Oregon

Is the Pac-12 favoring Oregon while giving USC the cold shoulder in 2023 schedule?

Published

2 years ago

January 20, 2023

Is the Pac-12 favoring Oregon while giving USC the cold shoulder in 2023 schedule?

We’ve been speaking loads concerning the Pac-12 schedules that got here out this week, and one of many primary speaking factors for lots of groups out west is the truth that their draw could also be more durable than they anticipated.

That shouldn’t come as a serious shock, contemplating that the Pac-12 is predicted to be among the many greatest conferences within the nation this upcoming season, with 5-6 groups fairly belonging within the high 25. To attempt to make clear the scenario, I went via and ranked who had the hardest schedule within the Pac-12, what it would inform us going ahead. What grew to become clear throughout that train, and in listening to the narrative constructed over the previous week, is that the USC Trojan followers usually are not proud of how issues performed out within the schedule-making course of.

I believe their anger is justified, as effectively.

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Whereas plenty of detractors and non-USC followers will level to the off-week that the Trojans get in Week 13 forward of the Pac-12 Championship sport, take a second to take a look at the remainder of the schedule, and a few the stretches which are combined in there. In Week 7, USC goes to Notre Dame, after which has to show round and play Utah at house the next week. These are two probably top-15 matchups, with the sport in South Bend possible coming as a showdown between top-10 groups.

It doesn’t get a lot simpler after that. Whereas the Trojans get a rebound sport towards California in Week 9, they then need to host Washington in Week 10, after which journey to Oregon in Week 11 — one other pair of top-15, probably top-10 matchups.

Going 4-0 in that stretch is nearly unimaginable for any workforce. Even splitting these video games and going 2-2 looks like a win.

So why did USC get caught with such a tough draw in the midst of the season? I had USA TODAY’s Trojans Wire editor Matt Zemek on the Sco-ing Lengthy podcast to speak issues over. He gave an attention-grabbing take, noting that slightly little bit of spite and pettiness is likely to be within the combine.

First off, if you happen to’re George Kliavkoff, you need to be extra beneficiant to Oregon and Washington. Simply when it comes to the politics, you’d need to throw a bone to the groups which are staying in your convention, and to not those which are leaving. So it’s not as if Kliavkoff is an fool for smoothing the street for Oregon and Washington by giving them each an off-week earlier than their massive assembly. USC doesn’t have an off-week earlier than enjoying Washington or Oregon; USC has to play Washington and Oregon again to again. That’s not the worst a part of this for USC, although. The worst half is that in odd-numbered years, USC has to play Notre Dame in South Bend in mid-October. Should you’re a USC fan, the one factor they wished out of this schedule was ‘don’t give us a top-tier Pac-12 opponent — Utah, Washington, Oregon — don’t give us a kind of three opponents both the week earlier than or the week after Notre Dame. Properly, the Pac-12 gave them Utah the week after Notre Dame. That was the flip-the-bird second, and that’s actually the centerpiece of why the Pac-12 shoved USC out the door angrily and didn’t give USC an honest shake.

Should you examine that stretch of 5 video games for USC to the hardest stretch of video games on Oregon’s schedule — Week 7 at Washington, Week 8 vs. Washington State, and Week 9 at Utah — it’s clear which possibility I’d slightly have. On high of that, the Geese additionally get to play Utah the week after the Utes play USC, and USC the week after the Trojans play Washington. That’s not nothing.

George Kliavkoff made this schedule with ‘Daddy Phil Knight’ in thoughts. He wished to make good to Phil Knight right here. ‘Phil, that is my present to you. Phil, please be comfortable within the Pac-12. Phil, that is my greatest effort to easy the trail for you.’ That is Kliavkoff being a savvy politician and I don’t actually blame him for it, however he’s clearly making the very best effort to easy the trail for Oregon and Washington to say ‘Hey, you need to keep right here within the Pac-12.’

Oregon’s schedule isn’t straightforward by any means — I’ve it ranked No. 5 hardest within the convention — but it surely’s clear that I might slightly have the Geese’ outlook over the Trojans.

What’s attention-grabbing is that the identical pettiness didn’t occur with UCLA’s schedule. I’ve the Bruins ranked as the simplest schedule in the entire convention, with no Oregon or Washington on the horizon. UCLA is leaving for the Huge Ten as effectively, so why didn’t they get a tricky break of issues?

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I’m undecided what the reply is. Possibly behind closed doorways, the Trojans are the group that spearheaded this convention realignment and Kliavkoff wished to stay it to them due to the chaos that they’ve now delivered to the convention. Possibly it’s only a unhealthy break of issues.

Whatever the reasoning, I perceive USC followers griping concerning the shake that they received. If the Trojans are pretty much as good as they are saying they’re, although, then it ought to be no bother.

