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Post by beaverinohio on Oct 30, 2024 4:45:39 GMT -8
With only 5 days until the Beavers open up the season versus the Utah Tech Trailblazers, I thought it was a good time to take a glance at the first opponent. “Utah Tech” has only been around since 2022 when it changed its name from Dixie State. They are coached by Jon Judkins. He has been coach of the team for 19 years and been at the helm from their transition from junior college to D2 and to D1 now for last 4 years.
Trailblazers are 46-70 overall since moving to WAC, including 11-20 (7-13) last year. For a little context, they lost to WSU last year 93-53 and to Colorado 98-71.
UTU returns only 2 of its top 7 scorers led by
Noa Gonsalves, a 6-1 senior, who led team in scoring with 12.4 ppg. Their best all around offensive player may be 6-6 Beon Riley, who was at 10.7 ppg, 5,5 rpg, and shot 40.6 from 3 (but on only 1.3 attempts per game).
By the looks of the roster, to have success the Trailblazers will have to lean hard into the adage that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Best transfer looks like he might be from Thomas Jefferson University (Hakim Byrd). Also brought in Justin Bieker, who prepped at Portland’s Jesuit HS before a very modest 4-year career at San Francisco. Even more lightly played is R-JR Samuel Ariyibi, who played in only 6 games over 2 years at Washington.
Judkins dipped his toe into the foreign player market with a 6-4 guard from France and some much needed height in 6-10 Pavle Misic from Serbia. The other 3 freshmen on the squad come from Utah high schools.
I’d like to say Utah Tech will need some astounding progress made by its players to keep this competitive, but we are talking about the Beavers. Trailblazers do have some experience with top 2 returning scorers and possibly top 2 transfers being seniors. But Beavers appear to have too big of an advantage in front court with Rataj and Fallah not to win the opener at Gill Coliseum.
UTU plays Justice College in an exhibition game tonight.
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Post by beaverinohio on Oct 31, 2024 17:25:19 GMT -8
Article is a little long, but previews our second opponent Weber State pretty well. Only things I’ll add are that Weber has played two exhibitions — Utah St (L) and Adams St (W) — and Dyson Koehler hasn’t played in either. Looks like soph Viljami Vartiainen, who played in 32 games last year off the bench, has been starting in his place. I’ll be curious as to the point spread for this game because not sure it will be any easy one for Beavs. www.standard.net/sports/weber-state/2024/oct/02/weber-state-mens-basketball-prospectus-preview-2024-25/ |
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Post by beaverbeliever71 on Oct 31, 2024 19:25:12 GMT -8
Article is a little long, but previews our second opponent Weber State pretty well. Only things I’ll add are that Weber has played two exhibitions — Utah St (L) and Adams St (W) — and Dyson Koehler hasn’t played in either. Looks like soph Viljami Vartiainen, who played in 32 games last year off the bench, has been starting in his place. I’ll be curious as to the point spread for this game because not sure it will be any easy one for Beavs. www.standard.net/sports/weber-state/2024/oct/02/weber-state-mens-basketball-prospectus-preview-2024-25/I've seen a couple of early pre-season predictions that have Weber State making the NCAA tournament. |
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Post by beaverinohio on Oct 31, 2024 21:11:06 GMT -8
They lost their top player Dillon Jones, who was drafted in first round. I think he led team in all three major counting stats (points, rebounds and assists) in about half of Weber State’s games. Also lost second leading scorer to graduation. Losing two 30+ mpg players for any team is tough, especially when one is a do-everything guy like Jones. Don’t follow the Big Sky, but can they really finish better than last year? That said, might be a blessing to be playing them early in season.
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Post by beaverinohio on Nov 11, 2024 5:35:55 GMT -8
Beavers enter week 2 with a 2-0 record and look poised to double that up with games against Western Oregon and Cal St Fullerton. W. Oregon is 1-4 and being outscored by an average of 18 points per game. Enough said.
Friday’s game against Cal St Fullerton should provide more of a test, but I’m not sure how much more. The Titans are 0-2 with a 10-point loss to Grand Canyon and a 27-point loss to Stanford. Both their opponents scored in the 80s. CSF will go up against Colorado prior to taking on the Beavers.
The Titans’ struggles are not a big surprise. They were a sub-.500 team last year and lost their top 3 scorers from that team, including two who averaged over 15 ppg. Replacing those scorers is a work in progress with 9 guys averaging 18 mpg or more so far.
The first thing I noticed about the team is that its top two scorers (JM Square and Kaleb Brown) are only averaging 10 ppg each, but both are shooting better than 77% from the field. The third leading scorer, Donavan Oday with 9.5 ppg, has more FGA (21) than Square (10) and Brown (9) combined. In fact, two others on the team — Richardson with 10 and Richard with 11 — have taken as many shots. Oday is shooting 28.6% from field, Richardson 20% and Richard 18.2%.
