Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down: Beavers Can’t Overcome Bruins

Thumbs Up: Assists-To-Field Goal Ratio

15 field goals made in a game is not very impressive. If it wasn’t for the Beavers living at the free-throw line, there’s a real chance Oregon State wouldn’t have broken the 50-point mark. The Bruins like to junk it up and the contest took that style. As for the Beavers dishing out 10 assists on 15 made baskets though? Any coach around will take that 2:3 ratio. Now it’s about scoring more.

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Thumbs Up: Zach Reichle

While some players are really struggling to figure things out right now, Reichle looks to be a talent who is beginning to understand what he can do to help this group. He’s not always prolific, but a solid outing of 12 points (3-4 3PT), 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals will keep him in a starting role and as a positive impact guy. The 6’ 5” sharpshooter continues to improve overall.

Thumbs Up: The Charity Stripe

Shooting 23-29 (79.3%) from the free-throw line is nothing extraordinary, especially when you miss six attempts in a four-point loss, but getting to the charity stripe almost 30 times in any given game is quite remarkable. Right now, the Beavers offense relies heavily on them getting to the line often.

Thumbs Down: Ball Security

14 turnovers is not the best number. It’s also not the worst. Surely, in the past days of Oregon State basketball we’ve seen uglier showings. But ball security is more than turnovers. UCLA had 13 steals, fueling a handful of easy breaks and disjointed possessions and were hounding the Beavers anytime they attacked the paint. Winning begins with caring for the ball most above all.

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Thumbs Down: Bench Impact

I think moving Sean Miller-Moore into the starting line-up was a good move that simply didn’t work out. Alfred Hollins tried harder off the bench, but still added only 5 points (1-5 FG) in 20 minutes. Besides that, only guard Jarod Lucas added anything, finishing with 2 points and 1 assist.

Thumbs Down: Winning Plays

Down the stretch, UCLA basically handed the ball to Chris Smith and told him to win them the game, despite the fact that he played most of the second half in foul trouble. Smith drew the fouls - and the attention he needed to - to allow the Bruins to keep scoring in crunch time. The Beavers didn’t do the same. Alfred Hollins took two threes in the final thirty seconds and missed them both. Tres Tinkle’s last made basket came at the 2:51 mark. Not exactly a formula for success.