The Oregon State Beavers face the Arizona Sun Devils looking to break a 10-game losing streak and earn their first Pac-12 win of the season.
Game information:
Arizona State at Oregon State
Time: 3 p.m.
Where: Gill Coliseum
On air: Pac-12 Network; Radio on Beaver Sports Radio Network (stream here)
TV coverage: Guy Haberman (play-by-play), Eldridge Recasner (analyst)
Arizona State (10-13, 3-7 Pac-12)
0 – Tra Holder, 6-1, 180, Jr. | 17.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 3.2 apg
11 – Shannon Evans, 6-1, 160, Jr. | 16.0 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 4.2 apg
4 – Torian Graham, 6-5, 195, Sr. | 18.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.2 apg
44 – Kodi Justice, 6-5, 190, Jr. | 7.6 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.4 apg
5 – Obinna Oleka, 6-8, 225, Sr. | 12.7 ppg, 10.6 rpg, 1.1 apg
Oregon State (4-19, 0-10)
0 – JaQuori McLaughlin, 6-4, 185, Fr. | 11.1 ppg, 3.0 apg, 41.0 3P%
1 – Stephen Thompson Jr., 6-4, 175, So. | 17.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.3 apg
24 – Kendal Manuel, 6-4, 180, R-Fr. | 7.7 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 1.6 apg
12 – Drew Eubanks, 6-10, 250, So. | 14.8 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 2.3 bpg
23 – Gligorije Rakocevic, 6-11, 255, So. | 3.1 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 14.9 mpg
Coaches: Arizona State: Bobby Hurley, 25-30 at Arizona State (2nd season), 67-50 overall. Oregon State: Wayne Tinkle, 40-46 at Oregon State (3rd season), 198-137 overall.
RPI: Arizona State: 119. Oregon State: 289.
KenPom rating: Arizona State: 116. Oregon State: 273.
Last 10: Arizona State: 3-7. Oregon State: 0-10.
Line: Arizona State by 4 1/2
Previous meetings: Arizona State beat Oregon State 86-68 in their lone regular season meeting last year in Tempe on Jan. 28. The Beavers returned the favor at the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas, winning 75-66 on March 9.
ASU leads the all-time series 43-42, while OSU owns a 24-14 edge in Corvallis.
Injury report: Oregon State sophomore forward Tres Tinkle (20.2 ppg, 8.3 rpg) has missed the Beavers’ last 17 games with a broken wrist. He moved to a hard elbow cast this week. Senior center Cheikh N’diaye (3.6 ppg) has been out for 14 games with a shoulder injury and remains in a sling. Both are out Saturday.
Preview: With eight regular season games remaining to get a Pac-12 win, Oregon State may have its best opportunity to get back into the victory column Saturday.
Although Arizona State played tough against No. 13 Oregon in a 71-70 loss on Thursday, the Sun Devils have been the worst defensive team in the Pac-12 during league play. They rank last in defensive efficiency, points allowed per game and defensive field goal percentage over the last 10 games. ASU rarely uses a player taller than 6-foot-8, which may open things up for the Beavers’ bigger lineup featuring Drew Eubanks and Gligorije Rakocevic. The sophomore posts combined for 24 points Thursday in a loss to No. 5 Arizona.
The opening of the three-point line could good news for OSU’s starting backcourt trio of Stephen Thompson Jr., JaQuori McLaughlin and Kendal Manuel. Arizona is the best team in the league at defending the three, while ASU has been the worst. Manuel had a bounce back shooting game Thursday, connecting on 3 of 6 from deep after hitting only 24.1 percent from deep in the previous six games. McLaughlin is a 40 percent three-point shooter and Thompson has made 45.3 percent in league play.
But if defending the three-pointer is a weakness, ASU specializes in taking them. No team in the conference takes a higher percentage of three-point shots than the Sun Devils, whose up-tempo, run-and-gun style can keep them in games even with their defensive deficiencies.
Guards Torian Graham (19.3 ppg) and Tra Holder (18.9 ppg) rank second and fourth, respectively, in the scoring in the Pac-12 during league play. Thompson (19.0 ppg) is third.
They said it: “We just have to keep fighting and fighting every single day. … It’s not just about this season. It’s about building for next season (and) the season after that.” – Gligorije Rakocevic
Links:
— Danny Moran
dmoran@oregonian.com
@DannyJMoran
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