With the sweep of Cal and a big series win over Arizona this weekend the Beavs are off to a 7-2 start to the Pac-10 season this year. Only ASU has a better record. Things are looking good again after last year and I think they are driven to make the NCAA Tournament this year. They won't let a committee determine their fate.
What do you think? How far will the Beavers go this year?
(Poll Closed, results below)
The CBI Championship win is a big step for the Beavers basketball program. Next year is going to be the most anticipated season for men's hoops since 1990! I can't wait to see how the Freshman develop and integrate into this year's squad. The expectation has to be at least NIT.
The results from the poll I ran before the CBI started broke down like this:
When will Coach Robinson have the Beavers in the NCAA Tournament?
2010 (next year) 16% (14 votes)
2011 38% (33 votes)
2012 8% (7 votes)
2013+ 1% (1 votes)
Never 37% (32 votes)
I wonder how many people would change their vote now?
The CBI win gives OSU their 4th straight championship. Two baseball titles in '06 and '07. Last year an NCAA Champion swimmer. And this year a CBI championship. Not quite an NCAA title, but hey, we'll take it.
Not only did the Beavs beat Stanford last night to move on to the CBI finals against UTEP (first game at Gill on Monday), but according to Cliff Kirkpatrick's postgame blog post we got another win:
Robinson’s thanks fans again
Robinson thanked the fans again after the game. He was surprised that the crowd could be that loud. He said: “the fans are bringing basketball to Oregon State.”
For those worried about him leaving after one season, don’t. He not only said he doesn’t want to and his family doesn’t like moving around a lot, but he’s really enjoying this season.
I can imagine for Stanford, Houston, or other schools who have been in the NCAA tournament recently that the CBI would be a downer. Its a 3rd or 4th rate tournament on the edges of the nations conscience. Does anyone get HDNet? Its the equivalent of the Seattle Bowl a few years ago.
However, for some teams its a taste of postseason play that they would never have even sniffed before. I truly think that the CBI experience will do nothing but good for the Oregon States of the world. The Beavs just need more practice, more experience, and more time to get ready for next season. That's what going to a lower bowl gives you in football. And the basketball team is getting the same thing now.
Can the Beavers beat Stanford at home again and avenge their Pac-10 Tournament loss a couple of weeks ago? What a great matchup for the Beavs in the Semis! And its Wednesday night, so great ready for another game quick!
CBI Schedule
After last night's win over Houston I noticed something that I've noticed before and has become something I really like about Coach Robinson. He isn't afraid to change things in game to shake things up and maybe strike lightning and get a win.
His strategy at the start of the game was clearly to go small. Three guards started with Ruland and Seth Tarver. Thats a small lineup. It worked defending the fastbreak, but we couldn't score. So we went bigger in the second half. For much of the second Omari, Ruland, Deane, and sometimes Hampton we in together. And that really worked. Sure, he couldn't predict Omari would hit 2 big threes, but all those big men caused problems for the smaller Houston players trying to score.
He went through multiple defenses, lineup combos, and offensive sets until something clicked, we went on a run, and won the game. Great job to Omari and Daniel to pull us to a victory!
Vermont on Monday! Let's get a bigger crowd this time people!
Go Beavs!
I picked up some tickets for the game Wed. night vs. the Houston Cougars. Unfortunately, I maybe one of the few. Based on the huge selection of great seats available in nearly every section, tickets aren't exactly flying off of the shelves.
Do you have a free Wednesday night? Come down to the game and make sure the players and Coach Robinson know that you support them! Consider it a sending off for a pretty good year.
>> Vote on when you think Coach Robinson will have the Beavers in the NCAA Tournament
In case you need a reason to root against Houston, here's the famous "face smash" of Chase Budinger.
Oregon State will be playing Houston at Gill at 7pm Wednesday night! Can we fill Gill?!
