Oregon State Basketball: Oregon Ducks Preview (Pac-12 Tournament Quarterfinals)

#1 - Oregon Ducks (24-7, 13-5)

• Head Coach: Dana Altman (10th Season)
• Top Performer: Payton Pritchard (20.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG)
• Points For: 75.9 PPG (66th)
• Points Against: 66.7 PPG (105th)
• Last Game/Streak: 80-67 Win vs. Stanford (4W)

The Skinny

In the world of the Pac-12 Tournament there isn’t too much time to prepare for your opponent and after a miraculous win for the Beavers yesterday, the key for the group is to find some energy and refocus on not only playing against your rival, but the best team in the Pac-12. Sounds like an easy enough task for an Oregon State team that literally needed everything in their tank to get by Utah in the first round yesterday.

At this point in the year, the good news is that nobody is a stranger anymore. We know about Pac-12 Player of the Year Payton Pritchard (20.5 PPG), we’ve seen the steady development of sophomore guard Will Richardson (11.0 PPG), transfer Anthony Mathis (8.5 PPG) is coming along nicely and even Addison Patterson (4.6 PPG) has looked better at the wing spot. It’s no secret that the Ducks are a well-oiled machine. Even without Chris Duarte (12.9 PPG) in the line-up due to injury, there’s very few weak spots in this group.

Up-front, forward Shakur Juiston (7.9 PPG) has been helped by the return of seven-footer N’Faly Dante (5.8 PPG) and the revolving door of depth that includes Chandler Lawson (4.5 PPG), CJ Walker (4.0 PPG) and Francis Okoro (3.3 PPG). Dana Altman can legitimately play ten guys when Duarte is healthy and Oregon has their sights set on a deep NCAA Tournament run.

So how does Oregon State play spoiler? The Beavers simply have to force the Ducks into a rough night from the field and make them truly work for everything they get. Wayne Tinkle has a decent record against Oregon and that needs to come through here. With so many post-season tournaments in doubt, the Beavers need to find wins to keep the careers of Tres Tinkle and Kylor Kelley going. It would be sad to see this contest as their last time in the white, orange and black.

Player To Watch

Photo by Cody Glenn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Will Richardson (Guard - Sophomore)

Players like Will Richardson are what turn Oregon from another Top 25 team into a legitimate team to be playing into the final weekends of the season. After a hot-and-cold start, the 6’ 5” guard has scored double-figures in six of his last seven games and has been one of the Ducks’ top minute earners during that streak.

Game Info

• Date: Thursday, March 12th
• Time: 12:00 PM PT
• Location: T-Mobile Arena (Las Vegas, NV)
• Coverage: Pac-12 Network