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Preview: George Mason vs. Oregon State
Oregon State lost its opener at the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu, but may have lost a lot more heading into its consolation game Monday against George Mason. Angus Brandt, the starting center for the Beavers, appeared to re-injure his right knee early in the second half of Sunday’s game against Akron and coach Craig Robinson told reporters after the game the injury “didn’t look good.” Brandt, who was coming off a career-high 27 points in Wednesday’s victory against Towson, suffered a torn ACL in his right knee in the fourth game last season and applied for a medical hardship so he could return for another shot at his senior year.
The Beavers still have plenty of firepower, which made the loss against Akron so surprising. Roberto Nelson and Devon Collier entered Sunday’s game in the top 20 in the nation in scoring but didn’t play to expectations against Akron. Nelson scored 20 points but sat for a long stretch in the second half after forcing some shots. Collier finished with 10 points and five rebounds, well off his season averages of 21.3 and 9.6 coming in.
TV: 2:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU
ABOUT GEORGE MASON (5-5): The Patriots are hoping for a bounce-back game from their leading scorer, Sherrod Wright. He entered the tournament averaging 16.3 points, but was held to two against Iowa State after missing all five of his field goal attempts. That’s a total of nine points in the last two games after scoring no less than 12 in the first eight.
ABOUT OREGON STATE (6-3): The Beavers will get Eric Moreland back from his 14-game suspension when Pac-12 play begins next month, but if Brandt is out for any length of time look for 7-foot freshman center Cheikh N’Diaye to see expanded minutes. He had six minutes of playing time against Akron, made his only shot attempt, grabbed three rebounds and blocked a shot. Daniel Gomis, a 6-10 forward who played a season-high 19 minutes and scored a career-high nine points against Akron, should also continue to see an increased role.
TIP-INS
1. Oregon State entered the tournament shooting a nation-leading 53.7 percent from the floor.
2. Nelson needs 41 points to move into to the top 10 on the school’s career scoring list.
3. George Mason owned a 39-8 edge in bench scoring against Iowa State.
PREDICTION: Oregon State 81, George Mason 70
