Oregon looks to avoid a bad loss on its resume as it travels to take on rival Oregon State.
TV Schedule: Wednesday, February 28, 11:00 pm ET (FS1)
Location: Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Oregon
Is anyone up for a mid-week rivalry game? Wednesday night will be the 215th meeting between Oregon and Oregon State since the 1949-50 season. OSU has led the series 113-101 since then, but the Ducks have made up ground in the past few years, winning the last six games.
Oregon (18-9) sits alone in third place in the PAC-12 Conference, behind only Washington State and Arizona. The Ducks weren’t able to escape Berkeley with a win over the weekend, dropping the game 69-64 to Cal. Jermaine Couisnard led Oregon with 19 points in the loss.
The Ducks have been solid on offense all season, averaging just over 75.9 points per game, scoring 80 or more points 11 times. N’Faly Dante (15.1 ppg, 8.5 rpg) has been the leader for this Oregon offense since returning from knee surgery. Dante is currently on a stretch of ten games with ten or more points and has recorded four double-doubles in the 13 games he has played this season. Jermaine Couisnard (14.5 ppg) has been the most reliable scoring threat for the Ducks all year, scoring in double figures 21 times in 26 games.
Defensively, Oregon is giving up 71.6 points per game. The Ducks are vulnerable on the interior, allowing opponents to make nearly 51 percent from inside the three-point line. Oregon isn’t the best rebounding team but has been successful this season in keeping opposing teams off the offensive glass, only allowing nine offensive rebounds per game.
Oregon State (12-16) sits at the very bottom of the conference standings. OSU broke a seven-game losing streak Saturday when it took down Stanford on the road, winning 85-73. The Beavers got a huge offensive performance from Jordan Pope, who led all scorers with 30 points. Michael Rataj added 22 points and ten rebounds, to record his fourth double-double of the season.
The Beavers have one of the worst offenses in the country this season, averaging 68.8 points per game. OSU has scored fewer than 70 points 13 times this year, going 1-12 in those games.
Oregon State's offense runs through Guard Jordan Pope (17.5 ppg) and Forward Tyler Bilodeau (13.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg). Pope has scored in double-figures in all but one game this season, sporting a season-high 31 points in a win over Arizona.
OSU has been okay on the defensive end this season. The Beavers are allowing 72.2 points per game, which overall is pretty good, but hasn’t been good enough to make up for the poor offense. The Beavers like to play at a slower more deliberate pace, limiting possessions and giving its offense a better chance at hanging around.
Oregon State is one of the poorer rebounding teams, averaging just under 33 per game. The Beavers have also struggled with fouls this year, sending opponents to the line nearly 21 times a game, giving up just under 15 points per game with the clock stopped.
Oregon was able to eke out a 60-58 win when these two teams played less than two weeks ago. The Ducks have been pretty good at home this season, only dropping two games. Oregon State has only won once away from Corvallis, its most recent game against Stanford.
If the Ducks can speed up the game and force OSU into playing at a faster pace, then Oregon shouldn’t have any problems picking up the win. The Beavers can play at a quicker pace but have struggled to win games playing that way. I think Oregon should win this one comfortably at home.