Oregon State at Arizona State

Wednesday, February 14
6:00 pm PT, Pac-12 Networks

The program appeared to be headed in the right direction after sweeping the Arizona schools just a few weeks ago. But the Beavers have since lost four straight and there’s no obvious end in sight.

Teams have figured out how to slow down Jordan Pope.

The sophomore has yet to score more than 20 points during OSU’s losing streak and he is 11-for-29 (37.9 percent) from the field over his last two games.

The Oregon State offense has suffered as a result, averaging just 57.5 points per game since taking down the Sun Devils in Corvallis.

In fact, the Beavers are 3-1 when scoring 80 points or more in league play but are 0-9 when failing to eclipse that mark. In other words, the key to beating Wayne Tinkle’s team is keeping his shooters contained.

Pope, Tyler Bilodeau, and Dexter Akanno are the only players averaging in double-digits.

The Sun Devil guards should be able to keep Pope and Akanno relatively in check. But Bilodeau might be a different story.

The 6-foot-9 forward has guard-like tendencies and can score from all three levels of the court. He put up 18 against ASU in the first matchup and tends to be a mismatch at the four spot.

To counteract a potential hot shooting night from Bilodeau, Arizona State must create turnovers.

Bobby Hurley’s team is second in the Pac-12 in TO’s forced per game and Oregon State is ninth in the Conference in turnovers committed per game.

As long as ASU is able to generate mistakes and convert those opportunities into fastbreak points, it should be able to defend the Bank.

Dane Miller’s Game Picks

2023-24 Week 7 Pac-12 Games	Pick
Oregon State at Arizona State Feb 14, 6:00 PM PT	Arizona State
Overall Record	146-61-0 (71%)