The Oregon and Oregon State men’s basketball teams enter the year’s first Civil War matchup this weekend on what would seem to be opposing trajectories.
Oregon (15-5, 6-2 Pac-12) has won four straight conference games and currently sits tied atop the Pac-12 leaderboard with Cal. Oregon State, meanwhile, lost five of its first six Pac-12 games after a promising nonconference start. The Beavers (13-7, 3-5) bounced back with a sweep of the Southern California schools this past weekend in Corvallis but still face a steep uphill climb from their ninth-place conference standing. @@http://www.pac-12.org/portals/7/images/MBasketball/2011-12-stats/HTML/OSU.HTM@@ @@http://www.pac-12.org/portals/7/images/MBasketball/2011-12-stats/HTML/OSU.HTM@@
Not that any of those numbers mean anything to the Ducks. This is the Civil War, after all, where conventional wisdom goes by the wayside.
“It’s a game that is won on toughness, I think,” junior forward E.J. Singler said. “A lot of stuff goes out the window on this game, because it’s so different than any other kind of game. We just got to be really focused for it and, at the end of the day, just play harder and want it more than they do.”
All pageantry aside, however, Oregon State is also a better team than its record might show. Despite their recent slide, the Beavers still rank at the top of the Pac-12 in scoring offense (82.7 points per game) and field goal percentage (.488) while also boasting the conference’s second-highest average scoring margin (+10.6). Junior guard Jared Cunningham leads the conference in scoring (17.8 points per game), and two other Oregon State players (Devon Collier and Angus Brandt) sit in the top three in field goal percentage. @@http://www.pac-12.org/portals/7/images/MBasketball/2011-12-stats/HTML/OSU.HTM@@
“They just have a lot of weapons,” senior guard Garrett Sim said. “They’re very athletic. I think they’re a better team than their record shows right now. We’re not taking them lightly at all.”
The Ducks won’t fall into the trap of attempting to outscore Oregon State, and so the focus will be on the defensive end. More specifically, Oregon head coach Dana Altman and his team will fight to contain Cunningham, who also leads the Pac-12 with 167 free-throw attempts on the season.
“He’s a tough matchup,” Altman said. “He shoots a lot of free throws because he gets the ball to the hole, and he can shoot the three. It’s a tough challenge — he’s scoring baskets, playing with a lot of confidence, shooting a good percentage. He’s a tough matchup for anybody.”
For Singler, the key will be keeping Cunningham out of the paint.
“Have him beat us shooting jump shots, not fouling him getting to the rim,” Singler said. “I think if we give him a little bit more space and have him shoot more contested jump shots, that’s going to be better for us.”
It’s easier said than done, of course, and Cunningham will get his points. The Ducks will have to score a fair share of their own points, too, while solving Oregon State’s ever-complex defensive schemes. Although the Beavers rank second to last in the conference in scoring defense (72.1 points per game), they still present challenges with their athleticism and propensity for steals (10 per game). @@http://www.pac-12.org/portals/7/images/MBasketball/2011-12-stats/HTML/OSU.HTM@@
“They do a good job mixing up the defenses. They take a lot of chances,” Altman said. “They get some steals. They give up a few things. It’s no different than a football team that blitzes a lot: They’re going to create some turnovers, but they’re going to give up some things.”
As for Oregon State’s famed 1-3-1 defense, Sim says the key is to attack as much as possible.
“You just gotta stay aggressive against it,” Sim said. “I think when teams get timid and try to throw the ball around too much, you find yourself in trouble.”
With the game taking place on Sunday, 24 hours later than normal, both teams will have the chance to watch their conference competitors duke it out on Saturday. Not that it will matter much — this weekend is all about the Civil War.
“This will probably be the most attended game for us so far this year,” Sim said. “I think the excitement will be there, and Oregon State is always ready. We’ve both had a week to prepare, so both teams will be ready to go on Sunday.”