Two seasons ago Oregon State men’s basketball coach Craig Robinson helped the Beavers to a win in his first ever Civil War matchup.
Robinson was quickly made aware of the game’s importance, splitting the series with Oregon in his inaugural season en route to an 18-18 overall finish.
First-year Oregon coach Dana Altman will look to improve upon Robinson’s performance as the Ducks (8-10, 1-5 Pacific-10 Conference) head to Corvallis on Saturday night to take on Oregon State (8-9, 3-3 Pac-10).
“It puts more pressure on us,” Robinson said. “This is, to some folks, shoot, to most folks in this state, as important as any game you could play anywhere.”
Robinson is 3-1 in his four career matchups against the in-state rival after sweeping the Ducks in 2010. This year, however, Oregon and Oregon State feature the only two losing records in the conference overall. Each game is crucial for both teams as they fight to stay out of the league cellar.
“Their athleticism is going to give us problems,” Altman said. “We’ve got to make plays. We’ve got to be able to play through mistakes that we’re going to make, and we’ve just gotta try to find a way to stay competitive and give ourselves a chance.”
The Ducks and Beavers split their respective series last weekend against the Los Angeles schools, each defeating USC and falling to UCLA. For Oregon, the USC win snapped a six-game losing skid and gave the team its first conference win of the season. Aside from the Oregon State matchup, the Ducks may not win another league game for some time with a trip to the Bay Area and a home visit from the Washington schools shortly ahead on the schedule.
Oregon State enters the game having lost three of its last four contests, but did sweep the Arizona schools at home earlier this month.
Depth-wise, neither team has much. Oregon State has seven freshmen listed on the roster, with three sophomores, one junior, and four seniors. Sophomores Jared Cunningham and Joe Burton have excelled this season with more playing time, while seniors Calvin Haynes and Omari Johnson haven’t missed a beat since last season.
Cunningham, a 6-foot-4, 182-pound guard from Oakland, Calif., is an extremely talented offensive player. Through six league games, he leads the Beavers in points per game (16.8) and assists (2.7), while shooting better than 55 percent from beyond the arc.
Defensively, Cunningham has caused opposing guards problems with his length. The sophomore leads the conference in steals and is third in the nations with 3.2 per game (54 total).
“Jared has gotten good at just playing through what happens,” Robinson said. “When he gets knocked down, he gets right back up and makes his two foul shots, no matter how hard he’s fouled or how little he’s fouled.”
Cunningham tied the school record of 34 consecutive made free throws before missing in the second half of the Arizona game. During that stretch he set the school record for most free throws made in a game without a miss, going 15-for-15 against George Washington on Dec. 18.
“He kind of reminds me of Tyrone (Nared) with his athleticism,” Oregon’s Joevan Catron said of Cunningham. “With those type of guys, you have to make sure you get a body on them. You can’t let them get a running start or they just jump over you.”
The Ducks will need to keep Cunningham from turning those costly steals into points. Oregon hasn’t done a particularly bad job of handling the basketball, especially with freshman Johnathan Loyd taking over at the point guard position. Loyd has started the last six games for the Ducks, leading the team in assist-to-turnover ration (1.8).
Catron will be back in action after a nagging calf injury kept him on the sidelines for the past several games. Altman said Catron had more jump in his step during Thursday’s practice and expects the senior to play some quality minutes on Saturday.
The Ducks will also look to sophomore E.J. Singler for a big offensive game. The Medford native has reached double digits in 13 of Oregon’s 18 games this season.
Oregon State, also very much in the rebuilding process, is excited for the opportunity to climb above the .500 mark in conference play.
“We’re not even talking about it,” Robinson said. “That’s how important it is.”
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Oregon basketball prepares for Civil War showdown
Daily Emerald
January 19, 2011
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