Beavs Heading To Bright Lights Of Big Apple For Championship Round
Nov. 12, 2012
THE GAME: Oregon State (2-0) heads to New York City to battle Alabama (2-0) on Thursday at 4 p.m. PT (7 p.m. ET) in the championship round of the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Wounded Warrior Project at Madison Square Garden, the World's Most Famous Arena. The Beavers and Crimson Tide will play in the first game Thursday with Purdue and Villanova taking the floor immediately after. The losers of those games will play at 2 p.m. PT (5 p.m. ET) Friday with the winners competing for the 2K Sports Classic title in primetime Friday night. The games will be a homecoming for junior forward Devon Collier, who grew up in the Bronx, N.Y. and went to high school at St. Anthony in Jersey City, N.J. TELEVISION: The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2 with Marc Kestecher and Len Elmore calling the action. It can also be viewed online on WatchESPN. RADIO: The game will air live on Beaver Sports Radio Network with Rich Burk calling the action. It can also be heard on satellite radio on XM 198 and Sirius 136. ONLINE: Live updates are available by visiting osubeavers.com and clicking on Gametracker. SOCIAL MEDIA: Live updates will be available on Twitter and Facebook. QUICKLY: Oregon State is 2-0 for the second consecutive season, the first time opening undefeated after two games in back-to-back years since 1999 and 2000 ... The Beavers have held both of their opponents below 40 percent shooting from the field; they held only seven of their 36 opponents below that clip last season ... Ahmad Starks had career highs in points (33), field goals (11), field goals attempted (21), free throws (9) and free throws attempted (12) against New Mexico State ... Starks was named Pac-12 Player of the Week for the second time in his career and joins Jose Ortiz and Gary Payton as Oregon State players to receive the honor after the first week of games ... The frontline of Angus Brandt, Joe Burton, Eric Moreland and Devon Collier are all shooting 50 percent or better from the field ... After leading the Pac-12 in blocked shots last season (1.9) per game, Moreland is back at it with eight blocks in two games ... Roberto Nelson, Starks and Brandt are shooting a combined 48.6 percent (17-35) from three-point range; no other player on the team has made one from beyond the arc ... Freshman Jarmal Reid scored his first career points in the win over New Mexico State. vs. ALABAMA: Oregon State and Alabama meet for just the second time in history with the Crimson Tide holding a 1-0 advantage after winning, 59-49, on Dec. 22, 1998 at the Pearl Harbor Classic in Laie, Hawai'i. In that game, Deaundra Tanner led Oregon State with 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists, while Lyan Walker added 12 points and six rebounds. MC Mazique had 15 points and 12 rebounds to lead the way for Alabama. Alabama is 2-0 this season with a 70-67 win over South Dakota State and 80-49 victory against West Alabama with both games played in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Trevor Lacey leads the team in scoring through two games at 19 points per game, while Rodney Cooper and Trevor Releford are averaging 16.5 and 16.0, respectively. FAST BREAK: Oregon State will play at Madison Square Garden for the first time in school history as part of the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Wounded Warrior Project ... The Beavers will play Kansas for the first time ever when the teams meet on Nov. 30 in Kansas City, Mo. ... Oregon State will host the 3rd Annual Nike N7 Game presented by Spirit Mountain Casino against Montana State on Nov. 25 ... The Beavers return four starters and 12 letterwinners ... In Pac-12 team production returning this season, the Beavers are first in scoring (74.4%), rebounding (76.6%), assists (79.7%), blocks (89.85) and steals (69.5%) ... With the 18-game conference schedule, Oregon State will "miss" home games against UCLA and USC and road games at Arizona and Arizona State ... The Beavers went 4-0 on their European tour this summer, winning by an average of 16.8 points per game after putting up 82.8 and limiting their opponents to just 66 ... Angus Brandt averaged a team-high 15.