Oregon State To Host DePaul and UC Santa Barbara

Building the Dam has learned that Oregon State will play host to DePaul and UC Santa Barbara in December, adding two more opponents to its 2014-15 schedule.

Already known was a game against Mississippi State in Corvallis, two contests against mid-major opponents in the regional round of the MGM Grand Main Event, and two of either Oklahoma State, Tulsa, and Auburn in the championship round of that tournament.

The Blue Demons will come to Gill Coliseum on December 18, a return game after they bludgeoned the Beavers, 93-81, last year in Rosemont. With a game against Mississippi State scheduled on the 13th, it is likely that Oregon State will host an SEC and Big East team in consecutive games, something unheard of in recent history. DePaul will hit Corvallis on its way to Honolulu for the Diamond Head Classic.

The Beavers are one of just two non-conference opponents from power conferences they are scheduled to face, with Stanford being the other. The Cardinal will visit DePaul in late November. Colorado and Nebraska will also play in the Diamond Head Classic, but matchups have yet to be announced.

UC Santa Barbara will come to Gill on December 30. That is the same day as the San Francisco Bowl, which is slated to pit a Pac-12 team against one from the Big Ten. Hopefully the Beavers schedule the basketball game around it, which will kickoff at 7:00 PM Pacific.

The Gauchos road trip will include a stop at Oregon eight days earlier. Their schedule is loaded this year, with games also in Lawrence against Kansas and a trip to Dallas to face SMU. A meeting with Washington State in Anchorage is also possible during the Great Alaska Shootout.

First year head coach Wayne Tinkle received some bad news earlier this month when Maryland transfer Nick Faust decommitted from Oregon State and chose Long Beach State instead. There was a small chance Faust would have been eligible immediately. He averaged 9.4 PPG last year for the Terrapins.