The Oregon State offense looked like a lot of the neon orange seats in Gill Coliseum Thursday night: empty.
Following an early surge to enter the locker room leading 29-20, the OSU offense lulled itself (the 4,603 in attendance, and myself on the couch) to sleep in the second half when it fell into a droll, here-and-there scoring approach. The Beavers did manage to knock off Arizona State 55-47, but they got comfortable – too comfortable.
Perhaps the most exciting part of the game wasn’t even during it, but rather seeing Gary Payton I video interview his son, junior guard Gary Payton II, from the Fox Sports studio in Los Angeles afterwards. The elder Payton got straight to it: “What happened to the aggression in the second half?”
The younger Payton’s answer didn’t have much substance. He mentioned poor offense and losing track of shooters – a reality that fueled ASU’s 9-2 run late in the second half to cut the Beavers’ lead to three. Apparently deciding OSU was done letting the Sun Devils chip away at the lead, junior forward Victor Robbins finally ended a seven-minute field goal drought with a lay-up with one minute and 53 seconds left on the clock. From there, the Beavers did enough to close it out – they tightened back up on defense, created turnovers, and made free throws down the stretch.
The Beavers started the game, and they finished the game. The middle part caused the problems.
Though OSU demonstrated a respectable defensive effort, creating 16 turnovers – a statistic that would have been more impressive if ASU wasn’t averaging 15.1 per game coming into Thursday night – the offense committed 15 of its own. The Beavers matched the Sun Devils in shooting percentage from the field, 39 percent to 39.5 percent, respectively, but edged ASU with a slightly better showing behind the arc and on the offensive boards.
They did just enough, and nothing more.
Payton I made one other comment during the postgame analysis pinpointing OSU’s biggest flaw: the inability to play a complete game. He put a lot of that blame on his son – rightly so. When Payton II takes control of the game, the team’s performance tends to reflect that. He recorded 12 points, five rebounds, and two steals against the Sun Devils, which, like the rest of the team’s performance, was passable. For the Beavers to be successful this season, Payton II needs to manage offensive tempo and hone his leadership skills.
Sunday night is an opportunity to do that. OSU hosts No. 7 Arizona in Corvallis, and its undefeated streak at home is not for long if the offense can’t find some fluidity (especially considering the uncertainty of junior forward Olaf Schaftenaar, who left the game against ASU early in the second half with a tweaked ankle).
Arizona is coming off a decisive 80-62 win in Eugene Thursday night (the Ducks embarrassed the Beavers 71-59 last weekend). The Beavers’ tired performance was enough to earn a W against the disjointed Sun Devils, but a similar showing will be laughable to the Wildcats, who are fighting Utah for the top spot in the conference.
To be considered a serious competitor in the Pac-12, and for any chance at a victory Sunday night, the Beavers need to play to their defensive strengths and create turnovers, they need to find an offensive rhythm, and they need to play 40 full minutes.
Simply, the Beavers need to wake up.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
