Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions (0-9)
- Head Coach: George Ivory (10th Season)
- Top Performer: Martaveous McKnight (17.9 PPG, 3.7 RPG)
- Points For: 57.8 PPG (350th)
- Points Against: 74.9 PPG (237th)
- Last Game/Streak: 72-57 Loss at Santa Clara (9L)
The Skinny
Eight games into the 2017-2018 campaign, Oregon State has already matched their win total from last year’s abysmal 5-27 season.
Nine games into the 2017-2018 campaign, Arkansas-Pine Bluff has yet to win a game.
On Saturday night, a severely over-matched Golden Lions squad will head to Corvallis, to take on the Beavers in an early December, inter-conference clash. For Arkansas-Pine Bluff, they’ll be hoping to put their long fifteen-game losing streak (dating back to last season) behind them.
For Oregon State, they’ll be hoping the wins keep rolling in.
With the pre-game projections and predictions aside, on-the-court, the key for Oregon State will be continuing their improved style of play, which has regularly been accompanied by some combination of star players Tres Tinkle, Drew Eubanks and Stephen Thompson Jr. having a standout performance. In the team’s last three victories alone, the aforementioned trio has combined for 145 of Oregon State’s 217 overall points scored (66.8%).
While head coach Wayne Tinkle and his staff will want to see more balance and depth out of his squad, when any strategy (no matter how confounding) is working, there’s no rush to simply scrap all plans and start over. Expect Oregon State to deal the Golden Lions a heavy dose of Tinkle, Eubanks and Thompson Jr., at least until Arkansas-Pine Bluff comes up with a plan to slow the grouping down.
In regards to what the Golden Lions bring to the table, junior guard Martaveous McKnight (17.9 PPG) is usually a one-man show, who occasionally passes the torch to fellow back-court member Charles Jackson (10.2 PPG) to spearhead Arkansas Pine-Bluff’s offensive attack. Behind McKnight and Jackson, the Golden Lions have five players who contribute mildly, averaging between 2.1 and 7.2 points per contests.
Overall though, head coach George Ivory’s team averages just 57.8 points per game, the second-lowest mark in the country, in front of only Coppin State.
Simply put, if all goes according to plan for the Beavers, Oregon State should be able to overwhelm the Golden Lions from the start and coast to their sixth win of the season, easily surpassing last year’s just nine games into the season. If not, a slip-up against a winless squad like Arkansas-Pine Bluff could setback all of the early season strides that this refocused Beavers group has made so far this season.
Players To Watch
Martaveous McKnight (JR - Guard): A high-scoring transfer guard from Itawamba Community College, McKnight is the one really dangerous scorer on the Golden Lions roster, who is capable of a huge night at any moment. While McKnight’s big scoring outputs are usually in vain, there’s a chance for a team when a guy put on a career performance. Oregon State will need to make sure that doesn’t happen on Saturday night.
Charles Jackson (JR - Guard): A 6’ 5”, 210-pounder who has steadily improved in each of his three seasons with the program, versatile guard and long range threat Charles Jackson has really come into his own through the first nine games of his junior campaign. A high-volume shooter (who with McKnight) will take most of the shots for the Golden Lions, don’t be surprised if the Beavers clamp down on McKnight and allow Jackson to find himself in a more featured role.
Trent Steen (SR - Forward): A usually quieter piece of the Golden Lions equation, 6’ 8” forward Trent Steen has seemingly put his slow start to the season behind him, as he’s averaged 14.5 points per contest over the team’s last two games. It’s now continuing that pace (and fighting more for rebounds on the glass) which will be the determining factor in just how well the 2017-2018 campaign goes for Steen. Arguably Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s best interior talent, if the Golden Lions want to find victories, they’ll simply need more out of Steen.
Game Info
- Date: Saturday, December 9th
- Time: 7:00 PM PT
- Location: Gill Coliseum (Corvallis, OR)
- Coverage: Pac-12 Networks