Though they are no longer in the Pac-12 together, Oregon and Oregon State continue to face each other across a number of sports.
The two programs’ long basketball rivalry continues on Monday when the Ducks of the Big Ten host the Beavers of the West Coast Conference in Eugene, Ore.
Oregon (3-0) is coming off its best shooting performance of the season, 45.2% in an 83-69 victory against South Dakota State. That included 15 of 40 on 3-pointers.
The Ducks are getting to the free-throw line often, with 36 more foul shot attempts and more than eight more made free throws per game than their opponents.
Nate Bittle’s 17 points and 10.7 rebounds per game lead Oregon in both categories. His 23 points and 14 boards last November at Oregon State led the Ducks to a 78-75 road win, and Oregon has won eight straight in the all-time series.
Oregon head coach Dana Altman would like to see more drives to the rim from his team.
“We need to attack the basket a lot more and we need to be a lot more physical,” Altman said.
Oregon State is 3-0 for the fourth straight season, and is coming off a 66-64 comeback win at home over North Texas. The Beavers trailed by 13 with less than eight minutes to play and by seven with less than two minutes to play.
The Beavers scored the last nine points, with Josiah Lake II hitting four free throws in the final three seconds.
Oregon State has had three close games, winning by no more than three points.
Lake, a third-year guard, leads the Beavers in scoring at 14 ppg, and is tied for the team lead in rebounding with 6.3 per game.
The Beavers could do what other opponents have done against Oregon — defend Bittle heavily in the post and force the Ducks to make outside shots on a consistent basis.
“This is three games in a row now we’ve had to pull it out in the last minute, and so they’re gaining some very valuable knowledge,” Oregon State head coach Wayne Tinkle said of his players.
Monday will be the 366th all-time meeting between the Ducks and Beavers in men’s basketball, the most-played rivalry in the nation.