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Oregon

Oregon State Men’s Hoops Stuns Gonzaga, 97-89 in OT

Published

6 hours ago

January 17, 2025

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Oregon State Men’s Hoops Stuns Gonzaga, 97-89 in OT

For the first time in 34 years, Gonzaga brought its men’s basketball team to Gill Coliseum.

Over nine thousand Beavers & Bulldogs fans joined them. The first sellout crowd for a Gill Coliseum men’s basketball game in five years got their money’s worth tonight: an overtime thriller that ended in a court-storming.

In the first four minutes, Oregon State raced ahead. A long-range elbow jumper from Demarco Minor gave Oregon State a 4 point edge, and then Nate Kingz stole a Gonzaga pass, drew a foul, and sank two free throws. At the first timeout, Oregon State led 13-7.

Gonzaga slashed the margin to 1 on a Ryan Nembhard wide open three-pointer, after two Oregon State defenders collided. Then, a Bulldogs’ fastbreak bucket after a Michael Rataj miss gifted Gonzaga their first lead of the night.

Teams traded buckets for the next few minutes. With 7:59 remaining, Josiah Lake stole a cross-court pass from Ryan Nembhard and flew down the floor for a Beavers layup, 25-21 Oregon State.

Late in the first half, Nate Kingz erupted. First, the former McNary HS standout spun free of a Gonzaga defender and drilled a jumper near the top of the key. Then, Kingz launched a three point bomb. The crowd surged, Gonzaga coach Mark Few hastily called for timeout, and the scoreboard lit up 35-29 Oregon State.

In the final moments of the opening period, Michael Rataj kept the pace. The German senior notched a second-chance putback layup, but Khalif Battle upset the Beaver wing’s efforts with a buzzer-beating three. At halftime, Oregon State led by the narrowest of margins, 46-45.

Gonzaga’s Graham Ike opened the second half with a game-tying layup, then seized the lead on a free-throw, and the Bulldogs went on a 9-3 run.

Oregon State pulled within 1 on a Demarco Minor stepback jumper with 12:49 left. Then, Parsa Fallah drew a pair of free throws, but the Beaver big couldn’t convert either attempt, and Gonzaga kept its advantage.

But not for long. Soon, Demarco Minor sprang open. As the shot clock wound down, the Beavers guard nailed a game-tying three pointer with 11:08 remaining.

The two West Coast Conference foes resumed their battle. Following a Nolan Hickman layup that lifted Gonzaga back ahead, Nate Kingz tied it with two free throws. Gonzaga’s Graham Ike swung the lead back to the Bulldogs with consecutive makes, 69-65 with 9 minutes left.

Gonzaga seemed poised to land another blow, ahead 76-71 with 5 minutes remaining, but Ryan Nembhard walked. Possession went to the Beavers, who climbed within three on a Michael Rataj jumper. With two minutes left, Demarco Minor brought the crowd to a fever pitch with a game tying fadeaway. Then Michael Rataj hooked one from the right elbow, soaring the Beavers ahead 79-77.

Under a minute remaining, the game got even better. Michael Rataj extended Oregon State’s lead on a beautiful layup that kissed the top of the glass before dropping through the twine, but Clackamas’ own Ben Gregg answered with a Gonzaga three-pointer.

From there, Gonzaga quickly fouled Oregon State. A pair of Beavers free throws made it 83-80 Oregon State with :20 remaining. Needing a triple, the heavily-favored Bulldogs roared back on a game-tying Graham Ike three-pointer with 4 seconds left.

Overtime swung back-and-forth as the teams traded baskets. Leading 89-87 with 2:01 left, Michael Rataj drove inside, drew a decisive fifth personal foul on Graham Ike, and strolled to the charity stripe. The extinguished Gonzaga big finished with 26 points on 9-14 shooting. Rataj calmly hit a pair of free throws, as Oregon State moved ahead 91-87 with 2:01 in OT.

The next Gonzaga possession was denied by a Josiah Lake steal. As time dwindled under a minute, Gonzaga clawed within 2 on a Braden Huff jumpshot.

They never got any closer. Liutauras Lelevicius spun free for a layup, 93-89 Beavers. Then free throws from Josiah Lake and Michael Rataj shut the door. Fans stormed the floor at the overtime buzzer, and the Beavers earned a signature win.

Oregon State moves to 14-5 overall, 4-2 in West Coast Conference play. Gonzaga drops to 14-5 overall and 5-1 in the conference, a half game behind St Mary’s. The Beavers have now won thirteen consecutive matchups against Mark Few’s blue-chip program from Spokane.

