STANFORD, Calif. -- The Oregon State men's basketball team was as high as it had been all season, coming off three victories in four games and an upset of then-No. 14 Arizona.
But Thursday, the Beavers faced No. 1 Stanford, a team so Type A it makes Donald Rumsfeld look loose. The Cardinal came out with a tight-seal defense, cranked up its fast break and never let up, blasting to a 73-47 victory in front of 7,391 at Maples Pavilion.
Stanford, which moved to 24-0, 15-0 in the Pacific-10 Conference, has not amassed one of the nation's two undefeated records by lollygagging. As Cardinal forward Josh Childress said, "You can't be complacent with just winning."
The Beavers (11-14, 5-10) left the game shaking their heads at Stanford's tenacity. The Cardinal streaked to a 21-9 lead, forced Oregon State into bad shots or no shot and spread the wealth -- 11 players scored.
"They came at us hard from the beginning -- like we were the No. 1 team in the country," said OSU guard Chris Stephens, who finished with 10 points. "We never recovered."
Oregon State forward Jim Hanchett said the Cardinal looked every inch the nation's top team.
"They can do it from everywhere," Hanchett said. "A lot of teams, you can stop an inside threat or you can stop a shooter. But, I mean, they've got it all. That makes it tough."
Until Thursday, the only conference team to blow out Oregon State was Arizona in its first game against the Beavers. But Stanford brought the Beavers to earth, denying outside shots and frustrating Oregon State forward David Lucas, the reigning Pac-10 player of the week. Lucas finished with 14 points, 3.8 below his average, on 5 of 14 shooting.
"The double team was there real fast on the low side, and they were locking me up," Lucas said. "I had to change my play around. I had to step out and kick it out, and I forced a couple shots up."
The closest the Beavers got in the second half was a 12-point deficit just after halftime. But even with reserves cycling through the rotation, Stanford pulled away. Point guard Chris Hernandez led the Cardinal with 13 points on 5 of 6 shooting, Childress had 12, and reserve Fred Washington had 11 points on 4 of 5 shooting.
Oregon State rebounded plenty, getting 35 rebounds to Stanford's 31. Lucas had 11 rebounds, six offensive. But the Beavers did little with those rebounds and by the end looked listless.
The odds were against Oregon State: It had not beaten a No. 1 team since upsetting No. 1 UCLA in 1974. But Lucas said the Beavers also could have played harder.
"I don't think we came out and played like we needed to play," he said. "I don't think we had the intensity that we should have had. We needed to bring it, and we didn't."
From the start, the Beavers faced what looked like the toughest defense they had seen all season. They struggled to create shots and most of the time couldn't get one. Oregon State went nine minutes without a field goal during one first-half stretch and finished the half 8 for 28 (28.6 percent) from the field.
Meanwhile, Stanford turned the Beavers' misses into fast breaks and baskets. Hernandez was 4 for 4 in the first half, including 3 for 3 from three-point range, and had 11 points. The Cardinal shot 55.6 percent and took a 38-22 lead into halftime.
"Stanford's on another level," Stephens said.
Still, the game was a reality check for the Beavers, who have won one road game all season.
Washington State won Thursday, moving a game ahead of Oregon State for the eighth and final spot in the Pac-10 tournament. Suddenly, the Beavers' remaining games -- at California on Saturday, and against UCLA and USC in Corvallis -- are critical.
"Everyone's basically scrambling to get those last two spots," Hanchett said. "If we don't continue to get better and play well, we're going to get left behind."
Note:
Oregon State center Derek Potter will miss the rest of the season after being diagnosed with a stress fracture in his left foot. Potter, who injured the foot before the Beavers' game Feb. 7 against Oregon, had been diagnosed with a sprain. A junior, Potter played in 16 games, starting five, and averaged 1.3 points and 1.9 rebounds in 8.3 minutes.
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But Thursday, the Beavers faced No. 1 Stanford, a team so Type A it makes Donald Rumsfeld look loose. The Cardinal came out with a tight-seal defense, cranked up its fast break and never let up, blasting to a 73-47 victory in front of 7,391 at Maples Pavilion.
Stanford, which moved to 24-0, 15-0 in the Pacific-10 Conference, has not amassed one of the nation's two undefeated records by lollygagging. As Cardinal forward Josh Childress said, "You can't be complacent with just winning."
The Beavers (11-14, 5-10) left the game shaking their heads at Stanford's tenacity. The Cardinal streaked to a 21-9 lead, forced Oregon State into bad shots or no shot and spread the wealth -- 11 players scored.
"They came at us hard from the beginning -- like we were the No. 1 team in the country," said OSU guard Chris Stephens, who finished with 10 points. "We never recovered."
Oregon State forward Jim Hanchett said the Cardinal looked every inch the nation's top team.
"They can do it from everywhere," Hanchett said. "A lot of teams, you can stop an inside threat or you can stop a shooter. But, I mean, they've got it all. That makes it tough."
Until Thursday, the only conference team to blow out Oregon State was Arizona in its first game against the Beavers. But Stanford brought the Beavers to earth, denying outside shots and frustrating Oregon State forward David Lucas, the reigning Pac-10 player of the week. Lucas finished with 14 points, 3.8 below his average, on 5 of 14 shooting.
"The double team was there real fast on the low side, and they were locking me up," Lucas said. "I had to change my play around. I had to step out and kick it out, and I forced a couple shots up."
The closest the Beavers got in the second half was a 12-point deficit just after halftime. But even with reserves cycling through the rotation, Stanford pulled away. Point guard Chris Hernandez led the Cardinal with 13 points on 5 of 6 shooting, Childress had 12, and reserve Fred Washington had 11 points on 4 of 5 shooting.
Oregon State rebounded plenty, getting 35 rebounds to Stanford's 31. Lucas had 11 rebounds, six offensive. But the Beavers did little with those rebounds and by the end looked listless.
The odds were against Oregon State: It had not beaten a No. 1 team since upsetting No. 1 UCLA in 1974. But Lucas said the Beavers also could have played harder.
"I don't think we came out and played like we needed to play," he said. "I don't think we had the intensity that we should have had. We needed to bring it, and we didn't."
From the start, the Beavers faced what looked like the toughest defense they had seen all season. They struggled to create shots and most of the time couldn't get one. Oregon State went nine minutes without a field goal during one first-half stretch and finished the half 8 for 28 (28.6 percent) from the field.
Meanwhile, Stanford turned the Beavers' misses into fast breaks and baskets. Hernandez was 4 for 4 in the first half, including 3 for 3 from three-point range, and had 11 points. The Cardinal shot 55.6 percent and took a 38-22 lead into halftime.
"Stanford's on another level," Stephens said.
Still, the game was a reality check for the Beavers, who have won one road game all season.
Washington State won Thursday, moving a game ahead of Oregon State for the eighth and final spot in the Pac-10 tournament. Suddenly, the Beavers' remaining games -- at California on Saturday, and against UCLA and USC in Corvallis -- are critical.
"Everyone's basically scrambling to get those last two spots," Hanchett said. "If we don't continue to get better and play well, we're going to get left behind."
Note:
Oregon State center Derek Potter will miss the rest of the season after being diagnosed with a stress fracture in his left foot. Potter, who injured the foot before the Beavers' game Feb. 7 against Oregon, had been diagnosed with a sprain. A junior, Potter played in 16 games, starting five, and averaged 1.3 points and 1.9 rebounds in 8.3 minutes.
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