Oregon State Basketball: Oregon State vs Stanford Analysis

Oregon State was unable to come up with their first Pac-12 win this season as they fell to Stanford for the second consecutive year at Gill Coliseum Thursday evening, 62-46. Oregon State quickly built their biggest lead early in the game 16-7 and started the game by going 5-7 from the 3 point line. Stanford clawed their way back into the game by playing great defense and getting to the foul line. The Beavers went on a 7 minute scoring drought that began with 3:05 left in the first half and ended with a Drew Eubanks free throw with 16:01 left in the game. During the Beaver scoring drought, the Beavers saw their 25-21 lead diminish as they found themselves down 32-26 with 16:01 left in the game. The Beavers were never able to reclaim the lead as Stanford played well on defense, which resulted in the Beavers scoring only 46 points during the game. The Cardinal won the game at the free throw line as they were 23-32 from the charity stripe, as the Beavers were 11-18. Cardinal Junior Forward Michael Humphrey led the Cardinal with 21 points, while Stephen Thompson Jr. led the Beavs with 15 points.

Here are some takeaways from the game....

Drew Eubanks Thigh Injury

Drew Eubanks was held out of practice all week, and he was a game time decision to play Thursday Night. Drew was able to play, but it was quite evident in the 2nd half that Drew was not 100 percent and moving slowly down the court. Credit Stanford’s interior defense for making life difficult for Drew, especially in the second half. Drew displayed a ton of heart by playing through injury. His toughness was on display tonight as he played hard to the very end. Drew was held to 8 points, which is 6 points less than his season average (14.6 pts.)

Offensive Struggles

After starting the game 5-7 from 3 point land, the Beavers finished 7-22 from 3 point land. The Beavers had 17 turnovers, and they shot 35 percent from the field. The Stanford interior forced the Beavers to shoot difficult shots, and the Cardinal were able to limit Eubanks’s scoring opportunities down low with constant double teams. The Beavers were unable to have much success at the line as they were 11-18 from the charity stripe.

The Second Half

The crowd at Gill hoped the Beavers would bounce back from a rough finish from the 1st half. Despite finishing the last 3 minutes without points, the Beavs were only down 2, as the home crowd was willing to help them get their first Pac-12 win of the season. Instead, the Gill faithful watched their team get outscored in the half 35-21 by a physical Stanford Cardinal team. Stanford shot 50% from the field in the 2nd half, while the Beavs shot 27%. In addition, the Beavers were 2-11 from three point line. Stanford was able to grind the Beavers down in the 2nd half.

Final Thoughts:

It has been a difficult season for Oregon State. They sit at 4-15 overall and 0-6 in conference play. It was just one season ago that this team was in the NCAA tournament. The Beavers have never had a losing season under Wayne Tinkle, and barring a miracle, it looks like Tinkle will have his first losing record as the Head Coach of the Beavers. The Beavers need to throw their record out the window. Instead, they need to focus on the growth and development of this young squad. The Beavers cannot feel sorry for themselves for their current situation. They need to keep battling on and off the court in order to make positive strides to finish the season.