Could this be the Hawaii Bowl for the hoops team? Will it give us a taste and propel the Beavers to greater things next year? Only time will tell, but for now you can get down to Corvallis and watch some postseason basketball!
Looking at the CBI bracket it appears the game will be televised on HDNet. Which I'm pretty sure I don't get...
Here are the teams:
East Regional
March 18th- 7:00 PM ET
St. John's (16-17) vs. Richmond (18-15)
March 18th- 8:00 PM ET
College of Charleston (26-8) vs. Troy (19-12)
West Regional
March 18th- 8:00 PM ET
Vermont (23-8) vs. Green Bay (22-10)
March 18th- 10:00 PM ET
Houston (21-11) vs. Oregon St. (13-17)
Midwest Regional
March 18th- 8:00 PM ET
Buffalo (21-11) vs. Wichita St. (16-16)
March 18th- 10:00 PM ET
Boise St. (19-12) vs. Stanford (18-13)
South Regional
March 17th- 9:00 PM ET
Northeastern (18-12) vs. Wyoming (19-13)
March 17th- 11:00 PM ET
UTEP (19-12) vs. Nevada (21-12)
If the Beavs can get past 21-11 Houston, then they play the winner of Green Bay vs. Vermont.
More information on purchasing tickets can be found in this official release: Men's Hoops to Host Houston in First Round of CBI - OSUBeavers.com
The postseason appearance will be the 21st in school history as the Beavers last earned a postseason bid with a berth in the National Invitation Tournament following the 2004-05 campaign.
Houston enters the contest with a record of 21-11 on the season as the Cougars fell to Memphis in the semi-finals of the Conference USA tournament this past week. The Cougars have four players in double figures, led by Aubrey Coleman at 19.7 points per game. Kelvin Lewis ranks second on the squad, averaging 18.0 points per contest.
The meeting with the Cougars will mark only the second in series history as Oregon State captured the first and only meeting with a 63-60 win during the 1965-66 season.
Tickets for the game against the Cougars will go on sale Monday, March 16 at 8:30 a.m. The price will be $25 for a chairback and $15 for a bench seat. Students will be admitted to the contest for free and can begin picking up tickets on Monday at 8:30 a.m.
The season is probably over (maybe a CBI bid), but the real question is when will we finally make it back to the tournament? What do you think?
The Beavers first game of the Pac-10 tournament is tonight at 6pm on FSN. They have a chance to beat Stanford for the 3rd time this season. Wow. Think about that. Actually, just think about the crazy last few months since the season started.
I'll take you through my personal journey:
Season starts: Curious about the team, but since no major roster changes were made not very optimistic about their prospects. Would they win a Pac-10 game?
Mid-November: Beavers lose to Howard in D.C. 47-45. I caught the last 5 minutes or so on the radio and the Beavs sounded like they couldn't have gotten to "O" in a game of HORSE if they were playing some Junior High kids. At this point I almost wrote the team off.
End of November: Vaguely remember them losing to bad teams (Yale and Montana St.), not feeling good about the team.
End-December: OK, so maybe all they needed was Calvin Haynes. They are much better in December, but of course who did they play?
Jan. 2nd: Ouch. Killed by UCLA. This is going to be a looooong season.
Jan. 4th: WooHoo! We won a Pac-10 game!
Mid-Jan: Hmm, playing better but still no wins really to show for it. But the team is clearly improving. Cautiously optimistic. Trying to figure out what is going on.
End-Jan: What just happened? A four game win streak including a win over the Ducks! Awesome! Go Beavs! I was at the Civil War and I'm getting excited about Beaver Hoops now.
End-Feb: Three more wins! Top 25 Recruiting class! Robinson should be Coach of the Year! Maybe we can make the NIT!
Today: Three more losses and my enthusiasm for this season has tempered a bit. But now I'm looking forward to next year. I'm very excited. I haven't cared about Beaver hoops this much in 2 or 3 years!
I have an a card carrying Beaver Hoops supporter now. Have you drunk the kool-aid?
