Oregon State and UCF will square off for the first time Tuesday afternoon during the inaugural College Basketball Crown in Las Vegas.
Both teams hit Sin City missing several players due to the transfer portal, but the Oregon State lineup has been impacted more.
After the Beavers (20-12) posted their third 20-win season in the last 35 years, all-West Coast Conference forward Michael Rataj — who led them in scoring and rebounding (16.9 points, 7.2 rebounds) — Parsa Fallah (12.8 ppg) and Nate Kingz (11.8 ppg) entered the portal along with lightly used backup DaJohn Craig.
The Beavers will rely on guards Damarco Minor (9.7 ppg, 5.2 apg), Liutaraus Lelevicius (8.3 ppg, 4.1 rpg) and Josiah Lake II (7.0 ppg) to replace the scoring they lost.
It’s been 24 days between games for the Beavers and 20 days for the Knights. Oregon State lost to Pepperdine 77-73 in the WCC tournament while UCF bowed out of the Big 12 tournament in the second round with a 98-94 overtime loss to Kansas.
“You want to let your guys get a little bit of rest, but try to keep your edge,” Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle said. “Because that’s what this whole thing is going to come down to. The teams that win are going to be the teams that kept their guys engaged.”
UCF (17-16) has had eight players enter the portal, led by 6-foot-7, 235-pound forward Keyshawn Hall. He led the Big 12 in scoring (18.8 ppg) and the Knights in rebounding (7.1 rpg) and has entered the NBA Draft process as well, though has not hired an agent. It’s uncertain whether he’ll play in the Crown.
Darius Johnson (16.7 ppg), Jordan Ivy-Curry (12.9 ppg) and 7-foot-2 freshman Moustapha Thiam (10.5 ppg, 2.6 bpg) will play against Oregon State.
“He’s growing up right in front of our eyes,” UCF coach Johnny Dawkins said about Thiam. “I think he’s grown a lot in league play. I watched how he played in the preseason to where he is at now and just his activity has picked up so much more.”
–Field Level Media