Unless the Titans pick up their shooting (and maybe get right guys shooting), Beavers should triumph. Fallah and Rataj should have big games as it looks like Fullerton has only 2 players 6-8 or taller. I would be very surprised if Ducks aren’t facing an undefeated Oregon State squad next week.
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Post by beaverinohio on Nov 18, 2024 6:25:30 GMT -8
Beavers only have one chance to take down the Ducks this year and it happens Wednesday. I watched a little bit of the 4-0 Ducks in its OT victory over Portland. No one really jumps out as a must stops like Dante and Couisnard last year, but rather Oregon looked to have a lot of interchangeable, very good players. A look at their stat sheet confirms that with 8 players averaging 17+ mpg, and another who had 14 minutes in his first game action against Troy last night.
All that said, it would likely be a good idea if Beavers pay attention to 7-0 Nate Bittle and PG Jackson Shelstad. Bittle is the leading scorer (14.5 ppg) and rebounder (9.3 rpg) on the squad after missing much of last year with a wrist injury. Though he’ll drift outside for a 3, Beavers need to stop him inside where he is also a capable passer. Shelstad is only the 7th leading scorer, but team leader in assists (4.5 apg) while third in rebounds (5.3 rpg) and second in steals 1,5 spg). Both players are the state of Oregon products.
Those two have plenty of help, led by 6-5 senior TJ Bamba. If the name sounds familiar, it is because he spent 3 years with WSU. TJ is second leading scorer with 12.3 ppg while second in assists (3.5 apg). Two other important transfers are 6-8 Brandon Angel from Stanford and 6-9 Supreme Cook from Georgetown. The latter saw his first action of the year in last game against Troy, gettin 11 pts and 5 rebs in 14 minutes.
When talking about Ducks, one would be warned not to leave out Keeshawn Barthelemy. The 6-1 senior guard is a key spark off the bench. This was illustrated in the game action I saw against Portland. He had 11 points in last 4 minutes of regulation to help cut into Portland’s lead and then came up with a steal leading to game tying layup with 10 seconds left.
Oregon will get out and run, averaging 16 fast break points a game. They’re not much of a 3-point shooting team (under 30% for year) but are tough in the interior averaging nearly 40 paint-points per game. Interestingly, their interior defense does seem to have holes as opponents are averaging 28.5 points in the paint, including 42 in last game.
Tough matchup for the Beavers. To win, they likely have to be much more effective inside than they were last game. Though I’ll gladly take the second-half shooting against CS-Fullerton
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Post by Judge Smails on Nov 18, 2024 6:47:08 GMT -8
Beavers only have one chance to take down the Ducks this year and it happens Wednesday. I watched a little bit of the 4-0 Ducks in its OT victory over Portland. No one really jumps out as a must stops like Dante and Couisnard last year, but rather Oregon looked to have a lot of interchangeable, very good players. A look at their stat sheet confirms that with 8 players averaging 17+ mpg, and another who had 14 minutes in his first game action against Troy last night. All that said, it would likely be a good idea if Beavers pay attention to 7-0 Nate Bittle and PG Jackson Shelstad. Bittle is the leading scorer (14.5 ppg) and rebounder (9.3 rpg) on the squad after missing much of last year with a wrist injury. Though he’ll drift outside for a 3, Beavers need to stop him inside where he is also a capable passer. Shelstad is only the 7th leading scorer, but team leader in assists (4.5 apg) while third in rebounds (5.3 rpg) and second in steals 1,5 spg). Both players are the state of Oregon products. Those two have plenty of help, led by 6-5 senior TJ Bamba. If the name sounds familiar, it is because he spent 3 years with WSU. TJ is second leading scorer with 12.3 ppg while second in assists (3.5 apg). Two other important transfers are 6-8 Brandon Angel from Stanford and 6-9 Supreme Cook from Georgetown. The latter saw his first action of the year in last game against Troy, gettin 11 pts and 5 rebs in 14 minutes. When talking about Ducks, one would be warned not to leave out Keeshawn Barthelemy. The 6-1 senior guard is a key spark off the bench. This was illustrated in the game action I saw against Portland. He had 11 points in last 4 minutes of regulation to help cut into Portland’s lead and then came up with a steal leading to game tying layup with 10 seconds left. Oregon will get out and run, averaging 16 fast break points a game. They’re not much of a 3-point shooting team (under 30% for year) but are tough in the interior averaging nearly 40 paint-points per game. Interestingly, their interior defense does seem to have holes as opponents are averaging 28.5 points in the paint, including 42 in last game. Tough matchup for the Beavers. To win, they likely have to be much more effective inside than they were last game. Though I’ll gladly take the second-half shooting against CS-Fullerton Game is Thursday, not Wednesday |
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Post by beaverinohio on Nov 18, 2024 11:39:36 GMT -8
Correct. My bad. Got it mixed up with Illinois’s game versus Alabama.