Oregon

How to watch Gonzaga Bulldogs vs. Oregon State Beavers: TV channel, live stream WCC men’s basketball game

Published

14 hours ago

January 16, 2025

Press Room

How to watch Gonzaga Bulldogs vs. Oregon State Beavers: TV channel, live stream WCC men’s basketball game

Gonzaga and Oregon State kindle a new rivalry Thursday night when they square off for the first time as West Coast Conference foes in Corvallis, Oregon.

The Bulldogs (14-4, 5-0 WCC) and the Beavers (13-5, 3-2 WCC) haven’t met on the hardwood in over 34 years, though that’s set to change for the foreseeable future as both share WCC membership for this season and next. With both set to join the new-look Pac-12 Conference in 2025-26, they’ll be seeing each other multiple times per season after not having played each other in three decades.

The Zags enter the matchup coming off a victory over another future Pac-12 foe, Washington State, on Saturday. Graham Ike led the way with 21 points on 8-for-11 from the field, while Nolan Hickman stepped up with 19 points and seven rebounds in the 88-75 win over the Cougars. Gonzaga led by three points at halftime before putting its in-state rival away with a 15-5 scoring run to open the second half.

Ike leads the country’s fourth-highest-scoring offense at 16.6 points per game. The Bulldogs’ 87.8 points per contest is also on pace to be the third-highest in program history. Senior guard Ryan Nembhard has masterfully pulled the strings as the team’s floor general, as he leads the country in total assists with 169.

Oregon State entertains Gonzaga following a 91-55 victory over Pacific on Saturday. Parsa Fallah led the way with 25 points on 6-for-7 from the floor and 13-for-14 from the charity stripe. Michael Rataj put up 15 points and nine rebounds, while Nate Kingz added 20 points. The Beavers set a new program record by going 31-for-32 (96.9%) at the free-throw line, which marked the highest free throw percentage in a game with 30 or more attempts.

Rataj, a 6-foot-9 junior from Germany, paces the Beavers at 16.6 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Oregon State has allowed the fewest rebounds per game to its opponents (29.2 per game) in the WCC. Gonzaga, conversely, is No. 2 in the league at 40.2 boards per game.

Oregon State has been dominant at Gill Coliseum, where it’s 10-1 so far this season. In those victories, the Beavers outscored the opposition by 20.2 points. On the other hand, however, Gonzaga’s 11 straight true road wins are the second-longest active streak in the nation.

HOW TO WATCH GONZAGA VS. OREGON STATE

Who: Gonzaga and Oregon State ignite a conference rivalry between Pacific Northwest schools

When: 8 p.m. PT/11 p.m. ET | Thursday, Jan. 16

Where: Gill Coliseum | Corvallis, Oregon

TV: CBS Sports Network

Betting: Gonzaga -9.5 (-102)

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

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Oregon-set horror movie ‘Wolf Man’ opens Friday; critics call it ‘gripping enough,’ ‘not especially scary’

Published

22 hours ago

January 16, 2025

Press Room

Oregon-set horror movie ‘Wolf Man’ opens Friday; critics call it ‘gripping enough,’ ‘not especially scary’

‘Wolf Man” isn’t just the latest example of a classic Hollywood monster movie character getting a reboot, it’s also the newest horror movie to be set in Oregon. “Wolf Man,” which opens in theaters Friday, Jan. 17, follows in the spooky footsteps of “Strange Darling,” “Longlegs,” and “Cellar Door,” which were also set in Oregon.

While “Strange Darling” and “Cellar Door” were filmed in Oregon, “Wolf Man” didn’t film in the Northwest, but instead was made in New Zealand. The plot involves a married couple, Blake (played by Christopher Abbott, whose credits include “Poor Things”) and Charlotte (Julia Garner, of “Ozark” fame), and their daughter, Ginger (Matilda Firth), who are living in San Francisco.

When Blake learns that his long-missing father has been declared dead, Blake brings his wife and daughter back to the family’s rural Oregon house.

Unfortunately, their trip to Oregon goes bad quickly, as what seems to be a deadly creature injures Blake, who soon begins showing signs of transforming into something, well, wolfy.

While the idea has roots back in the Hollywood days when Universal Pictures turned out monster movies built around such figures as Frankenstein’s monster, Dracula, The Mummy, The Invisible Man, and more, the new “Wolf Man” isn’t simply a remake of the 1941 original.

Director Leigh Whannell’s previous films include “The Invisible Man” and “Insidious: Chapter 3.”

Reviews for “Wolf Man” are mixed, with some critics praising Abbott’s performance and the movie’s creepy atmosphere, while others wish Garner’s character was more developed and that the dialogue was sharper.

In The Hollywood Reporter, for example. David Rooney writes that “Wolf Man” is “gripping enough.” Less enthusiastic is Peter Debruge in Variety, who found the movie slow, soulful and not especially scary.”

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