The last road trip

The Cardinal heads north on its last real road trip of the season (across the bridge doesn't really count) to play two teams that look way better than they did a month ago:

• Oregon State on Thursday at 7:00. Watch on OSU All-Access. Listen on KZSU.
• University of Oregon on Saturday at 1:00. Watch on Oregon OZone. Listen on KZSU.

  Oregon State Beavers

No-one would have predicted that a team that was holding open try-outs 18 months ago would have sole possession of third place in the Pac-12. But that's what head coach Scott Rueck and his Beavers have accomplished.

Rueck described OSU's loss to Stanford in January as an "awesome game" and added, "This was a significant moment we can learn from and grow from."

Since then the Beavers have won seven games, losing only to Arizona (by one point) and to UCLA. They've won their last six games. That's the longest winning streak for an OSU team since Aki Hill's Beavers won seven in a row in 1994-95.

The Beavers are an unusually well-balanced team with no real standout player. Eight players play from 14 to 32 minutes per game and score 3.5 to 12.5 points. In the Beavers' six-game win streak, five different players scored the most points, and five different players grabbed the most rebounds. Only senior guard Earlysia Marchbanks repeated – in both categories.

Marchbanks, who leads the Beaver offense, dishes out the most assists (3.58) and grabs the most rebounds (7.0).

Freshman guard Aly Gibson is the top scorer (12.5), sinks the most three-pointers (1.71) at the highest rate (38.3%) and gets the most steals (2.29).

Junior center Patricia Bright leads the conference and is #6 in the nation with 3.4 blocks per game. As a team, OSU leads the conference with 5.88 blocks per game.

OSU has the second-best field goal percentage in the conference (43.7% to Stanford's 46%).

The Beavers and the Cardinal played it close at Maples in January – the Cardinal won by just seven points. Both teams have improved since then and will be ready for a really tough game at Gill Coloseum. With second place in the Pac-12 in sight, the Beavers will surely play their A+ game.

Here are OSU's 2011-12 statistics and their roster.

  Oregon Ducks

The conference season has been very different for the Ducks. They've won just six of 13 conference games and are now sixth in the Pac-12.

They lost much of their offensive power when their star runner-and-gunner, senior forward Amanda Johnson, fractured her thumb early in December and missed the next 11 games.

But Johnson has been back on the court for the last five games. She's been their top scorer in each of those games with an average of 22 points per game.

And senior guard Nia Jackson, who had been playing with sore knees, is apparently feeling better. She's been playing about 25 minutes per game.

So things are looking up for the Ducks and they should be ready to give the Cardinal a fast-paced, high-scoring game at Matt Arena. In spite of their poor win-loss record, the Ducks lead the conference in number of three-pointers (7.22) and steals (10.72). They score the second-most points (74.6 to Stanford's 78.2), but also allow their opponents the most points (75.6)

The Cardinal sank 14 three-pointers at Maples in January. The Ducks lost by 23 points. but should do better with Johnson back and Jackson stronger. Hopefully, the Cardinal will have its outside game back by Saturday.

Here are Oregon's 2011-12 statistics and their roster.