Tag: Phil Knight Invitational

Ducks to face BYU in Portland during Phil Knight Invitational

The Oregon Ducks will take on the Cougars of BYU this fall during the Phil Knight Invitational, a game that was cancelled last year.

The Oregon Ducks’ non-conference schedule for the men’s basketball team is starting to come together, with Jon Rothstein reporting that Oregon and BYU will meet in Portland for the Phil Knight invitational this fall.

No timetable for the event has been given, but in the past this event has been played in mid to late November, so the expectation is the game will take place in that time frame in 2021.

Oregon and BYU were slated to play each other in this event last year, but all Pac-12 non-conference games were cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Ducks are slated to be a top-15 team to begin the 2021-2022 campaign after returning Will Richardson and adding a pair of exciting transfers in De’Vion Harmon and Jacob Young.

BYU’s basketball peak came during the Jimmer Fredette era about 10 years ago, but the subsequent move to the WCC actually hurt their stock thanks to the dominance of Gonzaga, which has limited the Cougars to just four NCAA tournament appearances since 2011, and only one appearance past the first round.

However, BYU is 44-15 under new coach Mark Pope, and the return of Alex Barcello should make them a formidable early season opponent for Dana Altman and his squad – who will need to gel on the court in a hurry if they want to avoid an upset.

The Ducks and Cougars are both expected to be a part of the big PK85 tournament slated to take place in Portland in 2022 in honor of Nike founder Phil Knight’s 85th birthday, and five years after the inaugural PK80 event in 2017.

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3 keys for Oklahoma against Oregon State

Nothing quite like an OU-OSU matchup in November.

Oh, wait… it’s not the same OU-OSU I was thinking of.

Nothing quite like an OU-OSU matchup in November.

Oh, wait… it’s not the same OU-OSU I was thinking of.

Oklahoma (2-0) and Oregon State (2-0) are facing off for the fifth time ever as part of the Phil Knight Invitational. The Sooners lead the series with a perfect 4-0 record against the Beavers. The last matchup came in 2000 when the schools played in the Big Island Invitational in Hilo, HI.

Both teams are off to solid starts to the season with Oklahoma winning its games against UTSA (85-67) and Minnesota (71-62). Oregon State comes off victories over Cal State Northridge (87-67) and Iowa State (80-74).

Here are three things the Sooners need to do in order to remain undefeated against the Beavers.

STOP TRES TINKLE

Although it sounds simple, Oregon State senior forward Tres Tinkle, has been an unstoppable force through two games.

Leading the Beavers in points per game (26.0), rebounds per game (10.5) and assists per game (5.5), Oklahoma is going to have to key in on Tinkle, forcing the Beavers to have anyone else beat the Sooners.

KEEP IT LOW SCORING

Oregon State is 15-0 when scoring more than 80 points in a game over the past three seasons. Oklahoma may have to change their pace to slow the game down and keep the Beavers in front of them. The Sooners, under Lon Kruger have played both up tempo and slow during his tenure.

FORCE THE BEAVERS OFF THE THREE POINT LINE

Oregon State has been unconscious as a team from three point territory so far this season. The Beavers are shooting 46.3 percent from deep as a team and Tinkle is shooting 69.2 percent from three on his own.

The Sooners have two options: Run Oregon State off the three point line or make over half of their attempted threes. The prior being the much more reliable and realistic option for Oklahoma.

Tip-off is set for 10 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

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