Oregon State is a season removed from advancing to the Elite Eight, but now the Beavers are mired in an eight-game losing streak.
Oregon State (1-8) has not played since losing to Arizona 90-65 in a Pac-12 game at Corvallis, Ore., on Dec. 5.
UC Davis (4-3) will visit the Beavers on Tuesday coming off Saturday’s 81-40 win at home against UC Merced.
The Beavers were scheduled to host Sacramento State last Saturday, but that was rescheduled for Dec. 28 due to COVID-19 testing results, contact tracing protocols and other illnesses within the Oregon State program.
Jarod Lucas had a team-high 17 points, including five 3-pointers to equal a career best, and five rebounds in Oregon State’s loss to Arizona. He also had seven turnovers, four in the second half.
“We couldn’t keep the ball in front, we couldn’t grab a rebound, and we turned it over way too much,” said Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle, whose team had a season-high 22 turnovers. “That ended up costing us. Put a lot of pressure on us defensively.”
Warithe Alatishe leads the Beavers with 12.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. He is shooting 55.1 percent from the field.
Lucas is the only other Oregon State player scoring with a double-digit average, at 10.2.
UC Davis is 1-2 on the road but the Aggies’ victory was an impressive one, a 72-69 win over Utah State in the season opener.
UC Davis shot 59 percent from the field and 55 percent from 3-point range in its win over UC Merced.
Christian Anigwe, a San Jose State transfer, led the Aggies with 14 points, his fourth time in double figures this season. Elijah Pepper, Ezra Manjon and Leo DeBruhl each added 11 points.
The Aggies have no seniors and only three juniors.
“We have the potential to be a good team,” said UC Davis coach Jim Les, who played in the NBA for seven years, most notably with the Atlanta Hawks and Utah Jazz. “We’re young academically, but I’m really excited about their potential as we play more games. They just need time to develop together.”
–Field Level Media