In the first 5 minutes of tonight’s game against Stanford, Oregon State scored 2 points.
By the time 10 minutes had passed, the Beavers had scored 7 points.
While Oregon State’s offense was being shut down by the Stanford defense, the Stanford offense was behaving like a normal basketball team, and had scored 23 points.
The abysmal opening to the game doomed Oregon State; while they would get the Cardinal lead into single digits on a handful of occasions, they never came close to actually taking the lead. The final score was an 80-71 victory for Stanford, with the Beavers earning their third loss in a row, and their fifth loss in their last six games.
Front court struggles were the biggest problem of the night. The Beavers were unable to penetrate the defense Reid Travis and the Cardinal were bringing. The front court turned the ball over 4 times in the game before the Beavers scored their first points, and by the end of the game the Beavers had tallied 21 turnovers.
The Stanford front court, meanwhile, seemed impossible to stop early in the game. Stanford’s leading scorer Reid Travis went off in the first half, with 21 points. By the second half the OSU defense, especially Drew Eubanks, had figured out how to contain Travis, who finished the night with 24 points and 9 rebounds.
Stanford found other avenues to score though, particularly guards Dorian Pickens and Daejon Davis, who contributed 15 points and 12 points, respectively.
Drew Eubanks, despite a slow start, and on his 21st birthday, had a big game. Eubanks was the Beavers’ leading scorer with 19 points, but was also instrumental in locking down the front court in the second half, giving the Beavers a fighting chance in the game. In addition to his 19 points, he finished with 6 rebounds, 2 blocks and a steal.
Tres Tinkle continued his streak of double digit games, with 18 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists. Stephen Thompson Jr. and Ethan Thompson added 10 points each, and the Beavers got contributions from Alfred Collins coming off the bench; at 18 minutes he actually saw more time than Seth Berger tonight.
Where They Stand: Stanford’s victory puts them back above .500, at 12-11, and snaps a three game losing streak. Their PAC-12 record is much better, now 6-4, which is good enough to be tied for fourth in the conference. The Cardinal will host Oregon on Saturday, February 3rd.
Oregon State falls to 11-10, and 3-6 in the PAC-12, for 10th place in the conference. The Beavers have yet to win a true road game this season.
Up Next: The Beavers will get maybe their best chance at that road victory on Saturday, February 3rd, when they take on California. The Golden Bears have only 7 wins this season, with one conference win, and are on a 7 game losing streak. The Beavers could struggle for wins as the conference schedule goes on, so this may be their last best shot at a big road win.