Oregon State-what are they?

[DefenseBB]

At 16-4 now, with a #15 Massey Rating, an RPI ranking of #13, a 4-4 Conference record, 4 games left against ASU (H), Arizona (H), Stanford (A) and UCLA (A) plus a solid Colorado team (A), the teams outlook is not as rosy as it once was. To me, Scott has always played strong defense, which is what championship teams need but his offense at times and particularly this year, is struggling. You can't hold every team to under 60. If an opposing team puts 70-80 up, you have to be able to match them and this Beavers team can't. Scott has to find a way to get better offensive production from this group.
There is a very real possibility they will not host the first 2 rounds (falling to a 5 or 6 seed) and have to travel a fair amount.
This is along way from the preseason views many of us had. To me offense or a lack of it is it's main downfall. Can the ship be righted and the Beavers prove to be an Elite 8 team?
What is our mighty knowledgeable base of WCBB fans thoughts?

 

[Gamecockfan77]

I guess it depends on what you thought they were. (and I guess what you see them being now).

they still look like a 2 or 3 seed to me, which was about what I thought they'd be based on last season's returners. the strength of the Pac 12 ought to help there as all of their losses look reasonable.

 

[eebmg]

a good E-8 team.

 

[Plebe]

I think most of it is that their guards, except for Slocum, are in a shooting slump. Three-point shooting has been one of the hallmarks of Rueck's success ever since he's been at Oregon State.

What was puzzling was how he benched Slocum for significant stretches of the game at Oregon. Did he feel that her individual success was coming at the expense of the team? Or did he want to force the other players to problem-solve their way out their shooting slump, taking more of a long-term perspective. Hard to say.

Taylor Jones has been outstanding as a post, probably the nation's #2 freshman after Boston. If OSU just starts getting some more 3-point makes from Goodman, Tudor and Pivec, that will make all the difference not just for them but also opening up more opportunities for Jones, Brown and other interior players.

 

[WestCoast]

I think a most of it is that their guards, except for Slocum, are in a shooting slump. Three-point shooting has been one of the hallmarks of Rueck's success ever since he's been at Oregon State.

What was puzzling was how he benched Slocum for significant stretches of the game at Oregon. Did he feel that her individual success was coming at the expense of the team? Or did he want to force the other players to problem-solve their way out their shooting slump, taking more of a long-term perspective. Hard to say.

Taylor Jones has been outstanding as a post, probably the nation's #2 freshman after Boston. If OSU just starts getting some more 3-point makes from Goodman, Tudor and Pivec, that will make all the difference not just for them but also opening up more opportunities for Jones, Brown and other interior players.

Many people may not have seen yesterday's OSU-Oregon game due to the game being moved to ESPN News following the tragic passing of Kobe Bryant.

The benching of Slocum at odd times has been taking place for the past two seasons. Pivec sat on the bench Friday during critical times as well as Oregon extended its lead in Eugene.

Yesterday, Pivec was her usual self (9/14 for 20 points with 12 boards) and helped the Beavs to a three-point halftime lead before the Ducks regained the lead in the third quarter. Slocum struggled from the field. Goodman was 3/3 from distance, but Brown and Tudor struggled from the field and Jones fouled out. Even with Ionescu and Sabally both shooting only 6/17 from the field, the Ducks had enough to beat OSU 66-57.

The OSU defense limited the Ducks, but the OSU offense needs an overhaul and continues to be problematic for extended periods of time.

The Beavs play Colorado in Boulder on Thursday and really need a win for a variety of reasons.

 

[Plebe]

Many people may not have seen yesterday's OSU-Oregon game due to the game being moved to ESPN News following the tragic passing of Kobe Bryant.

The benching of Slocum at odd times has been taking place for the past two seasons. Pivec sat on the bench Friday during critical times as well as Oregon extended its lead in Eugene.

Yesterday, Pivec was her usual self and helped the Beavs to a three-point halftime lead before the Ducks regained the lead in the third quarter. Slocum struggled from the field. Goodman was 3/3 from distance, but Brown and Tudor struggled from the field and Jones fouled out. Even with Ionescu and Sabally both shooting only 6/17 from the field, the Ducks had enough to beat OSU 69-60.

