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Civil War History
The second meeting of 2017 between the Beavers and the Ducks will take place on March 4th in Corvallis, in what will be the 348th all-time showdown between the two schools. Oregon won the first installment of the series this season back on January 14th, 85-43, in a 42-point rout, the most ever by a Ducks team.
The Civil War is renowned as the most contested match-up in the history of college basketball, with the series dating back to 1903. Oregon State holds the all-time advantage, 186-161, but the Beavers have won just three of the last fourteen duels dating back to 2010.
Storylines To Watch
⇛ Can The Beavers Avoid The Sweep?
After splitting the regular season series with the Ducks last season, Oregon State will look to avoid being swept by their in-state rivals for the first time since the 2014-2015 campaign, when Oregon knocked off the Beavers on the very same March 4th date. That’s a task easier said than done for head coach Wayne Tinkle and company. Oregon ranks 54th nationally in points per game (79.2 PPG), 34th nationally in points allowed per game (64.9 PPG) and 17th nationally in assists (16.9 APG), a testament to their balanced and explosive abilities.
⇛ It’ll Be A Battle Of Stars On Saturday Afternoon
Drew Eubanks. Dillon Brooks. Stephen Thompson Jr.. Chris Boucher. It’s a highly-anticipated meeting between the Beavers and the Ducks, once again filled with no shortage of primetime talents. On stages like this one is when legendary players seem to shine the brightest and don’t be surprised if Eubanks or Thompson Jr. comes through with one of their absolutely gaudy performances.
⇛ The Chance To Spoil Oregon’s Potential Pac-12 Championship
The Ducks have won five straight to push themselves to 15-2 overall in Pac-12 play (tied atop the league with Arizona) but since Oregon holds the head-to-head tiebreaker advantage over the Wildcats, if the Ducks knock off the Beavers, they'd be named the conference regular season champions on their arch-rivals home-court. That simply cannot happen in Oregon State’s eyes. If the Beavers are playing for nothing else, it has to be their final shot at ruining everything Oregon has worked for in this regular season.