Cal Men's Basketball at OSU Beavers Preview

Your sturdy Golden Bears have to dodge pitchforks and rabies en route to a contest against a resurgent Oregon State team. Sure, we can still make sheep jokes and gloat over our indoor plumbing, but make no mistake - these Beavers have developed nasty, sharp teeth under 2nd-year coach Wayne Tinkle. You've got to respect a man who had the huevos to start five walk-ons in last year's Civil War in order to make a statement about teamwork and sacrifice.

Considering his depleted roster, Coach Tinkle might have done the best coaching job in the conference last season. Despite being undermanned and undersized, he put together a tough-minded squad that was third in defensive efficiency and best in the conference with regards to forcing turnovers.  Personnel shortcomings aside, you just couldn't plan to wipe the floor with a Tinkle team.

In addition to returning all five starters back from a squad that went 15-2 at home last year, Oregon State added a trio of highly regarded recruits and now have their eyes on an NCAA berth. Stingy defense is still their calling card and returning Pac-12 DPOY Gary Payton II is the point of the spear.  When they're at their best, they'll switch from possession to possession between man and zone while employing a variety of aggressive traps with pressure. This in no way sounds completely awful.

Unlike the decidedly below average SDSU Aztecs, the Beavers show signs that they are no longer the worst offense in the conference.  When it comes to pure shooting ability, there might as well be a vast canyon between the two teams. Although OSU still prefers to attack the rim, there are now several viable deep threats to provide balance. Overall, their tempo remains slow, but they will selectively try to push it in transition.  As their coach says, "when you've got to go, you've got to go."

If they have a persistent Achilles' heel, it's the inability to consistently clear the defensive glass. Although they brought in an influx of size, their young bigs are still adjusting to conference play. They stepped up and soundly out-rebounded the Ducks for a Civil War upset....which was promptly followed by a puzzling home loss to the Furds where they were absolutely crushed on the boards.

With two defensive-minded teams coming off of disheartening losses, this has the look of a last-man-standing brawl.  Can the Bears solve the Beaver defense and contain the new Tinkle offense?  It depends.

Projected Starters:

F Oleg Schaftenaar(Sr.), 6'10, 235 lbs, 7.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 41% 3FG
F Drew Eubanks(Fr), 6'10, 240 lbs, 9.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg
G Malcolm Duvivier(Jr), 6'2, 210 lbs, 7.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg
G Langston Morris-Walker(Sr), 6'5, 215 lbs, 7.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 41% 3FG
Gary Payton II(Sr), 6'3, 190 lbs, 16.4 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 5.1 apg

Bench:

F Tres Tinkle(Fr), 6'8, 220 lbs, 12.3 ppg, 5.2 rpg
G Steven Thompson Jr.(Fr), 6'4, 170 lbs, 9.3 ppg, 40% 3FG
F Daniel Gomis(Sr), 6'10, 235 lbs

Key Players:

Please tell me Mama Schaftenaar doesn't have another kid somewhere. Part of me dies every time this goofy beanpole sinks another dagger three to kill our hopes and dreams. Playing the part of the savvy vets, Duvivier and Morris-Walker are tough defenders who will hurt you if you leave them open. Eubanks, Tinkle, and Thompson are the dynamic diaper dandies. Eubanks brings the muscle and Thompson has singlehandedly redeemed their 3-point shooting. Tinkle started a bit slow, but has been been flat out spraying the bucket including a 19-point outburst against the Ducks. Daniel Gomis is the answer to the age-old riddle, "When a tree falls in the forest who can't score, board, or do anything, does anyone care?" If there's a guy who could fill Jorge Gutierrez' mittens, Gary Payton II may very well be the dark-horse favorite for both conference POY and DPOY. More of a scorer than pure shooter, he's incredibly dangerous when he gets into the lane.  A lot of their offense is Tinkle putting the ball in GPII's hands and just letting him get in the flow.  But where he's truly a virtuoso of mayhem is on the defensive end. His tenacity elevates his teammates and fuels their swarming D.

Keys to the Game:

1) Bring our own energy.

Depending on how many OSU fans are heroically delivering snacks, the atmosphere at Gill Coliseum will range from mausoleum-esque to hostile. The Beavers will come out possessed and rabid. Their players might be fired up, too. We need to be mentally prepared to answer.

2) Is there a more poetic way to say "avoid costly turnovers?"

Oh leather sphere
When carelessly discarded
Death. Death. Death. Death. Death.

3) Or "foul trouble is bad?"

A whistle's shrill chirp
Heralds the apocalypse
If Rabb sits, we cry

4) To thine own self be true.

After a loss, it's natural to press or try to change something for the sake of change. It's simplistic to say "play better," but sometimes you have to go back to your anchor. Our identity has become using defense and toughness to impose our will upon the other team. Even if our shots aren't falling, we can't lose focus on what we do well. Denying dribble penetration against a legit superstar may be too much to ask. But our help has to be sharp and we can't miss rotations to allow easy shot opportunities.

5) Make shots.
As evidenced by our last game, it seems to make it tougher to win when we forget to do this.

Go Bears!

Tip: 6:30pm
TV: Pac-12 Networks
Radio: 560AM