No. 13 Oregon and Oregon State face off in the 347th installment of the Civil War today at 7:30 p.m. at Matthew Knight Arena as two teams on very different trajectories.
The Ducks come in riding a 13-game win streak — tied for second longest streak in the country — and will look to stay undefeated in conference play.
Oregon is riding high; they’ve started conference play 4-0, with wins against formerly undefeated No. 4 UCLA and No. 25 USC, and completed a successful sweep of the Washington schools last weekend. They won both games last week by a combined 41 points, despite Dillon Brooks only logging 25 minutes due to foul trouble. Tyler Dorsey (28 points, eight 3-pointers against Washington) and Chris Boucher (29 points, six 3-pointers against Washington State) picked up the slack for and helped Oregon continue its winning ways.
The Beavers, on the other hand, have yet to win a conference game and have not won back-to-back games since early November. They are at the bottom of the Pac-12 with an 0-4 conference record, 4-13 overall, and are looking to snap a four-game losing streak.
Oregon State lost five seniors last year, including star Gary Payton II, and many supposed that this season be a rebuilding one for the Beavers. They were picked to finish ninth in this years Pac-12 preseason coaches poll.
But sophomore Tres Tinkle, son of coach Wayne Tinkle, was expected to be a bright spot this year after averaging 13.1 points and 5.4 rebounds in his freshman campaign. And for a couple games, he was, averaging 20.2 points and 8.3 rebounds in the first six games of the season.
But in a game against Fresno State on Nov. 25, a night where he poured in 31 points, Tinkle suffered a broken right wrist and hasn’t played since. The Beavers have gone 2-9 and have been one of the worst offensive teams in the country since Tinkle’s injury. They rank at or near the bottom in nearly every offensive category in the conference.
This is, however, not to say that the Beavers are without talent. Sophomore guard Stephen Thompson Jr. has averaged 15.7 points and 4.2 rebounds in 11 games since returning from a foot injury. And 6-foot-10 forward Drew Eubanks, who’s averaging 14.4 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, could be a handful for Oregon’s frontcourt.
Oregon State upset the Ducks last year in Oregon’s conference opener, 70-57. That turned out to be one of Oregon’s more surprising losses last year. If the Beavers can play spoiler once again, it would be even more shocking than last year.
Follow Gus Morris on Twitter @JustGusMorris