Oregon @ Oregon St. preview

Oregon at Oregon St.

Last Meeting ( Jan 5, 2019 ) Oregon St. 77, Oregon 72

Oregon State is eyeing its first season sweep of rival Oregon in nine years when it hosts the Ducks late Saturday night. It’s also a big game in the Pac-12 standings as the teams fight for a top-four finish and a first-round bye in the conference tournament.

The Beavers beat Oregon 77-72 on Jan. 5 for their first win in Eugene since 2012. Nearly six weeks later, that’s still the difference in the conference standings as third-place Oregon State (7-4) is a game ahead of the Ducks who are alone in fifth place at 6-5. Both teams are trending in the right direction as Oregon State has won three of its last four and Oregon has won four of its last five. Only seven games remain for each team, though, starting with Saturday’s 352nd edition of the Civil War.

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network

ABOUT OREGON (15-9, 6-5 Pac-12): The Ducks are coming off a home sweep of California and Stanford, and strong defense led the way as the Golden Bears and Cardinal averaged 54 points and shot a combined 33 percent, including 9-of-37 from 3-point range. Junior guard Payton Pritchard led Oregon with 20 points in each contest and also added a combined 14 rebounds, three assists and three steals to bump his team-leading averages up to 12.1 points, 4.3 assists and 1.6 steals per contest. Forwards Louis King (11.8 points, team-leading 5.2 rebounds) and Paul White (10.4 points) also are averaging double figures for the Ducks, who are averaging only 70.9 points per game but sit atop the conference in scoring defense (64.2), defensive field-goal percentage (40.7) and 3-point defensive field-goal percentage (29.6).

ABOUT OREGON STATE (15-8, 7-4): The Beavers settled for a home split last week, losing to Stanford (83-60) before bouncing back to beat last-place Cal (79-71) on Saturday. Forward Tres Tinkle and guards/brothers Stephen Thompson Jr. and Ethan Thompson combined to score 60 of Oregon State’s 79 points versus Cal and all three are averaging at least 13.8 per game, with Tinkle leading the way with 20.5 and a team-most 7.7 rebounds. As a team, the Beavers rank second in the Pac-12 in field-goal percentage (46.9) and assists per game (15.2) but are shooting a conference-worst 32.3 percent from 3-point range.

TIP-INS

1. Oregon State has won 188 of the 351 Civil War meetings, trailing only Kansas (196 wins versus Kansas State) and Washington (190 victories against Oregon) for the most wins against an opponent in NCAA hoops history.

2. Oregon is 14-2 when boasting the better field-goal percentage in a game and is 1-7 when the opposition is more accurate.

3. Led by 7-footer Kylor Kelley’s Pac-12-leading (and second nationally) 3.5 blocked shots per game, Oregon State ranks second in the conference with 5.6 swats per contest while Oregon is second in the Pac-12 with 7.7 steals per game.

PREDICTION: Oregon State 74, Oregon 72