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game in Europe ... Brandt led the team in three-point field goal percentage last season at 49.2 percent (29-for-59) and finished ninth in the Pac-12 in field goal percentage at 53.5 percent (122-for-228) ... In Pac-12 career leaders returning this season, Joe Burton is second in steals (93) and fourth in rebounding (522) and assists (206) ... Burton was the only player in the Pac-12 last season to finish in the top 15 in rebounding, steals and assists ... Ahmad Starks made 79 three-pointers last season, the second-most in Oregon State single-season history (Gary Payton, 82 in 1988-89) and most by a sophomore in school history ... Starks made a three-pointer in 19 consecutive games, the fourth-longest streak in school history, and made a three-pointer in 31 of his 35 games and two or more in 23 games ... Devon Collier finished 12th in the Pac-12 in scoring and seventh in blocked shots and broke the Oregon State record for most blocked shots by a sophomore with 46 ... Eric Moreland broke the Oregon State single-season record with 69 blocked shots that was held by Scott Haskin (68 in 1991-92) and shattered the school's freshman blocked shots record that was set the season before by Collier (23) ... Moreland broke the Oregon State record for most rebounds by a freshman (211) that was held for 38 years by Lonnie Shelton (204 in 1973-74). ROBINSON'S RECORD: It's been noted often that Craig Robinson has more wins (64) in his first four years at Oregon State than Slats Gill (57) and Ralph Miller (58) in the same timeframe. It was the fifth year for both Hall of Fame coaches when they had their breakthrough seasons with Gill winning 21 and Miller claiming 19. With 16 victories this season, Robinson would become the fifth-winningest coach in Oregon State history and 28 would move him all the way to fourth, trailing only Gill (599), Miller (359) and Bob Hager (115). BREAKING DOWN THE SCHEDULE: Highlights of the non-conference schedule include playing at Madison Square Garden for the first time in school history and the first-ever meeting against Kansas and possibly Purdue (depending on the first games in the 2K Sports Classic). The Beavers will also play Portland State in Portland for the fourth time in history, but it will be the first time ever at the 1,500-seat Stott Center. Oregon State opens conference play with three home games for the first time since 2006-07 with Oregon (Jan. 6), Arizona State (Jan. 10) and Arizona (Jan. 12) all visiting Gill Coliseum. OFFENSIVELY: Oregon State enjoyed its best offensive season in school history last season as it led the Pac-12 and finished 10th in the nation in scoring at 78.9 points per game. It was the first time the Beavers led the conference in scoring (team statistics began in 1959-60) and bettered their previous best of 78.4 points per game in 1989-90. OFFENSIVELY II: Associate head coach Doug Stewart talked about "taking the training wheels off the offense" and the results have been obvious for Robinson and his staff with all of their own players on the roster. The Beavers averaged 60.8 points in his first season, 60.3 his second year, 69.3 in year three, 78.9 last season and 86.5 thus far this season. PAC-12 OFFENSIVE RANKINGS: In addition to leading the Pac-12 in scoring, Oregon State finished first in free throws made (630) and free throws attempted (931) and second in field goal percentage (.475, 22nd in the nation) and assists (15.8, 15th in the nation). 100+ SCORING GAMES: Oregon State set a team record with four 100-point games last season and has now hit the century mark 31 times in school history after scoring 102 in the season opener against Niagara. The 1978-79, 1979-80 and 1988-89 teams all scored 100 or more points in a game three times. 100-Point Games in 2011-12 Season 90+ SCORING GAMES: Oregon State scored 90 or more points in a school-record nine games last season (1979-80 and 1988-89 teams did it six times). The Beavers scored at least 90 points in four consecutive games for just the second time in school history to equal the 1980-81 team and scored 90 or more points in consecutive conference games (92 vs. California, 101 vs. Stanford) for the first time since 1978-79. 