The Oregon State Beavers make their way to downtown Kansas City Friday night where they will take on the Kansas Jayhawks in the BMO Harris Shootout inside the Sprint Center. Tip is at 7:00 cst, but the party will begin once the doors open at 5:30.
Like Kansas, Oregon State has one loss on the year thus far and enters the game at 4-1 on the season bringing a two-game winning streak after defeating Montana State and Purdue. Oregon State is coached by Craig Robinson who is 68-72 in his fifth season at OSU and 98-100 in his seventh season overall. Robinson is President Obama’s brother-in-law, which he’s clearly aware of.
Oregon State averages 75.8 points per game and allows 66.6 point per game. Guard Ahmad Starks leads Oregon State in scoring at 14.6 points per contest, and is their biggest three point threat with 12 made threes this season. He also leads the Beavers in steals and tied for the lead in assists. Joe Burton averages 11.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per contest. Forward Devon Collier is second in scoring for the Beavers despite being their 6th man. Another three point threat is guard Roberto Nelson scores 10.8 points per outing and is second on the team with seven three-point field goals.
This is the first time that Kansas and Oregon State will face each other on the basketball court. So history shall be made.
Kansas leads NCAA Division I in blocked shots at 10.0 per game. Mostly because the #WitheyBlockParty don’t stop, including the 12 blocks against San Jose State that helped him record a triple double.
The #10 Kansas Jayhawks average 71.3 points per game while only allowing 55.7 point per game. Center Jeff Withey leads Kansas in scoring at 14.2 ppg, rebounds at 8.7 rpg, field goal percentage at 56.1 percent and blocked shots per game at 6.2 bpg, which also leads the Big 12. Guard Ben McLemore is next in scoring with 13.8 points per game, as well as unreal super fantastic dunks. He also is tied for second on the team with 16 assists and six steals and is third on the squad with 6.2 rebounds per contest. Guard Travis Releford, who is on fire as of late, is next in scoring at 12.0 points per game. He leads Kansas in steals and is nails at the free throw line hitting nearly 90% of his attempts. Guard Elijah Johnson has a team-high 25 assists and 12 three-pointers made to complement his 10.7 scoring average.
Here is Coach Self talking shop leading up to Friday’s Oregon State game.