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Post by wilkyisdashiznit on Nov 18, 2024 13:33:43 GMT -8
Beavers only have one chance to take down the Ducks this year and it happens Wednesday. I watched a little bit of the 4-0 Ducks in its OT victory over Portland. No one really jumps out as a must stops like Dante and Couisnard last year, but rather Oregon looked to have a lot of interchangeable, very good players. A look at their stat sheet confirms that with 8 players averaging 17+ mpg, and another who had 14 minutes in his first game action against Troy last night. All that said, it would likely be a good idea if Beavers pay attention to 7-0 Nate Bittle and PG Jackson Shelstad. Bittle is the leading scorer (14.5 ppg) and rebounder (9.3 rpg) on the squad after missing much of last year with a wrist injury. Though he’ll drift outside for a 3, Beavers need to stop him inside where he is also a capable passer. Shelstad is only the 7th leading scorer, but team leader in assists (4.5 apg) while third in rebounds (5.3 rpg) and second in steals 1,5 spg). Both players are the state of Oregon products. Those two have plenty of help, led by 6-5 senior TJ Bamba. If the name sounds familiar, it is because he spent 3 years with WSU. TJ is second leading scorer with 12.3 ppg while second in assists (3.5 apg). Two other important transfers are 6-8 Brandon Angel from Stanford and 6-9 Supreme Cook from Georgetown. The latter saw his first action of the year in last game against Troy, gettin 11 pts and 5 rebs in 14 minutes. When talking about Ducks, one would be warned not to leave out Keeshawn Barthelemy. The 6-1 senior guard is a key spark off the bench. This was illustrated in the game action I saw against Portland. He had 11 points in last 4 minutes of regulation to help cut into Portland’s lead and then came up with a steal leading to game tying layup with 10 seconds left. Oregon will get out and run, averaging 16 fast break points a game. They’re not much of a 3-point shooting team (under 30% for year) but are tough in the interior averaging nearly 40 paint-points per game. Interestingly, their interior defense does seem to have holes as opponents are averaging 28.5 points in the paint, including 42 in last game. Tough matchup for the Beavers. To win, they likely have to be much more effective inside than they were last game. Though I’ll gladly take the second-half shooting against CS-Fullerton Game is Thursday, not Wednesday All that I want for my birthday is a win over Oregon in basketball! Fun fact: The last time that Oregon State beat Oregon, Oregon State went to the Elite Eight. The last time that Oregon state beat Oregon in a regular season nonconference game was 1993, a 79-75 win over Oregon in the Far West Classic Championship Game. The last time that Oregon State beat Oregon in a regularly-scheduled nonconference game (i.e. the 1993 Far West Classic Championship Game did not necessarily have to be against Oregon) was February 1, 1974. Oregon State won 92-79 in Portland. The last time that Oregon State beat Oregon in a nonconference game in Corvallis was January 23, 1970, Paul Valenti's last year. (Beginning in 1959-60, Oregon and Oregon State's first joint independent year, Oregon and Oregon State played each other four times a year. They continued that after joining the Pac-8, from 1964-65 to 1971-72. They then reduced that to one neutral-site game per year until stopping the extra game beginning with the 1978-79 season. There was a nonconference game between the two in 1978, but it was the Third Place game in the Far West Classic. There was no nonconference game against Oregon in 1979-80 for the first time in 25 years.) The last time that Oregon State beat Oregon in a game, where the two were in different conferences was the wins over Oregon in Corvallis on February 28, 1964, and February 29, 1964. The last time that the Civil War basketball series consisted of fewer than two games was 1911-12. The two teams did not play each other in basketball between 1910 and 1913, because of the brawl after the football game in 1910. In the 123-year history of the rivalry between Oregon and Oregon State, this is the first year that the rivalry consists of a single game. |
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Post by rgeorge on Nov 18, 2024 13:56:16 GMT -8
All I know is a win breaks an 0-7, 2-8 streak. And since January of 1999, 14-32.
Come on. Let's go
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Post by rgeorge on Nov 18, 2024 20:55:37 GMT -8
Watching SDSU vs Zags. Zags are very very good. Long, athletic, strong inside, depth... and play in your face m2m. SDSU is also very good if they ever get to full strength. Key injuries, but still talented.
I've only watched from the 11min mark of 2nd half. Zags just have too much. In control by dbl digits most of the game (per announcer).
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Post by beaverbeliever71 on Nov 18, 2024 23:51:02 GMT -8
Watching SDSU vs Zags. Zags are very very good. Long, athletic, strong inside, depth... and play in your face m2m. SDSU is also very good if they ever get to full strength. Key injuries, but still talented. I've only watched from the 11min mark of 2nd half. Zags just have too much. In control by dbl digits most of the game (per announcer). Gonzaga is very good team. Will be fun to watch OSU get a chance to play them every season for the foreseeable future now that they are current and future conference opponents. Last time they played Gonzaga was 1992. Well before GU become the program they are now. |
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