Huskies Versus Oregon St. Preview

When the Washington Huskies take the court to take on the Oregon State Beavers, the Huskies will be looking for their first 4-0 start in 27 years.


Standing in their way is Oregon State. The Beavers are led by Sophomore Jared Cunningham. Cunningham is the leading scorer on Oregon St. averaging 14.1 points per game.


Last year the Huskies and the Beavers played three times. Washington won all three games however, the Huskies only won by an average of nine points in each game.. Here were the scores from all of last years three meetings:


Washington 76      Oregon State 70   In Seattle


Oregon State 70      Washington 82   In Corvallis


Washington 59         Oregon State 52 In Los Angels, Pac 10 tournament


In the final meeting in the quarterfinals my family was on a cruise and I had to follow the  game from the bottom ticker of ESPN Deportes. The date was  Thursday March, 11, 2010.


That day my cruise had its second port in Cabo San Lucas. I wasn't really nervous for the game. We had beaten the Beavers twice and the Beavers had no player that could take over the game. After we boarded the cruise after the day at port, I went to the Sports Bar to try to find some College Basketball scores. Cal had taken care of Oregon 90-74 and UCLA squeaked by Arizona 75-69. I knew that there was a chance that I could watch the game on FSN in the Sports Bar after dinner.


After dinner my Dad and I went down to the Sports Bar. My Dad asked the bartender if they could change the channel to FSN but the bartender said we only get two channels. (hard to believe) I had to follow the game on the ESPN Deportes bottom ticker. The Huskies didn't get off to a good start, they weren't shooting well and were down by nine at halftime. Without any Internet I wasn't sure if a loss would eliminate the Huskies from March Madness. In the second half the Huskies went on a 21-6 run to lead 43-37. I was starting to feel less nervous. After pacing around the cruise ship for 15 more minuets I saw that the Huskies were still wining with time running out on the Beavers.  After officially seeing that the Huskies had won I felt a bit relieved. The scary thing I wasn't able to know any other information about the game with no Internet access. The good thing was that Stanford upset ASU. I knew that the Huskies could take Stanford easily the next day.


So when the Huskies tip off with the Beavers today at 3:30pm, the Huskies will try to avoid another let down that almost ruined their season at the Staple Center. More Importantly, Oregon State is an improving team. Their record at 7-7 (2-1) does not accurately describe how much their improving after being in the CBI the past two years. An upset today would really help their program.


Terrence Ross will also try to continue his hot shooting stroke. His 25 points on Thursday was a career high. His points will become even more crucial now after Washington found out they would not have Abdul Gaddy for the rest of the year.


However, the Huskies will not need the presence of Gaddy today. Washington is by far the stronger team and should prevail easily. Washington is on a five game winning streak and playing good basketball right now after closing the Oregon game on a 41-22 run. Look for Washington to score a lot on the fast break on route to a 89-72 win.