Home Basketball Basketball: Western Illinois @ Oregon State

Basketball: Western Illinois @ Oregon State

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Can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm actually looking forward to the CBI. Mainly because there are some good teams who've had recent NCAA success playing in it, and I'd like to see the Beavs advance tonight and get a shot at them. Beating a Butler or Pitt, even if they're down, would be something to build off going into next season.

I hope the Beavers take this tournament seriously. There might be a tendency to say, "Oh, it's just the CBI, who cares?", and it's easy to understand the mentality. But, it's games like this that don't really matter where teams build character and learn how to "get up" (that's what she said?) for every opponent.

Check out CR's press conference here.

Gametime is 7pm.

157 COMMENTS

  1. i checked out the CBI website, and notice that of each tournament field (the first was in 2008) there have been 2 or 3 teams that have made the big dance the following season. something to keep in mind..

  2. I didnt agree from the start that this was a bad idea, or didnt mean anything or cant do us some good.

    This is a tournament, and ALL tournament experience is GOOD. Why? Because all of them are win…or else. That kind of pressure isnt there in the regular season.

    Playing lesser teams? Hey, they will ALL be looking to give you the axe and move on. None of these are gimmies.

    We did a great job that first year, winning it, and so did UO last year.

    That first year, it probably made us better, but we didnt have the talent to really benefit, but we do now.

    GO BEAVS!!!

  3. They better be looking to win it all. Id tell my team to go out with the mentality to dominate and not let up. Try instill a killer instinct for next year. Really learn how to demoralize the other team.

  4. GOD I WISH PAT CASEY WAS A FOOTBALL COACH!!! I just watched his interview with Mike Parker on Beavers All Access, that guy is a no bullshit, no beat around the bush call his under achievers out type coach. I love it. He made no excuses for anything, just straight up answered.

    • Afghan, you and I are of the same mind here. On the radio last night Parker spoke with Casey from McMenamins, maybe that was the interview you saw. I previously posted my takeaways from that piece and have copied them below. I wonder how Casey and Riley get along now and how things would go if Pat was to become AD.

      “Last night Pat Casey was on the radio and, to me, sounded like an AD in waiting. He referenced nearly every other sports program at OSU in a positive and realistic light. Some of what he said may be part of a “schtick” but I’m a believer, things like the need to “surrender to the team”, as in “individuals win games but teams win championships”, things like “the players (by their performance) make it easy to fill out a lineup card”. He pointed out that you can make excuses and wind up around .500 or take action/solve problems and do better.”

  5. Beavers destroying them. 16-2 lead and not even 4 minutes into this one. They aren’t playing around. Putting a ton of defensive pressure on and getting a lot of easy baskets in transition. Beautiful basketball so far.

  6. Typical Beavers game….some nice steals, terrible fundamental defense, focus going in and out on offense….Burton not showing up.

  7. Why does Burton play. For the little good he does on offense he is just horendous defensively. If he doesn’t play in that 1st half we’re up 20 plus.

  8. Burton and Nelson were really bad in the first half. So many bad decisions. Only reason Western Illinois is even within 10

  9. I really want to like Craig Robinson. It’s tough for me though because I don’t understand how our team has such bad fundamentals and are so bad at defense. These guys are so athletic with good size and they just seem so unpolished to me.

    • Perfect words for my thoughts. They were playing at home against a sleepless, depleted team yet the Beavs had stretches of turnovers, sloppy, non-crisp playmaking (Joe Burton with 3 turnovers in 30 seconds) which will not hold up when they play a better team. Thankfully, they weren’t in the NCAA playing against South Florida.

      • Really? Listening to it and seeing the score it didn’t seem that way. Seemed like they played well.
        TV makes a big difference, though.

        • Defense wasn’t very good in the first half but was really good in the second half. Guys like Moreland and Collier and Brandt even were more active in the second half. Weren’t lazy and gave the effort. I have a feeling this came cause Craig lit into them for being lazy and not hustling on defense in the first half. WIU’s shooting came mostly in the first half, Beavers turned up the intensity in the second half, forced WIU to shoot around 30% in the second half. Craig should get some credit for that.

