Portland St. @ Oregon St. preview
Gill Coliseum
Last Meeting ( Dec 12, 2012 ) Oregon St. 79, Portland St. 74
The month of November featured one of the best starts to a season in Oregon State history. Now, the Beavers tip off the December portion of their schedule with a Sunday home game against in-state rival Portland State.
At 6-1, Oregon State is a win away from matching its 1984-85 and 1986-87 squads for the second-best eight-game starts in program history. The 1980-81 Beavers began the season 26-0 before losing their final two contests to finish with a modern-era program-best season win percentage of .929. It’s highly unlikely coach Wayne Tinkle’s current Beavers will top that with the Pac-12 looking improved overall, but the program’s first 20-win season since 2011-12 is within reach. Portland State, of the Big Sky Conference, comes to Corvallis a game under .500 following an 81-70 loss Wednesday night at UC Santa Barbara.
TV: 6 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network
ABOUT PORTLAND STATE (3-4): Wednesday’s loss was the third contest in a four-game stretch away from home for the Vikings, who have played only two home contests so far overall. Guards Holland Woods and Matt Hauser are averaging a combined 35.6 points, 7.7 assists and 7.7 rebounds per game and have accounted for 30 of the Vikings’ 38 made 3-pointers so far. Forward Alonzo Walker (11.3 points per game) is the only other Portland State player with a double-digit scoring average and also is contributing 6.8 rebounds per contest while fellow forward Rashaad Goolsby is pacing the squad with 7.7 boards per outing.
ABOUT OREGON STATE (6-1): The Beavers are coming off an 83-48 rout of visiting San Jose State on Wednesday – their fourth win of at least 20 points this season. Guard Ethan Thompson scored a game-high 17 points in the victory and is one of four Oregon State players averaging double figures (14.1) on the season, joining forwards Tres Tinkle (20.7), Kylor Kelley (11.6) and Alfred Hollins (10.1). Tinkle is averaging a team-most 8.6 rebounds while the 7-foot Kelley is pacing the Pac-12 and ranks third nationally with his average of 4.29 blocked shots per game.
TIP-INS
1. Oregon State has won all previous 13 meetings in the series, with the most recent being a 79-74 road win in 2012.
2. Led by Tinkle (4.6 assists) and Thompson (4.0), the Beavers lead the Pac-12 and rank 17th nationally with a 1.53 assist-to-turnover ratio.
3. Four Oregon State players are shooting at least 40 percent from 3-point range, with guards Jarod Lucas (46.7) and Zach Reichle (43.5) leading the way.
PREDICTION: Oregon State 86, Portland State 70