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Another slow start for Oregon State, and another late-game loss.
The Beavers—who have played significantly better at home than on the road—gave #14 Arizona a scare as they came back from an eight-point halftime deficit to force overtime, but were thoroughly outpaced in the extra five minutes. The 75-65 loss drops Oregon State below .500 with only three more regular-season games on the slate, and it might be official now: this has been a season of what-ifs and might-have-beens.
The numbers you should know:
19 & 8 - Points scored off turnovers by Arizona and points scored off turnovers by Oregon State. While the actual turnovers committed were fairly close—13 by the Wildcats and 16 by the Beavers—Arizona was able to capitalize on more of their opportunities. In a game that went into overtime, then was decided by ten points, a minus-11 for Oregon State in this category was a huge hole to try and dig themselves out of.
6 - Points scored by Oregon State players not named Tres Tinkle, Drew Eubanks, Stephen Thompson Jr., or Ethan Thompson. All season long it's been the same story: the Beavers have no depth. For a few games it appeared that Alfred Hollins was going to emerge as a fifth player to shoulder the load, but tonight he played just five minutes and took only one shot. 65 points is a low total to try and win a game with—especially considering that the Beavers played an extra five minutes—but having 59 of those 65 scored by just four players is all the evidence we need to demonstrate how shorthanded Oregon State really is.
13 - Losses by ten points or fewer that Oregon State has suffered this season. They have just 14 losses on the year, and that 14th game was decided by just 13 points. I just pointed out the lack of depth for this team, but even still: they haven't been truly trampled all season long. Fourteen losses, none by more than 13 points, and by an average of 6.57 points. Hate them or love them, the Beavers are competing. They just aren't closing games. Truly a season of what-ifs and might-have-beens.
12 - Consecutive losses against ranked teams for Oregon State. To find their last win over a ranked team, we have to go back to Gary Payton II's senior season, when the Beavers beat #21 USC on January 24th, 2016. The last three games of this regular season all feature teams that are currently unranked, so it appears that this streak will continue into next season unless Oregon State can pull a few upsets in the Pac-12 Tournament.
Oregon State (13-14, 5-10) plays Arizona State (19-8, 7-8) on February 24th.