          Not sure where the bad fundamentals were tonight. They made their free throws (15 of 17 from the foul line), finished at the rim and in the second half they were denying guys at the rim and rotating effectively. They had good ball movement all night. That is fundamentals but I’m sure Craig won’t get credit for that and people will harp on one guy making bad decisions and will say that whole team lacks fundamentals which isn’t really true. Joe Burton made a lot of mistakes in the first half but Craig really reigned him in and Joe played a lot better in the last 13 minutes. Got him to stop trying the crazy passes and to just play solid. That’s when Joe is at his best and Craig is a big reason for that.

          I feel like people can be too hard on Craig. Many point out a bad stretch of basketball in the game and place blame on him but when the team has a great stretch he doesn’t get a lot of the credit. I think he’s doing a good job and is learning and getting better. That’s what I’ve wanted. He’s made mistakes but he’s learning from them. He’s scrapped the 1-3-1, took him longer than I wanted but it’s good that he has scrapped it. Big step. I think the future of Beavers basketball is in good shape with him.

          • CR says all the right things. I love that he understands the psychological component. He’s just an average coach, though I do feel he got better this year. The problem with the 1-3-1 zone was the spacing. Guys tended to get too compacted in the paint and couldn’t defend the perimeter or visa versa. Team has a handful of guys (Burton, Starks, et al) who don’t like playing defense, which doesn’t help execute properly. That is, it’s easier to be lazy in zone than man to man.

          • Problem with the 1-3-1 is that Eric Moreland is not Seth Tarver. Seth made the 1-3-1 a good defense at the time through rarely seen determination and effort. It doesn’t come around often.

          • Nothing away from Seth. He had a sudden quickness to go along with the body of a linebacker and the reads of an all pro QB in terms of taking the ball away. But the baseline runner is the most important part of the 1-3-1.

            Jared ran the baseline when Seth manned the top. He’s been lost on the wing since.

            All the length and quickness on our defense says to me we should be running the amoeba instead. If there’s one thing I did like about Tarkanian’s defenses, it was that particular zone. Minimal shifts, trap all over, cut into the passing lanes as you shift, triple the pivot… it had it all. I have no idea why nobody runs it anymore.

          • While I agree with mckalk and Jack, the main problem with the 1-3-1 is that CR was trying to run it as the base defense. Opponents knew it was coming, prepared for it and were ready when OSU ran it. To me, the 1-3-1 is purely a situational defense. Start w a base defense of man or 2-3 matchup zone, or anything besides the 1-3-1. Then, if the opposition goes on a run, sick ’em with the 1-3-1. You gotta surprise them, too, like how Michigan runs it. Force them to commit turnovers, then when they start banging shots, switch back to the base D. It’s all about the game within the game.

          • Yeah… that was a difference between our non-con games and our league games.

            Coach Rob trotted out the 1-3-1 too early in league play and stuck with it too long sometimes. He uses the excuse that changing over to man is hard, but that one doesn’t really fly with me. Kids are taught the fundamentals of man from early on. It’s a natural play. Own up and say we didn’t have the horses to play it always, but don’t say it’s hard to switch back to something you tried to teach out of kids.

            I absolutely loved the 2-2-1 extended that dropped to man when we ran it against Cal. That in conjunction with the 1-3-1 in “surprise” mode made for some great play. The angles are completely different. but if you’re expecting the 1-3-1, the 2-2-1 extended is brilliant.

            Liva nad learn I guess.

    • They were focused for the first 8 minutes of the game and then coasted after that except for a couple of spurts. They were so much more talented and athletic it was scarry. They should have won by 35 going away. Cunningham played really well.

    • It was really empty. Lots of “strategic” camera work to make it look fuller. When Western Illinois quit turning the ball over in the 2nd half and the Beavs weren’t running it got noticeably quiet on TV.

  10. Hey!!! A 20 WIN SEASON!!!

    Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw!

    The first one since Payton was a player?

    And this win was over a team that came a lot closer to going to the big dance than WE did.

    …so dont put it down…

    • People have said they were bad but I don’t think they’re “bad”. They just lack some athleticism and people twist that into them being bad. They almost beat Michigan in Ann Arbor and Michigan is a 4 seed in the Big Dance. Oral Roberts annihilated Xavier a few months back and WIU beat Oral Roberts and nearly did it twice. This was WIU 3rd biggest defeat of the season. The Beavers played well and looked good.

