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Auburn Basketball: Tigers vs Oregon State Game Info and Preview

By Nicholas Ian Allen

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Auburn Tigers (2-2) vs Oregon State Beavers (3-1)

  • Date: Wednesday, November 26, 2014
  • Start Time: 8PM Central
  • Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
  • Arena: MGM Grand Garden Arena
  • TV Info: None
  • Announcers: Dave Flemming and Stephen Howard
  • Live Stream: ESPN3.com, Watch ESPN
  • Odds (via VegasInsider.com): Auburn (-3.5)

Only four games in, the 2013-14 Auburn basketball season has already been a roller coaster. The Tigers have been great at home – winning both games they’ve played at Auburn Arena and scoring 94 points per game in the process – but Auburn has really struggled on the road. Monday’s 53-35 loss to Tulsa was particularly bad.

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Lady luck certainly did not shine on the Tigers in their first game at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas. Auburn shot 31.3% from the field, hitting just 15 of 48 shots, including a horrific 2-for-22 (9%) mark on three-pointers. The Tigers were not aggressive driving to the basket and earned only six free throw attempts, of which they made just three.

“K.T. Harrell has been terrific…he didn’t have it tonight,” Head coach Bruce Pearl said after the game. “He picks up two fouls early in the game and I’ve got to put him on the bench. I’ve already got Antoine Mason sitting on the bench. My starting wings are not playing. It was really tough. It seemed like an absolute struggle from that point forward.”

Harrell – the SEC’s leading returning scorer from last year – had three 20-point games to start the season, but managed just two points against the Golden Hurricane. K.C. Ross-Miller, starting his third game in place of the injured Mason, was held scoreless. Basically, with the exception of a few strong early minutes off the bench from Malcolm Canada, Cinmeon Bowers was the only Tiger that had a good game.

“Cinmeon was the only guy out there to put up productive numbers,” Pearl said. He’s a workhorse in there.”

Bowers, who has already earned one SEC Player of the Week award, may be on his way to a second. With 17 points and 15 rebounds against Tulsa, Bowers became the first Auburn basketball player to have four straight double-doubles since Jeff Moore did it during the 1987-88 season. Moore had five in a row that year.

But, as they proved Monday, Auburn can’t rely on only one player to carry them to victory.

Oregon State comes in to tonight’s game with a 3-1 record, including double-digit victories over Rice, Corbam and Oral Roberts. However, like Auburn, the Beavers have not won away from home and dropped their first game in Las Vegas. Oklahoma State won the black-and-orange-OSU-OSU battle 66-53 Monday.

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    • Similar to the Tigers, Oregon State has a a new head coach, a handful of talented and experienced players, but few that return from last year’s squad. The top newcomer is Gary Payton II, the son of the former NBA star of the same name. Through four games, Payton is the team’s second leading scorer and has scored in double-figures in each of the last three games. He is also a quality defender and leads the team in rebounds (27), blocks (7) and steals (9).

    Speaking of defenders, once again, the Tigers will be at a size disadvantage. Four Oregon State Beavers measure 6-foot-10 or taller, including two starters. However, only junior forward Olaf Schaftenaar has proven to be an effective scorer so far.

    In fact, the Beavers are still searching for scorers. Langston Morris-Walker leads the team with 12 points per game, but six different players have either led or tied for the team lead in scoring. Simply, they are still very rough around the edges and trying to find the right mix of players.

    Auburn doesn’t have nearly the depth the Beavers do, but the Tigers have a handful of more established players. If Harrell returns to form, Bowers continues his strong play, and especially if Mason is able to return (though he is still questionable), Auburn can pick up their first win on the road.

    Projected Lineups:

    Auburn

    • #5 Cinmeon Bowers, F, Jr., 6-foot-7, 278 pounds, 16.5 PPG, 14.3 RPG, 31.5 MPG
    • #25 Jordon Granger, F, Jr., 6-foot-8, 210 pounds, 6.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 24.8 MPG
    • #1 K.T. Harrell, G, Sr., 6-foot-4, 212 pounds, 16.5 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 31.3 MPG
    • #13 Tahj Shamsid-Deen, G, So., 5-foot-9, 170 pounds, 7.5 PPG, 0.5 RPG, 25.8 MPG
    • #12 K.C. Ross-Miller, G, Sr., 6-foot, 178 pounds, 8.0 PPG, 1.5 RPG, 20.5 MPG

    Oregon State

    • #1 Gary Payton II, G, Jr., 6-foot-3, 175 pounds, 10.5 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 2.0 APG
    • #5 Cheikh N’diaye, C, So., 7-foot, 230 pounds, 4.0 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 0.3 APG
    • #11 Malcolm Duvivier, G, So., 6-foot-2, 205 pounds, 8.8 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 3.5 APG
    • #13 Langston Morris-Walker, G, Jr., 6-foot-5, 216 pounds, 12.0 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 2.5 APG
    • #30 Olaf Schaftenaar, 6-foot-10, 224 pounds, Jr., 8.8 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 3.0 APG

    Next: The Five Greatest Auburn Iron Bowl Victories

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