80+ SCORING GAMES: Oregon State scored 80 or more points in a school-record 17 games last season (1979-80 and 1989-90 teams did it 14 times), including streaks of four consecutive games on two occasions (OSU hadn't scored 80 or more points in four consecutive games since 1989-90). The Beavers scored 80+ points 10 times in Robinson's first three years and are now 23-4 under his watch when it happens, including a 14-3 record last season. DEFENSIVELY: Oregon State is averaging 8.5 steals per game this season after leading the Pac-12 in that category the past three years with 9.1 (sixth in the nation) last season, 9.5 (fifth in the nation) in 2010-11 and 8.2 in 2009-10. Individually, an Oregon State player led the conference in steals the past three seasons with Jared Cunningham (2.5) in 2011-12 and (2.8) 2010-11 and Seth Tarver (2.2) in 2009-10. DEFENSIVELY II: Oregon State forced a Pac-12 best 598 turnovers (16.6 per game) last season, including 20 or more turnovers in nine games. The Beavers had fewer turnovers than their opponent in 23 of their 36 games and finished second in the Pac-12 with a +2.53 turnover margin. DEFENSIVELY III: Oregon State finished second in the Pac-12 in blocked shots at 4.61 per game last season, trailing only UCLA by 0.03 (4.64), and are averaging 6.5 in the two games this season with Eric Moreland (8) and Angus Brandt (3) swatting 11 of the 13. ANOTHER PAC-12 HONOR FOR STARKS: Ahmad Starks was named Pac-12 Player of the Week for the second time in his career. He's the third Oregon State player to receive the honor after the first week of games, joining Jose Ortiz (12/1/86) and Gary Payton (11/28/88). Starks averaged 25.5 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals to lead the Beavers to wins over Niagara and New Mexico State. Starks was also named Pac-12 Player of the Week last December and joins Payton (9), A.C. Green (4), Scott Haskin (3), David Lucas (3), Ortiz (3), Brent Barry (2), Corey Benjamin (2), Chad Scott (2), Charlie Sitton (2) and Jared Cunningham (2) as Oregon State players to win the award more than once. STARKS FROM DEEP: Ahmad Starks can flat out shoot it. The 5-foot-9 guard nailed a career-high six three-pointers in the season opener and looks to be on his way to leading the team in triples for the third consecutive year. He is already 10th on the school's career list and should pass four-year players Brent Barry, Calvin Haynes and Lathen Wallace early this season with a chance to set the all-time mark by the end of his junior campaign. Single-Season 3-FG Made List Career 3-FG Made List TALENTED FRONTLINE: Oregon State's frontline has to be one of the most experienced and talented in the country with seniors Angus Brandt and Joe Burton, junior Devon Collier and sophomore Eric Moreland. The players combined to make 56.4 percent of their shots (488-of-865), grabbed 61 percent of the team's boards and swatted 84 percent of the blocked shots last season. They didn't disappoint in the season opener by combining to make 24-of-34 shots from the field and pulling down 34 of the team's 52 rebounds. THE VERSATILE BURTON: Joe Burton simply does it all on the basketball floor. He was the only player to finish in the top 15 in the Pac-12 in rebounds, assists and steals last season, after leading the Beavers in assists for the second straight season (2.8) and pulling down the second-most rebounds on the team (5.9). He opened his senior season by filling up the box score as usual with 10 points, six rebounds and five assists. ANGUS READY FOR SENIOR YEAR: Ask anyone in the program and they will all say Angus Brandt has been the most impressive during the summer and fall practices. He showed off his newfound confidence by dominating in Europe by leading the team in scoring (15.8) and rebounding (8.8). He carried that strong play into the season opener with 18 points, on 8-for-13 shooting, and eight rebounds. COLLIER SHOOTING: Devon Collier led the Pac-12 and finished fifth in the nation in field goal percentage at 61.5 percent (176-of-286), becoming the first Oregon State player to lead the conference in field goal percentage since Scott Haskin in 1991-92 (.612). It was the second straight season Collier led the team in field goal percentage after making 57.8 percent of his shots two years ago. COLLIER SCORING: Devon Collier finished 12th in the Pac-12 in scoring last season at 13.1 points per game and scored in double figures in 28 games, the second-most on the team, including a streak of 12 consecutive games. He scored 473 points, the sixth most by a sophomore in Oregon State history, and has scored in double figures 37 times in his career to equal Ahmad Starks