On Thursday, the (7-7) Oregon State Beavers will pay a visit to the (11-4) Utah Utes for a Pac-12 battle on the hardwood. The Beavers, 1-2 in Pac-12 play, lost 77-68 to rival Oregon in their last game. The Utes, 4-0 in conference competition, beat Stanford 71-66 in their last game.
Oregon State and Utah split their two games last season. The Utes hold a narrow 17-16 advantage in the series history.
Tip-off from Jon M. Huntsman Center is at 7:00 p.m. PT. Utah is a 13.5-point spread favorite, and the game total is 130.5 points.
The Beavers won three of their past four but are just 1-5 against Power-Five competition this season. They rallied in the second half in their latest loss but couldn't mount a complete comeback. The Ducks led 44-31 at the half and held off the Beavers' charge, outrebounding their opponent 39-21 (with 17 offensive rebounds). Oregon State outshot Oregon from the field, three-point range, and the foul line in the nine-point loss.
The Beavers score 65.5 points per game on 44.2 percent shooting, including 32.3 percent from distance. They hit 75.7 percent of their free-throw attempts, the 35th-best free-throw percentage in the country. Their offensive efficiency rating, adjusted for schedule, is 247th in D-1, per KenPom.
Now it's Pope for 3!
Watch: https://t.co/XT3OHHVIjU#GoBeavs pic.twitter.com/G0bXTpi3gs
— Oregon St ate Hoops (@BeaverMBB) January 1, 2023
Freshman guard Jordan Pope leads OSU in scoring at 13.1 points per game. The Beavers also count on contributions from sophomore forward Glenn Taylor Jr. (12.1 PPG and 3.5 RPG) and junior guard Dexter Akanno (10.4 PPG).
The Beavers give up 65.6 points per game, and their opponents shoot 40.6 percent from the field, including 31.3 percent from long range. Oregon State is 179th in adjusted defensive efficiency and 298th in assist-per-turnover ratio (0.80).