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Valparaiso (5-1) at Oregon St. (4-0) / Gill Coliseum, Corvallis, OR / 6 PM PST / Pac-12 Network / KEJO 1240 AM / KEX 1190 AM
Oregon State returns home after sweeping Rice & UC-Santa Barbara, taking on Valparaiso tonight. It's the first meeting ever between the two programs.
The Crusaders got off to a perfect start to the season, running off 5 wins in their first 5 games, including Iona, a team Oregon State also beat a week ago. But their trip to the state of Oregon came, and the perfect start was over after a 73-67 loss (after leading by 2 at halftime) Sunday at Oregon, as Dillon Brooks led the 25th ranked Ducks with 26 points and 13 rebounds.
The Beavers still have a perfect start to their season in place, as they play their 4th game in 8 days, with a 77-69 win over Rice in Houston Thursday night and then a 71-59 victory over the Gauchos in Santa Barbara Saturday.
Valpo is the defending regular season and post-season tournament champion of the Horizon League, and the pre-season pick to repeat. The Crusaders are led by 6'9" junior Alec Peters, who leads Valpo in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 15.6 & 5.8 per game.
Gary Payton II solidified himself as Oregon State's leader in scoring, rebounding, assists, and steals with a game high 21 points and a team high 7 boards, to go with 4 assists & 2 steals in Saturday's win.
Andy_Wooldridge@yahoo.com