Oregon State Basketball: Opponent Preview - Marist Red Foxes (Game 6)

Marist Red Foxes (0-5)

• Head Coach: Mike Maker (4th Season)
• Top Performer: Brian Parker (18.3 PPG, 5.3 RPG)
• Points For: 75.0 PPG (T-189th)
• Points Against: 84.5 PPG (321st)
• Last Game/Streak: 84-59 Loss v. Nebraska* (5L)

The Skinny

The Advocare Invitational has not gone as expected for Oregon State.

After a heart-breaking loss to St. John’s in their first game of the tournament, where the Beavers straight-out collapsed in the second half, Oregon State couldn’t regroup on short notice to knock off Long Beach State for the second time in a week. Instead, they picked up their third loss of the season to the 49ers and now sit facing a “7th Place Game” showdown against a win-less Marist team, in the hopes of leaving Florida with at least one victory in the bank.

Simply put, it’s now-or-never for head coach Wayne Tinkle’s squad, who will want to avoid even the slightest sign of replicating last year’s disastrous campaign.

The good news for the Beavers is that a beatable opponent in Marist currently sits in the front of them, as the Red Foxes have failed to find the win column yet this season and in most cases, they’ve looked like a severely out-manned unit. And while there’s been some bright spots for fourth year head coach Mike Maker, most notably in the team’s six point loss to West Virginia in the first round of the Advocare Invitational, Marist’s inability to just find any sort of cohesion on defense has plagued this team through their first five games.

At the moment, the Red Foxes are allowing 84.4 points per contest to opponents, a mark that puts them in the bottom thirty nationally.

Marist’s poor defensive showing may leave the door open for Oregon State to get themselves going back on the right track offensively, but it’ll take a strong effort from the Beavers all-around to slide past the Red Foxes. In no way shape or form, should Marist’s record be a true indicator of just how this team will scratch and claw for potential victories.

If the Beavers don’t come to play, expect them to get exposed by an excitable Marist group.

The Bracket

Players To Watch

Brian Parker (JR - Guard): Marist’s leading scorer and number one option on offense, guard Brian Parker is the straw that stirs it all for the Red Foxes, through both the good and the bad. In each of his three season in Poughkeepsie, Parker has averaged at least 30 minutes per night and scored at least 12.9 points per outing. Nothing should change throughout the 6’ 3” play-maker’s junior campaign.

David Knudsen (JR - Forward): A bit of an x-factor for Marist, Danish swingman David Knudesen is a versatile match-up headache for any of the Red Foxes’ opponents, due to ability to knock down perimeter shots, as well as fight for rebounds on the interior and steals on the defensive end. A positionless type of talent, it’ll be interesting to see how Oregon State chooses to match-up defensively against Knudsen.

Ryan Funk (JR - Guard): One of the guys who may need to get back on his game for Marist to find success, junior guard Ryan Funk’s 2017-2018 season hasn’t started off in the way that head coach Mike Maker was probably expecting. If Funk can take the leap into the team’s third legitimate option (which he has the ability to do), the Red Foxes can begin to steal some victories. If not, the losing may continue for Marist.

Game Info

• Date: Sunday, November 26th
• Time: 4:00 PM PT
• Location: HP Field House (Orlando, FL)
• Coverage: ESPN3