The Oregon State Beavers take on the Oakland Golden Grizzlies in Honolulu, HI, as part of the Diamond Head Classic. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
Oregon St is favored by 9 points on the spread with a moneyline of -520. The total is set at 131 points.
Here’s my Oregon State vs. Oakland predictions and college basketball picks for December 23, 2024.
Oregon State vs Oakland Odds, Pick
| Oregon State Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-9 -115 | 131 -108o / -112u | -520 |
| Oakland Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+9 -105 | 131 -108o / -112u | +390 |
- Oregon State vs Oakland spread: Oregon St -9
- Oregon State vs Oakland over/under: 131 points
- Oregon State vs Oakland moneyline: Oregon St -520, Oakland +390
- Oregon State vs Oakland best bet: Oregon State -12.5 (Play to -13)
My Oregon State vs Oakland best bet is on the Beavers spread, with the best odds currently available at DraftKings. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
Oregon State vs Oakland NCAAB Betting Preview
Wayne Tinkle has turned a new leaf in Corvallis. I am honestly surprised that Oregon State is currently knocking on the door of a top-50 ranking in KenPom, especially given that it lost Tyler Bilodeau and Jordan Pope to the portal.
The primary reason Oregon State has enjoyed a strong start to the year is its elite defense that ranks 42nd in KenPom's defense efficiency. Opponents shoot just 43% (20th nationally) from inside the arc and 28% from 3 (30th nationally).
Even if the Beavers endure some defensive regression from 3, they should continue to have success stopping teams from scoring inside. That part is no fluke.
The Beavers have a fairly terrifying interior. Michael Rataj remained in Corvallis despite the mass exodus, and he has developed into a star, averaging 16 points and nine rebounds per game.
Parsa Fallah joins Rataj on the interior, as the Southern Utah transfer provides more of a skillful post presence.
Oregon State hasn't faced a lot of zone defense this year, but the 1-3-1 look from Charleston slowed down the Beavers' offense late in the second half. Switching to zone led to Oregon State firing 20 shots from 3 — and hitting just five.
While I expect Oregon State to shoot better than 20% from downtown against Oakland, facing Greg Kampe's 1-1-3 zone will likely keep the tempo slow, which Coach Tinkle is fine with.
The key to the Beavers’ offense is point guard Damarco Minor, who made a living in the mid-range against Charleston en route to scoring 16 in the win. He also scored 19 in the win over UC Irvine, so he is more than capable of putting together a lofty scoring game.
The Golden Grizzlies had quite the outing against Loyola Chicago. They held a lead for nearly the entire game, including being up by 10 with two minutes left.
The Ramblers actually stole the lead with 20 seconds remaining, and that's when Isaiah Jones saved the day with a putback at the buzzer.
Oakland's best sign in the win was the positive shooting regression it received courtesy of Malcolm Christie and DQ Cole (nine combined 3s). Oakland is not a good shooting team this year, but if Christie and Cole can hit at least 33% moving forward, that is a big plus.
Also, Oakland shot 50% on 2s in the game. I can't see that continuing against Oregon State's interior, since nobody has been able to expose the Beavers’ paint game thus far.
The Beavs' big man duo shouldn’t have a difficult time slowing down Allen Mukeba, who scored 20 points against Loyola. Buru Naivalurua is also formidable.
Although Oregon State played a lot of zone, it limited Charleston's Ante Brzovic to just eight points. If the Beavers could fluster the dazzling Brzovic, then Mukeba and Naivalurua don't pose a huge threat.
My biggest concern about Oakland in this spot is it being able to contain the glass. Oakland secured a whopping 15 rebounds in the opening round against Loyola, which appears to be an outlier (29% offensive rebounding rate).
In contrast, Oregon State is one of the top defensive rebounding teams in the country, so that should counteract the sudden surge in offensive boards.
Another good note in Corvallis: Oregon State has won eight of its nine games by double-digits, and the win against Charleston was a nine-point victory.
All of those came against mid-major foes, but the 12-point win over UC Irvine takes the cake.
I underestimated Loyola Chicago's injuries in the last game, but Oregon State has the tools to blowout the Golden Grizzlies.