The OSU defense limited the Ducks, but the OSU offense needs an overhaul and continues to be problematic for extended periods of time.

The Beavs play Colorado in Boulder on Thursday and really need a win for a variety of reasons.

I didn't see yesterday's game at Oregon State, and then I couldn't find the replay listed on ESPN+ along with all the other replays. I'm guessing the channel change messed up their archiving system.

 

[PAC-12HoopFan]

I didn't see yesterday's game at Oregon State, and then I couldn't find the replay listed on ESPN+ along with all the other replays. I'm guessing the channel change messed up their archiving system.

I think you are correct. I had the game set to be DVRed, but the change in ESPN stations resulted in the game not being recorded for me.

 

[jonson]

Many people may not have seen yesterday's OSU-Oregon game due to the game being moved to ESPN News following the tragic passing of Kobe Bryant.

The benching of Slocum at odd times has been taking place for the past two seasons. Pivec sat on the bench Friday during critical times as well as Oregon extended its lead in Eugene.

Yesterday, Pivec was her usual self (9/14 for 20 points with 12 boards) and helped the Beavs to a three-point halftime lead before the Ducks regained the lead in the third quarter. Slocum struggled from the field. Goodman was 3/3 from distance, but Brown and Tudor struggled from the field and Jones fouled out. Even with Ionescu and Sabally both shooting only 6/17 from the field, the Ducks had enough to beat OSU 66-57.

The OSU defense limited the Ducks, but the OSU offense needs an overhaul and continues to be problematic for extended periods of time.

The Beavs play Colorado in Boulder on Thursday and really need a win for a variety of reasons.

From 40 miles south, I'd agree that 3 point shooting has been an issue for Oregon State, as it has been for Oregon, but not so much on Sunday (almost 37% vs. Oregon's 26%). In fact, I'd argue that issues handling the ball on the part of the guards other than Slocum may be equally, if not more, important. As good as the OSU defense (always) is, it was the Oregon defense that won the game by holding Oregon State to only 20 points total in the second half (and only 8 in the third period when Oregon finally took the lead); some of that was probably a function of makeable shots not being made, but a lot it had to do with the OSU guards (including Slocum) driving into places they shouldn't have and then trying to pass out of trouble. To me, that (and offensive rebounding) was why Oregon was able to win despite shooting a lower percentage than Oregon State (same thing happened in Eugene). For Oregon, doing so (Friday or Sunday) may not be a first, but it's close.

 

[bballnut90]

At 16-4 now, with a #15 Massey Rating, an RPI ranking of #13, a 4-4 Conference record, 4 games left against ASU (H), Arizona (H), Stanford (A) and UCLA (A) plus a solid Colorado team (A), the teams outlook is not as rosy as it once was. To me, Scott has always played strong defense, which is what championship teams need but his offense at times and particularly this year, is struggling. You can't hold every team to under 60. If an opposing team puts 70-80 up, you have to be able to match them and this Beavers team can't. Scott has to find a way to get better offensive production from this group.
There is a very real possibility they will not host the first 2 rounds (falling to a 5 or 6 seed) and have to travel a fair amount.
This is along way from the preseason views many of us had. To me offense or a lack of it is it's main downfall. Can the ship be righted and the Beavers prove to be an Elite 8 team?
What is our mighty knowledgeable base of WCBB fans thoughts?

I think they're fine as long as they take care of business going forward against the Arizona schools and UCLA. The PAC is brutal and they have as tough a schedule as anyone does. Playing Stanford and Oregon 3x in 8 days just doesnt happen normally and they lost 2 of those games hard fought at home. Theyll bounce back. Other teams usually start to slip up around this time of year too. A lot of close calls we've seen will probably turn into losses by good teams which will create an opening for them to work their way back up the seedings ladder.

 

[Wbbfan1]

Its not unreasonable to think that Oregon St will end the PAC 12 Regular Season with 6 or more losses. They still have games scheduled against Stanford, UCLA Ariz and Ariz St and I don't see them sweeping those games. Stanford and UCLA are away games and might lose both of them. I think best case they split those games and then lose one of their remaining home games. Then they'll need a good showing in the PAC 12 Post Season tournament to be in a position to host games. They do have the talent to win their remaining regular season games and end up as a 2 Seed.