Go Beavs! Beat Stanford!
OK, I admit it. I'm bummed that I don't have the chance to write:
- 18
Congrats to the Ducks for avoiding the dubious distinction that the Beavs did last season. But...
Would going 1-17 this season be worse than 0-18 last season?
From my point of view, the Pac-10 is worse than last year. Last year may have been the best collection of teams in the Pac-10 ever. All of the elite teams from last season (UCLA, USC, U of A, WSU, Stanford, and Oregon) are all worse than last year. Some more than others, but still. Of the improved teams (UW, ASU?, OSU, Cal) only a couple will probably make the tournament.
So who had the harder schedule? Would this years Duck team beat anyone in conference other than the Beavs? Would the Beavs of last season have beat this years Ducks at least once?
I think if the 08-09 Ducks team was transported to last season, they would have tied the Beavs at 1-17.
Thoughts?
Nice comeback win against the Cougs last night. Man, our offense is like a good running game. Before you know it, there's no time on the clock and you don't have time to win the game. Assuming things are clicking of course. If Ruland and Haynes can get hot again down the stretch, we may have a good shot at winning a couple more games. Too bad we let that WSU game get away earlier in the year.
Anyone know what the deal was with Omari Johnson? Was he sick or hurt?
The Beavers must have racked up some frequent flier miles over last year. Perhaps by necessity, but definitely by design the OSU coaches now recruit to the south, southwest, mountain west, california, and the northwest (of course). After seeing the wide area that Oregon State got their recruits, it got me thinking. What do other schools in the Pac-10 do? What is the Pac-10's effective recruiting area?
This is the conference as a whole (excluding JC guys who mostly come from somewhere else but go to school in Cali):
Data is coming from ESPN - Pacific-10 College Recruiting
Go to the official web site to get all of the signing day updates!
After the first road sweep in 16 years and three wins in a row something feels like it might be happening. Its definitely an event you can't ignore. Even in the last winning season in '04-'05 we only won 1 road game. So what is going on? Is it the crazy 1-3-1 defense? The offense that leads to layups? The breakout of Ruland and Calvin? Yes.
I thought I'd take a look at StatSheet.com and see if I can figure out what were doing better and maybe that would help explain if this is a trend or just a hot streak.
Our FG % is pretty high compared to the last few seasons. 47.4% seems pretty good to me. Our opponents are at 44.9%. This is the highest FG% we have shot for the last 12 years. That's pretty awesome. Hopefully that's the extra layups and not just some hot shooting.
Whoa. Big win! First road win in the Pac-10 in like forever. Imagine if we had beat WSU...
I started listening with 10 minutes left in the second half. That was the low point. Down 11. From that point Cal made one 30 footer. That's it. The defense, rebounding, and free throw shooting was really clutch.
Great job Beavs! Now go beat Stanford!
The Beavers won this game with defense, some good patient offense, and a couple great individual efforts at key moments of the game.
First, that 1-3-1 zone was perfect. It may not work every night but it was key. By pushing their guards way out past the 3 point line they were removed as a threat. Plus, they couldn't directly enter it into the post. So each play there were really only three legitimate threats each time out. Plus, the Beavers were working hard to prevent drives and getting caught too many times out of position. Great strategy by coach Robinson.
Second, the offense was working well. It seems like everyone gets their role and are really looking to attack the defense with back-cuts and passing. Plus, people were hitting their threes when they were open. I could see how this offense could really work here.
Third, three huge offensive plays sealed the game. Ruland's 3 to send the game into OT was big. He was open and was feeling it. Then the play of Calvin Haynes at the end of the game and in OT. He looked like a poor man's Brandon Roy on those last two layups. Setup the pick and roll and drive to the hoop. He is the key to the team right now.
Great job Beavs! Now go get win #2!
Two out of three ain't bad. I didn't expect that low scoring of a game, but hey we'll take it. 3-0 is a crazy score. And frankly a bit of a bore. At least until the end when I was hoping the Beavs would hang on.