for the most on the team. BLOCK PARTY II: The forward tandem of Eric Moreland (1.9) and Devon Collier (1.3) ranked first and seventh, respectively, in the Pac-12 in blocked shots last season. Collier set the Oregon State freshman blocks record, which was shattered by Moreland, and set the sophomore record last year. With eights swats already this season, Moreland has moved into sixth on the school's career list with 80. Sophomore Blocked Shots List Freshman Blocked Shots List IMMEDIATE IMPACT: Eric Moreland made an immediate impact during his redshirt freshman season after playing in only four games as a true frosh. He led the team in rebounding (6.8) and blocked shots (1.9) to rank fifth and first, respectively, in the Pac-12. He also set the Oregon State single-season blocked shots record with 69 to pass Scott Haskin and crushed the freshman rebounding record that was held for 38 years by Lonnie Shelton. Freshman Rebounding List Single-Season Blocked Shots List IT'S ROBERTO'S TIME: Roberto Nelson replaced Jared Cunningham in the starting lineup in Sunday's season opener and responded with a game-high 22 points, the fourth time he has scored 20+ in a game in his career. He also tied career highs in field goals attempts (15), three-pointers made (5), three-pointers attempted (8) and steals (3) in the game. He set an Oregon State freshman record with 34 points at Arizona State and brings a career scoring average of 8.6 points in just 19.4 minutes per game into his junior campaign. NEW FACES SEE PLAYING TIME: Five players saw their first career action for the Beavers in the season opener. True freshmen Langston Morris-Walker, Jarmal Reid, Victor Robbins and Olaf Schaftenaar all played, while Michael Moyer also got in the box score after sitting out last season for transferring from St. John Fisher College. Daniel Gomis is the only player on the roster yet to see game time as he continues to recover from a broken leg he suffered two summers ago in his native Senegal. EUROPEAN TOUR: Oregon State went 4-0 during its summer trip to Europe, winning all four games by double figures while averaging 82.8 points and limiting its opponents to 66.0. Angus Brandt led the team with 15.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game with two double doubles. Roberto Nelson averaged 15 points and Devon Collier averaged 12.5 points and made 23-of-32 field goal attempts. Eric Moreland chipped in nine points a game on 16-of-19 from the field with 11 blocked shots and Langston Morris-Walker had a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards in the final game. Aug. 21 - Oregon State 76, St. Charles 59 (at Charenton, France) TAKING ONE MORE LOOK BACK: Oregon State is coming off its most memorable season in more than two decades and here are some of the highlights: FROM OSU TO NBA: Jared Cunningham left after his junior season and became the first Oregon State player drafted in the NBA in 14 years when he was the 24th overall selection by the Cleveland Cavaliers before being traded to the Dallas Mavericks on draft night (Corey Benjamin was the 28th overall selection in 1998). Cunningham concluded his three-year Oregon State career 13th all-time in scoring (1,271), second in steals (219), third in free throws made (427) and fifth in free throws attempted (566). He was an All-Pac-12 First Team (junior season) and All-Pac-12 Second Team (sophomore season) selection and made the Pac-12 All-Defensive and All-Tournament Teams two times each. The Oakland, Calif., native holds 11 school records, including most steals as a junior (91, tied with Gary Payton), most steals as a sophomore (85), most steals in a game (8, tied with Brent Barry and Seth Tarver) and most minutes played in a season (1,245). If he had returned for his senior season, he most likely would have finished in the top five in Oregon State history in career scoring and as the all-time leader in steals, free throws made and free throws attempted. Support Oregon State University Athletics by making your tax deductible donation to the Beaver Athletic Student Fund. For more information follow this link or call 541-737-2370. Former Student-Athletes are invited to join the Varsity O Facebook Page for upcoming Alumni events. Follow Oregon State Athletics On YouTube. Follow this link to find out more about the Pac-12 Networks.
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