Wednesday, November 26th, 11:00 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Gill Coliseum (10,400) -- Corvallis, Oregon. Television: None. Home Record: Montana St. 0-1, Oregon St. 0-1. Away Record: Montana St. 1-1, Oregon St. 0-2. Neutral Record: Montana St. 0-0, Oregon St. 0-0. Conference Record: Montana St. 0-0, Oregon St. 0-0. Series Record: Series is tied, 2-2.

GAME NOTES: The Oregon State Beavers seek out their first win of the 2008-09 season, as they welcome the Montana State Bobcats to Corvallis for a non- conference showdown from the Gill Coliseum. The Beavers have lost all three of their games thus far, but have been competitive in each, dropping close contests at Howard (47-45) and at Nevada (79-71), followed by a home loss to Yale (53-52) on Monday. The Bobcats have only had marginally more success, winning one of their three tilts thus far. The team opened the season on the right foot, with an 85-82 victory over Colorado in Boulder, but has dropped two games in a row since, falling to Nevada (72-63) and Boise State (74-61). This is the fifth all-time meeting between these two teams, with each earning two victories.

The Bobcats were even with the Broncos in the first 20 minutes of play, going into the break at 32-32, but Montana State fell victim to Boise State's hot shooting in the final stanza, as the Broncos pulled away thanks to 73 percent shooting over the final 20 minutes. Marquis Navarre led the way offensively for MSU with 14 points. He was followed by Branden Johnson (13 pts), Bobby Howard (10 pts) and Divaldo Mbunga (nine pts). Howard has been the team's top offensive weapon in the early stages of the season, averaging 17.7 ppg, thanks to a healthy shooting average of 53.8 percent. Mbunga is the only other Bobcat currently boasting of a double-digit average at 12.7 ppg. The 6-9, 240-pounder is also getting the job done on the boards, pacing the team with 8.7 caroms per outing. Howard has also been instrumental on the glass, with 7.0 rpg.

A lack of offensive depth is a major concern for the Beavers this season. The team has managed to produce a meager 56.0 ppg thus far, due in large part to the team's inconsistency all over the floor (.444 overall and .293 from behind the arc). Accuracy has been a problem at the free-throw line as well, with OSU converting a mere 54.3 percent from the charity stripe (25-of-46). One player who has seemingly been un-phased by the rest of the shooting woes around him is Josh Tarver, who is shooting .576 from the floor this season and leads the Beavers with 14.0 ppg. Forward Daniel Deane is the only other true threat offensively (11.7 ppg) and doubles as the Beavers' top rebounder (8.3 rpg). Tarver poured in a season-high 21 points, but it wasn't enough to lead the Beavers to their first win, as they dropped a heart-breaker at home to Yale on this week. It was once again, poor shooting both from long range (1-of-13) and from the free-throw line (9-of-19) that plagued OSU. Deane did his best to complement Tarver, adding nine points and six rebounds in a losing cause.

The Beavers are really having a tough time generating any offense and there is no reason to think those shooting woes will simply disappear. Montana State isn't a juggernaut by any stretch, but the Bobcats certainly have enough to keep OSU in the loss column.

Predicted Outcome

Montana State 66, Oregon State 62