  11. Jorge Gutierrez in Cal’s biggest game of the season scores 11 points and 8 of those came after they were down about 30. Pac-12 POY? LOL

  12. What really pisses me off is that Arizona DIDN’T have their hearts in the NIT, so I’m glad that their season is over. They were disappointed that they didn’t get to the NCAAs. If they thought that way, they should have let OSU go to the NIT, but it doesn’t work that way.

    On the other hand, OSU hurt themselves this season by scheduling teams like Towson, Illinois-Chicago, and Chicago State. Really glad they are beefing up their pre-season next year. Hopefully, Oregon gets beat and OSU can win the CBI. They have the talent to beat anyone, but they have to believe in themselves, go out and stomp on other teams and be patient on offense. Agree that Robinson needs to drop the 1-3-1 entirely. Way too many open shots.

  13. OK.. just home from Gill. I took one for the team…where were the rest of you?

    I’m still not convinced that this type of postseason competition accomplishes anything. If that’s true then our 10-1 romp in this years preseason should have set us up for a stronger PAC-12 performance. Right???

    The team would be just as well off resting, lifting and playing at Dixon, than mopping up the floor with an under manned, literally suiting up eight players, uninspired team from the mid west.

    I know TCU will be much better, but I may be done with the CBI. JB

    PS: How many where there tonight? We had lots of legroom.

        • PB, you should wear a really loud shirt so we can spot you on TV. Wow, really empty arena. I think I’ve had more people in my living room for Super Bowl parties.

          We won. Cunningham was playing like he was auditioning for the NBA. Hope not. He is really an awesome player and I hope the Glove talks him into coming back to lead us back to the NCAA’s.
          This should have been a 40 point blow out. The team drifts off when they get a big lead. Somehow they need to get a killer instinct. CR needs to start pulling players after multiple stupid mistakes. Burton looked like he was trying to shave points.

          Didn’t realize Molinari was the coach. Was our interim coach when Dan Monson got canned here in Minneapolis. Glad to see him having success. Everybody who interacted with him says he is nicest, classiest coach they have ever dealt with.

          From distant TV shots, Moreland looks like a stick man with his non-existant calves and large feet.
          Looked really funny last night. Perhaps it was the Wheat Bock?
          Go Beavs!

  14. It’s time to mainline some hoops.

    I’m not too worried about last night’s game. It was apparent after Molinari called the second timeout before the first media break that WIU was fried and out-manned. Then everyone but Jared and Angus started to screw around.

    I don’t know where some of you think the defense was unsound in any way. If you’re going to pick on the half dozen or so breakdowns that occurred, then you should probably watch another sport. There’s not going to be a shutout in hoops. And when you play with the intensity the Beavs played D last night, you’re going to get burned here and there.

    Those dumb floating lob entries or baseline trap passes to the middle of the defense were the things to worry about, and they pretty much disappeared after the half.

  15. Anyone watching the Murray St/Colorado St game?

    There was just a play that forced the refs to the video replay to determine whether or not it was a flagrant foul. The CSU kid received the ball on the perimeter and swung it immediately to the corner. The problem was that the MSU defender was in his grill immediately and took an elbow graze to the nose.

    As the analysts said, according to the “letter of the law” that should be a flagrant foul on the CSU kid. Anything above the shoulders should be an immediate call, intentional or not. In this case, it’s hard because the defender really initiated the contact by stepping into it. And I think the right call was made in not assessing the flagrant.

    But it should give pause to anyone who watched the CW and saw Garrett Sim elbow Jared in the head on purpose and in front of everyone during a dead ball. The NCAA is very serious about this kind of contact, and they are even more deadly serious about it if it’s intentional.

    Unless you’re one of a handful of Pac 12 refs that is.

    One nice thing I saw in last night’s game was that those fundamental violations were being called, unlike here during league play. Carries, walks, five second calls, illegal screens… all the things which cause me to scream at my TV because if not called you might as well call the sport rugby with a hoop. Yeah, the Beavs weren’t used to those violations being called and added about seven or eight turnovers to their total as a result. But it’s nice to know there are places in the US where they actually still play basketball.

    I posit that the reason Pac sports are down is because the league officials allow the refs to play fast and loose with the rules… like they’re pro refs who get to decide who gets star treatment, etc. When our teams go to other venues for non-con events, they’re not used to playing the real sport against other teams who are forced by their refs to play the real sport.

