After hosting the First and Second rounds of the NCAA Tournament in Gill Coliseum, the Oregon State women’s basketball team continues their march towards returning to the Final Four. However, the road to the Final Four starts continues weekend when the Beavers head to the Golden State for the Stockton Regional.
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OSU at a glance
Record: 31-4 (16-2 Pac-12)
Stat leaders
Points: Sydney Wiese: 15.4
Rebounds: Marie Gülich: 8.2
Assists: Sydney Wiese: 4.6
Road to the Sweet 16
First round: win vs Long Beach State, 56-55
Second round: win vs Creighton, 64-52
Next up: vs No. 3 seed Florida State, March 25 - 3:30 pm PT
Beavers Stay on the West Coast
By virtue of winning the Pac-12 regular season title and owning the season series with Stanford 2-1, the Beavers were arguably the best team on the west coast this season and the selection committee rewarded them for their efforts. The Beavers will not have to travel outside of their time zone until the Final Four should they make it that far. OSU has a very short flight to Stockton and will have the advantage of not dealing with jet lag, or travel time.
In addition, South Carolina, Quinnipiac, and Florida State are all teams from the east coast and probably won’t carry many fans with them. The Beavers, however, will be bringing a large contingent of fans with them given that Stockton is an 8.5 hour drive from Corvallis. While the Beavers might not be able to play anymore games in Gill Coliseum, they will definitely have a pseudo home court advantage in Stockton.
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The Madness Continues
With the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight approaching this weekend, the first two rounds of March Madness have been completed, and luckily for Beavers, they survived. OSU nearly suffered a heartbreaking defeat to Long Beach State on Friday, but then bounced back with a win against Creighton. However, the Florida State Seminoles are arguably the best team the Beavers will play this season not named Stanford. At this point in the season, every team is good, and the Beavers will have their work cut out for them in Stockton.
Behind Enemy Lines
The Florida State Seminoles are the latest team to stand in the way of OSU’s return to a Final Four. The Seminoles are led by head coach Sue Semrau, who is in her 20th season. In terms of on the court, FSU has extremely balanced scoring, led by Shakayla Thomas (15.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg), Leticia Romero (12.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg, and 3.7 apg), Imani Wright (10.8 ppg) and Brittany Brown (9.9 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 4.9 apg).
The Seminoles are going to present many challenges to the Beavers, and arguably on paper, FSU doesn’t really have a statistical weakness. If OSU is going to win this game, they are going to have to win with defense.
Previewing Stockton
There will be three games happening in Stockton this week, here is the comprehensive breakdown of the regional.
Game 1: No. 1 seed South Carolina (29-4) vs No. 12 Quinnipiac (29-6):
This game is largely intriguing because you have a cinderella in Quinnipiac and a one seed in South Carolina, who is dealing with a bevy of injuries that are affecting them down the stretch. The Bobcats play a very similar style of basketball to Long Beach State in the respect that they like to substitute five players at a time, shoot a ton of threes, and force turnovers.
On the opposite side of the coin, the Gamecocks are a team that, like the Beavers, focus on defense. This matchup is one that on paper South Carolina should run away with, but based on the struggle that they had with Arizona State last week, I’m picking the Bobcats to pull a monumental upset and continue their cinderella run.
Prediction: Quinnipiac: 75, South Carolina 70
Game 2: No. 2 seed Oregon State (31-4) vs. No. 3 Florida State (27-6)
This is the matchup we have all been waiting for folks. Ever since the Stockton Regional bracket was announced, the Beavers and the Seminoles have been on collision course. Other than Notre Dame, the Seminoles were the best team in the ACC Conference and have looked like a team poised for a deep postseason run. The scariest part about Florida State? They lost to UConn by a mere two points in their second game of the season. Any team that can play Geno Auriemma’s squad that closely deserves a load of credit.
For the Beavers to win this game, they are going to have to channel their best offensive and defensive performance of the season. Given that the Beavers are on the west coast, and will have a large showing of fans in Stockton, giving them a home court advantage of sorts, I give them the nod here, but just barely. This game is going to come down to who can play better defense, and limit turnovers.
Prediction: Oregon State 59, Florida State 57
Quotable
Mikayla Pivec on Florida State...
“They have some really talented and athletic guards,” Pivec said. “We will have to take care of the ball because they are going to be pressuring us. They have beaten the teams in the first and second rounds handedly so we are going to have to fine tune our offense and try and take away what they do defensively. If we can fine tune our offense and get a lot of points on the board it will be difficult for them to beat us.”
Sydney Wiese on momentum from two wins in Gill...
“It was nice to get back here for a home weekend,” Wiese said. “It’s good for everyone involved to play in front of everyone and remember the season is far from over. We need the support. The reason we do what we do is for the fans and we are so appreciative of their support. I’m really hoping people can travel down to Stockton, and I have no doubt people will make the trip.”
Scott Rueck on what he sees from FSU on film...
“They are very similar to UCLA,” Rueck said. “They have amazing athleticism and great guard play. They shoot the three extremely well, so does UCLA. They run in transition, so does UCLA. They also defend, and get after you and have a great spirit about them. UCLA and FSU are really similar programs. I’ve been impressed, and they have done great job, and have a great plan.”
Note: Current UCLA head coach Cori Close was an associate head coach at FSU for several years, hence the similarities.
Kat Tudor on playing near home...
“It’s really amazing,” Tudor said. “I was shocked when I saw it on (Selection Monday), but I remember several years ago when Stockton got the bid to host and I never really thought much of it until this year. I was like wow.”
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