By Dylan Farrell

Heading down the home stretch of what can largely be described as a lackluster season from Oregon men’s basketball, the Ducks (15-13, 9-8) will travel northwest to Corvallis to compete with the Oregon State Beavers (10-18, 4-13) for arguably the most important award behind a championship: bragging rights against a longtime rival.

In the teams’ first matchup this year, OSU posted second-half bid for a comeback — outscoring the Ducks 37-33 — but was ultimately unable to overcome a 13-point first half deficit as Oregon left with a comfortable 77-68 win at Matthew Knight Arena. Oregon dominated the Beavers in the paint, especially defensively, posting 17 offensive rebounds and 22 defensive to OSU’s 4-17 mark. The scoring breakdown was similar to most of Oregon’s season, with both teams scoring at a reasonably efficient clip from two, but the Ducks once again failed to convert on the vast majority of their threes, going 6-22 against OSU’s 7-14. Saturday’s matchup promises more of the same from both teams and a good chance for an Oregon State upset, as the Beavers’ 9-5 home record stands significantly stronger than Oregon’s 3-6 mark on the road.

Keys to the Game

Oregon: To win tonight’s matchup, the Ducks will have to win matchups in the paint and garner as many scoring opportunities as possible. The offense’s inefficiency is one of this team’s greatest weaknesses, and when your team can’t even shoot 30% from three, you’re going to have some additional points to make up inside the arc. Oregon’s three-point defense is going to have to be significantly better than it was last time these teams met. 50% from three is not sustainable for the Beavers (their season-long mark is 32%), but rivalry matches are one of the most common places for teams to get hot from unusual places.

Oregon State: The Beavers’ best shot at winning is going to come from winning more battles for offensive rebounds. That’s immediately a tall order, given how significantly OSU lost that matchup by in its previous game against Oregon. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Oregon State center KC Ibekwe see the court more often than he usually does tonight to take advantage of his size. Standing at 6’11”, Ibekwe is still an inch shorter than N’Faly Dante, but he’s closer to that mark than any of Oregon State’s top 5 minute-eaters. The Beavers don’t necessarily need to win the majority of these matchups, but they should at least make it more competitive than the walloping they received earlier this year when OSU grabbed just 4 offensive rebounds to Oregon’s 22 defensive. On top of that, Oregon State is going to need to take advantage of Oregon’s struggling from beyond the arc. Oregon State converted on 50% of its chances from three in these teams’ last matchup, and it has three players shooting 39% or better from three.

Tip-off for tonight’s matchup is set for 7:00.