    • I saw that CSU/Murray St play, and I agree with the eventual call. No foul, for exactly the reason you stated. It was the defender initiating contact.
      The CW play however was ridiculous when they called offsetting fouls due to Jared shoving Sim after he purposefully elbowed him.

      • You know, I don’t mind the double T. No ref in the world calls a T for a little shove, even a retaliatory one these days. But it’s within the rules for the refs to call a T in that situation. So I can’t really argue with that.

        What I can argue with is the call concerning contact to the head. There are specific rules which make that violation verboten. It’s like Jared committed shoplifting, Sim committed a bank robbery, and the refs gave them the same penalty… somewhere between the two realities.

        Contact to the head is an immediate flag. The only reason the refs should have looked at the replay was to see if Sim should have been ejected. THAT would have been a hard call in my estimation. I think there was enough to march him off the floor. But it could have gone either way. In the end, Jared should have shot two, and we should have retained possession after that… no matter how many double T’s they wanted to call.

        And those plays are important in the scheme of things as well. A flagrant foul has an accumulative effect… like a yellow card in the World Cup. Ahmad’s fake flagrant (where he actually touched the ball?) could have put him out of a third game if he committed another in the second game.

    • Context?

      “It is very hard to play a team like that when you jump out to a lead the way we did. I was worried our guys would take this game lightly and we jumped out on them just like I wanted to. And then it looked like we got, I don’t want to use the term bored, but it looked like we sort of got content with letting them hang around. And then to watch them refocus in the second half and come out and play as hard as they did on defense really showed some progress for our program and it is nice for those guys in that locker room to be able to keep playing and at a high level. Everybody on the team contributed and it just really feels good to keep playing with this group. I told them before the game I couldn’t be more excited about playing a postseason game with this group, because they are so fun to coach and such hard workers.”

      When we put down 16 before the first media timeout (while holding them to two), it’s a matter of maturity for the players to keep their focus. Jared and Angus did keep their focus, and so did Ahmad for the most part. Those are our three most experienced players, so that would explain why they remained focused.

      Throw Joe in there too for experience, which means there was no reason for him to try too much playground ball. If there were an excuse for him, it would be that he wasn’t a part of the absolute intensity with which they opened the game. So maybe he figured the job was done once he stepped on the floor. Again, that’s not a mature or even rational thought. But it might have been the reality last night.

      That’s why again he said the right thing. He called them out without really calling them out. But he doesn’t really need to do so after the halftime chewing he gave them last night. And he had them prepared, he was just worried that they wouldn’t come out with the effort they did. When they did show that really extreme effort, and they found themselves just trouncing WIU, some of them started playing around instead of keeping focus. There was no way they were going to keep up that intensity, but they could keep their focus.

      That’s what he was talking about.

      • I just think he should have called a timeout and focused them if he really thought they were bored. I don’t think he should have waited until halftime or the post game press conference. Otherwise, I liked the interview. I just thought that comment was disappointing. CR rarely uses timeouts when momentum swings or his team loses focus. I don’t quite understand why since the team doesn’t have an on the court (vocal) leader.

        • To be fair, Molinari was calling enough timeouts for both teams. And they retained their defensive focus until the last minute of the half. So halftime was the time for a “discussion.” And the post game was just him being honest yet diplomatic.

          • There’s a difference between trying to get your point across when the opposing coach calls a timeout and calling a timeout yourself and letting the guys have it. And I think it would be even more effective to do it with a minute to go to the half rather than wait until the halftime speech.

  16. I went to the game….girlfriend graduated from Western Illinois, so it was a fun experience for the both of us. The 25$ is a little steep, but I had a good time anyways…..we need more people at the games…..all games. Believe in your team and lets go!!!!

  17. The Beavers have strong odds to make the CBI Final as long as they play hard and want it. The experience and momentum of 22+ wins is good for the program and can help assure the Basketball Practice Facility is started this summer.

    Beavers Can Make CBI Final:
    http://beaverbyte.com

    Beaver Byte 3.0 is here. A new look with a more visually attractive layout.

    • Shovels will be in the ground this summer regardless. There was only a little bit of money left to secure, and it’s already promised from a couple sources given some hard dates.

      • I love how indignant the broadcasters got…they stopped just short of saying the fix is in. So rigged. I’d say that call requires an investigation. I mean, the Ashville players wasn’t even near the ball.

