Men’s basketball looking to improve to 3-0

The Oregon State University men's basketball team has gotten off to a hot start this season, but that should be no surprise given the competition they've played.

After blowing out Cal State Bakersfield and West Alabama, Oregon State plays its first quality opponent of the season in Hofstra University (1-0) tonight at 7 p.m. at Gill Coliseum.

"They're way better than the teams we played and it's going to be a good test for us," forward Eric Moreland said. "We'll see where we are after this game."

Hofstra is coming off a successful season where they finished 21-12 and second in the Colonial Athletic Association, which produced Final Four participant Virginia Commonwealth University.  But the Pride only return two starters from last season.  Among the players lost is two-time Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year Charles Jenkins, who was drafted by the Golden State Warriors in the second round of the NBA Draft.

Prior to the start of the season, head coach Craig Robinson said he would take the speed of guards Jared Cunningham, Ahmad Starks, and Roberto Nelson over anyone in the conference — and maybe the nation. Oregon State's 26 fastbreak points this season have been a testament to that speed.  In addition, Oregon State has only given up one fastbreak bucket this season.  Robinson noted the continuation of that trend as a key factor for the Beavers if they are going to improve to 3-0.

"They are gonna be probably the best competition we've had to date," Robinson said. "They are going to be really fast.  They are going to be smaller than us but athletic."

Besides limiting fast break points, Oregon State will have its hands full with two of Hofstra's seniors, forward Nathaniel Lester and guard Mike Moore.  Lester, who scored 33 points against Long Island University on Friday, is returning after sitting out all of last season due to injury. Moore is one of two returning starters from last year season where he averaged 14.9 points and 5.4 rebounds.

Despite the talent and experience of Hofstra, sophomore forward Devon Collier is confident in the Beavers abilities.

"They have a lot of experience...they've been to the NCAA tournament before and I think that's going to carry over to the game tomorrow," Collier said. "We just gotta keep our mind right and we just gotta keep on playing the defense we've been playing the last two games and we'll be good."

Alex Crawford, sports writer

sports@dailybarometer.com