Wednesday, March 25th, 10:00 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Gill Coliseum (10,400) -- Corvallis, Oregon. Television: HDNet. Home Record: Stanford 14-4, Oregon State 11-7. Away Record: Stanford 5-8, Oregon State 4-9. Neutral Record: Stanford 1-1, Oregon State 0-1. Conference Record: Stanford 6-12, Oregon State 7-11. Series Record: Oregon State leads, 70-59.

GAME NOTES: Pac-10 rivals will square off in the semifinal round of the College Basketball Invitational, as the Oregon State Beavers play host to the Stanford Cardinal. The winner of this clash will move on to the title game to battle either UTEP or Richmond. Oregon State won both regular season meetings with Stanford, but the Cardinal got their revenge in the Pac-10 Tournament by defeating the Beavers in a 62-54 final. In regard to the all-time series between the teams, Oregon State owns a 70-59 advantage. Stanford opened this tournament with a 96-76 romp over Boise State in the first round, and the club followed that effort with a 70-56 decision over Wichita State in Monday's quarterfinals. The Cardinal are 20-13 overall and have won five of their last seven outings. As for Oregon State, it carried a four-game losing skid into this tournament, but back-to-back thrilling victories have landed the club in this semifinal round. After defeating Houston by four points in the first round, the Beavers knocked off Vermont in a 71-70 decision in overtime on Monday. They are still just 15-17 overall, but 11 of those wins have come at home.

There are only three players on the Stanford roster that average more than seven points per contest, and the trio is counted on heavily to be productive at the offensive end every time out. Anthony Goods is scoring 16.1 ppg, and Lawrence Hill checks in with 13.6 ppg. As for Landry Fields, he is posting 12.7 ppg and a team-high 6.6 rpg. Stanford is generating 73.5 ppg while limiting opponents to 68.7 ppg. In the quarterfinal victory over Wichita State, Hill scored 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field. Goods added 18 points for the Cardinal, who only committed nine turnovers and shot 50.9 percent from the floor. Defensively, they held the Shockers to 34 percent shooting.

Calvin Haynes didn't start the quarterfinal game for Oregon State, but his acrobatic shot with six seconds remaining lifted the Beavers to victory over Vermont. Haynes finished with 19 points, and Roeland Schaftenaar contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds. Lathen Wallace added 12 points, and Rickey Claitt provided 10 points. Oregon State connected on 51.9 percent of its field goal attempts and showed a great deal of toughness. Haynes is the only double-digit scorer on the roster, as he is generating 14.0 ppg for an Oregon State team that averages only 59.5 ppg. Defensively, the Beavers are limiting opponents to 62.7 ppg.

Go with Stanford in this clash, as its "big three" will outgun Haynes and his rather lackluster supporting cast. Still, expect a close game from start to finish.

Predicted Outcome

Stanford 70, Oregon State 66