a mid-week confidence builder like the Beavers have tonight is a good thing before Pac-10 play resumes in Eugene on Sunday. If the Beavers win, of course.
Seattle U is 6-9 on the season, and has lost four straight entering tonight's game. Their most recent lost came at the hands of Harvard, who beat the Redhawks 92-71. A common opponent to both OSU and Seattle's schedules in Fresno State, a team in which the Beavers beat convincingly two weeks ago. Seattle also beat the Bulldogs, squaking out a 85-85 win back in mid-November.
A quick glance at the statistics for the Redhawks show that their weakness is on defense. They're giving up a very high field goal percentage, and opponents are getting to the line at a relitively alarming rate.
It's interesting to not that the Redhawks are more reliant upon one player than any other team in the nation, and that guy is their 6-9 junior center, Charles Garcia. Garcia is averaging 23 points per game and has 10 rebounds, and is involved in 37-percent of Seattle U's offensive possession, the statistic in which leads the nation. Garcia is one of the best defensive rebounders in the league, and although he hasn't been picking up offensive rebounds at as high of a clip, he will be a challenge for the Beaver defense to box out for sure.
Rounding out the starting lineup:
Chris Gweth, 6-1 senior, 11 points per game
Aaron Broussard, 6-5 sophomore, 10 points per game, 9 rebounds
Cervante Burrell, 5-10 sophomore, 10 points per game, 4 assits
Mike Boxley, 6-5 senior, 9 points per game
Tipoff is set for just a few minutes after 5:30 on FSN Northwest. Feel free to jump into the comment thread with your game observations. I'll have my postgame thoughts up within a few hours of the game's culmination.
--Jake (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)