        • And, how was that a lane violation?! I thought the rule was the FT shooter can’t cross the line until the ball hits rim, but everyone else can on release? Even Primm came in from the side, not over the FT line.

          • Nope. They’re talking about it now, and one says the rule is that it’s a violation if anyone not on the lane breaches the free-throw line extended or the three point line before the ball hits the rim. If that’s the rule, then I yield.

            But the rule as I know it says that nobody who is not on the lane can step within three feet of the lane or the circle on top until the ball hits the rim. What I know makes much more sense. I’m going to have to go look at the rules again. They change.

            This, by the way, was a major contention by me when Michael Jordan ran down the lane on Pippen’s FT’s against Portland. You just can’t break that seal until the ball hits the rim. But the NBA is another story I guess.

          • According to yahoo b-ball blog The Dagger: “A lane violation that occurred a few minutes earlier and was criticized by CBS announcers was not one of the bad calls. In college, a player standing outside the three-point arc must wait until the ball hits the rim before crossing the threshold. Refs were correct to award Scoop Jardine another free throw on that play.”

  18. One of my favorite rules is the back court violation. In order for it to be called correctly, all three “points” have to be across the timeline. That means both feet and the ball (actually touching the floor, not the goal line plane scenario) have to touch down in the front court in order to take the ball back and make it violation. Obviously, if you receive the ball or pick it up in the front court after the ball has only bounced in the back court, possession in the front court is immediate. But you can retain your handle while having both feet in the front court and the ball in the back and still return to the back. You run the risk of violating the 10 second rule, with which I see Pac refs are not familiar. But it is the rule nonetheless.

    • While we’re talking about rules and regulations, there was a big argument in one of my city league games when the following ensued: The offensive player missed a layup and his momentum carried him out of bounds. In the scramble for the loose ball, the offensive player jumped in bounds to rebound the ball. I understand it’s a violation to touch the ball if one jumps straight from out of bounds without stepping in-bounds, while it’s NOT a violation to establish two feet in bounds and then grabbing the rebound. But, this offensive player only had one foot in bounds when he rebounded the ball. It was a bang-bang play. So, does establishing only one foot in bounds constitute position to touch the ball, or is one foot a violation?

  19. Shaka Smart is gettin’ big boy love right now.

    This is why the dance is important. There’s more recruiting going on right now than anyone can fathom.

    And the contact period doesn’t start until tomorrow.

    Katz has been giving Coach Rob some love indirectly by giving OSU love. He seems to find us just winning a reason to write about us. I have to credit Coach Rob with being accessible and saying all the right things… oh… and now winning…. We are prime for national love. We are a historical hoops power. We are who we are.

    I’m disappointed with where we are. But I’m happy with who we are… finally!

  20. LBSU might have a chance despite their REALLY SUCKY UNIS.

    “the Beach”

    ?

    Really?

    I mean, the only thing you could do worse is to give them all yellow unis.

    Oops!

  21. Anyone who bought the $3.99 NCAA stream for the tournament notice that you can’t mute or even adjust the volume during the commercials? It’s bad enough that we have to watch commercials at all when we’re paying but that really sucks.

  22. There’s not much comment here. I think we lose focus of sport itself. Or… at least I think someone somewhere loses focus. Here I am in the midst of the most intense competition there is (and I am a fan of both the Olympics and the World Cup), and we’re putzing around on this board like we’re has been’s who suck at life.

    Whoop-de-doo?

  23. To anyone out there who might have those hilarious racist sentiments… or just thinking that pink hair on top of mauve skirts is gauche… oh… you just keep reading… moron… idiot… stupid… am I connecting?

    This is not unintentional. You are a stupid, ignorant ass if you disagree with what I say.

    Love your brothers and sisters.

    They’re all you have.

  24. I’m going to rant above. But it’s only because i know the compete stupidity of the bait set.

    Or should i simply ignore it? Should I let passivity rule the day?

    Should I even take the time to look up the word passivity to see if it’s a word?

    Fuck it! Stupid deserves an answer no matter how cleverly he thinks he baited the trap.

  25. 29.2.C.6
    I do yield:
    Rule 9…
    g. Players not in a legal marked lane space shall remain behind the freethrow
    line extended and behind the three-point field-goal line until the ball
    strikes the ring, flange or backboard, or until the free throw ends.

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