Washington St. at Oregon St. CBI Semifinal Game Thread

Washington St. (17-16, 7-11) vs. Oregon St. (21-14, 7-11) at Gill Coliseum in the CBI Tournament Semifinals at 7 PM PDT / HD Net / KEJO 1240 AM / KPAM 860 AM (Streamed)

The Cougars and the Beavers meet once again, and their fourth game of the season will send one of them on to the best of 3 series that will be the finals of the CBI Tournament, against the winner of the Pitt at Butler game.

Washington St. reached the CBI semis with a 61-41 win over visiting Wyoming, while Oregon St. was shooting down TCU 101-81 at Gill Coliseum Monday night.

Brock Motum led the Cougars as usual, with 25 points against the Cowboys, and Abe Lodwick added 16.

Jared Cunningham led a Beaver offensive onslaught against the overmatched and undermanned Horned Frogs, hitting 10 of 12 shots, plus 5 of 6 free throws, for a game high 27 points, while Devon Collier made 9 of 10, for an additional 19 points. And Angus Brandt made 7 of 10 shots, including back to back 3 pointers as part of a personal 8 point run that helped put the exclamation point on the win, and finished with a career high 22 points.

There's not likely to be any surprises for either team, given they have met 3 times already this season, including as recently as 2 weeks ago, in the opening game of the Pac-12 Tournament.

Back on New Year's Eve, the Cougars prevailed in Spokane 81-76, in a game moved from Pullman due to the absence of any fans being in town during the holiday break. Motum had Washington St.'s first 9 points, and went on to a game high 26, and DaVonte Lacy added 18, while Cunningham led Oregon St., with 21 points, and Ahmad Starks made 5 3 pointers, and posted 18 points for the Beavers.

Cunningham had a game high 33 points when the teams rematched in Corvallis on February 9, but the Cougars made a 17-3 run right before halftime, and the Beavers never got closer than 9 points the rest of the way, with Washington St. posting an 83-73 win. Motum again led the way for the Cougars, with 24 points, one of five Washington St. players in double figures.

The Beavers finally turned the tables in the opening game of the Pac-12 Tournament, as Collier came up with a game high 19 points, narrowly edging Motum's 18, and Oregon St. grabbed the 5 point, 69-64 win.

It was easily the best game of the 3 for the Beavers' front court, and Joe Burton posted 15 points.

It also made the greatest impression on the odds-makers, as Oregon St. is a 7 point favorite, more than what the home court advantage by itself would warrant.

The key to tonight's game will doubtless be whether Collier can continue his late season run of strong games, and Burton can also maintain his recent resurgence.

Here's the place to discuss the game, especially if you can't see the largely unavailable HD Net broadcast.

Go Beavs!

Andy_Wooldridge@yahoo.com