Talkin’ Tall Firs: Oregon vs Oregon State

Oregon State Beavers

The first game of the oldest rivalry in the nation known as the Civil War is quite a way for PAC-12 play to get underway. The Beavers lead the series over the Ducks with a 187-162 record.

Wins - UC Riverside, Wyoming, Old Dominion, Penn, @ Long Beach State, Missouri State, Pepperdine, Central Connecticut State

Losses - Missouri, @ Saint Louis, Texas A&M, Kent State

KenPom Ranking - #79

Game Time:

Oregon State (8-4) @ Oregon (9-4) 8:00 PM ET, PAC12 Network on Saturday, January 5th

Key Numbers:

• 73.3 Points Per Game
• 39.0 Rebounds Per Game
• 15.3 Assists Per Game
• 6.3 Steals Per Game
• 5.8 Blocks Per Game (#12 in the Nation; Kylor Kelley Ranks #1 in the Nation at 4.1 BPG)
• 64.9 Points Allowed Per Game (#49 in the Nation)
• 46.4 Field Goal Percentage

Player to Watch For:

Tres Tinkle, Junior - 19.8 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 4.2 APG, 1.4 SPG

The son of OSU’s head coach, Wayne Tinkle, leads the team in PPG, RPG, and APG. Tinkle is a versatile scorer who has recorded double figure points for 47 straight games.

Score Prediction: 66-62, Ducks over Beavers

The Ducks have a winning record of 13-4 over the Beavers since 2010-2011. This is a better Oregon State team than they have been in the last couple of seasons and it should be a close game with two top-50 teams in points allowed per game (Oregon ranks 36th in the nation at 62.5 points allowed).

*Arden Cravalho is a senior at Gonzaga University... Follow him on Twitter @a_cravalho