The defense stopped the run and forced them to pass. Then we proceeded to attack the QB until he submitted. The wind obviously was a factor early, but while Lyle got better, Stull didn't. And their receivers and O-line weren't really helping. I'm not sure Pitt has seen a defensive line like OSU's all year ;).
Stroughter stepped up and was really our only go to guy in the first half. Shane picked it up and did well too. Chris Johnson had a nice game as well. Once the wind died down a bit Lyle and the passing game really got going. Minus a sack or two and we would have kept more drives alive.
And hey, Jeremy Francis had a nice game in the second half and we ran well enough to gain some yards and change things up from the pass. Good for him. I glad he came back and I hope we see him next year. I hope McCants works on his vision in the off-season. That's the only thing holding him back.
I'm going to miss Slade Norris and Victor Butler. Definitely two of my favorite players the last couple of years. I hope we can get Kuli in or someone else to go with Ben Terry because we need that 4 man pass rush.
Beavs end up 9-4 and another great season under our belts. Now if we can finally start off strong next year, maybe we can make another run at the Rose Bowl!
Go Beavs!
All signs point to the Beavers having a tough game against Pitt in the Sun Bowl. Since Quizz and James Rodgers aren't playing, who account for 50% of our offense, how can we get it done? Did the Beavs get exposed against Oregon?
Here's why the Beavers will win.
1. The Defense. The defense must be angry about the Duck game. They will want to prove they are better than they showed in that game. Plus, Pitt isn't the offense powerhouse that UO seemed to be in that game. And they don't play the spread.
If the Beavs can stop McCoy from running wild and force Pitt to throw, then I'm not sure Bill Stull can lead them to victory alone. Their receiving core is a mish-mash and Stull has thrown for under 200 yards passing in 4 of his games this season. He is not mobile so Butler and Norris can pin their ears back and come hard. And he has 9 interceptions to go with his 9 TDs.
2. QB/TE/RB play. The running game could be a struggle. But I think the bulliten board material from Pitt should give the O-Line extra motivation to open up holes.
However, I think that will mean more passes to tight ends and RBs on screen plays, seam routes, and swing routes. It might start to look like the Insight Bowl out there. And we have the TEs to do it.
If the offense can get ahead early and force the clock to become somewhat of a factor, then Pitt will have to throw. We can't shorten the game by running every other play like we could with Quizz. Generally, that's bad because it gives offenses more chances to score on us (Oregon, Penn St., Stanford). But I think in this case, I'm not sure Pitt can throw like all of those other teams. Its hard to come back when you're running the ball.
3. Sammy Stroughter. He's the last big star player left on the offense that isn't on the line or at QB. If he could return a punt or a long TD. That would help a ton. Maybe a fly sweep? Its his last game and he could go out on top if he has a great game.
If the defense and QBs are solid, I think we win. Ultimately, it will probably be the team who makes the fewest mistakes who wins. No missed tackles, bad penatlies, or turnovers. It will be a tough game, but I think Mike and the crew can game plan to win this thing. Plus, with James and Quizz out, Pitt won't really know what to game plan for defensively. The Beavs haven't played without either in 2 years. Hopefully, that can give some element of surprise and the Beavs can take advantage.
Go Beavs! Beat the Panthers!
The Sun Bowl is fast approaching. I'll be posting about that soon, but I just wanted to get out a Happy Holidays to everyone!
Just think happy thoughts (like a USC win)!
I'm probably preaching to the choir here, but Cliff rocks for content. He's been posting game clips and postgame interview videos on his blogs about the basketball team lately (Howard, Seattle Pacific, and Nebraska). Since I haven't been to the games, its been great to watch the guys talk unfiltered about each win. Plus, we got some highlights in the Nebraska game. Cliff, you rock!
Check out all his other good stuff at his blog: http://www.gazettetimes.com/gtblogs/cliff_kirkpatrick/
