Chris Murray

cmurray@rgj.com

They stand 6-foot-8, 6-foot-10 and 7-foot and will be the biggest impediment – figuratively and literally – the Nevada basketball team faces Friday night when it hosts Oregon State at Lawlor Events Center.

Tres Tinkle, Drew Eubanks and Cheikh N’diaye form one of the largest, and most productive, frontcourts the Wolf Pack will face all season. Tinkle is a 6-8 combo forward who averages 18.3 points and 11.7 rebounds per game. Eubanks is a 6-10 power forward who tallies 14.7 points, 10.3 rebounds and 4.7 blocks per contest. And N’Diaye is a sturdy 7-foot center who controls the paint for the Beavers.

“It’s a big challenge for us, for sure,” Wolf Pack coach Eric Musselman said.

In the early part of the season, the Wolf Pack has been vulnerable inside. It allowed 56 points in the paint in its season opener against Saint Mary’s and 42 points in the paint in its home opener to Loyola Marymount. The Wolf Pack also struggled inside in its secret scrimmage against Stanford, so slowing down an Oregon State frontcourt that has feasted on opponents will be priority No. 1 on Friday.

Nevada-Oregon State: Three keys and prediction

“When you’re facing a team that large, they’re going to attack the paint,” Wolf Pack center Elijah Foster said. “Our scouting report this year says we haven’t been strong in the paint. That’s something we’ve been working on. And we can’t foul. They’re going to attack us. That’s a given. We have to keep them in front of us.”

While Oregon State’s frontcourt has been superb, the Beavers are still trying to find a footing without point guard Gary Payton II, a two-time All-Pac-12 pick who graduated after last year. Led by coach Wayne Tinkle, a former player of Musselman’s in the CBA, Oregon State (2-1) is coming off a loss Wednesday to Lamar in which it turned the ball over 27 times.

Oregon State has held opponents to 31.3 percent shooting and it out-rebounding them by 11 boards per game. But the backcourt play has been inconsistent. Oregon State is averaging nearly two turnovers for every assist and is shooting just 28.2 percent from 3-point range. This game is a rematch from last season when Oregon State beat Nevada, 66-62, en route to an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament.

“Our guys understand that last year Oregon State beat us and we have a healthy respect for them but we also feel like we’re in our own building and that’s always an advantage based on the limited time we’ve been here,” said Musselman, whose team is 17-3 at home during his tenure. “We’re not just going to walk out at home and win. We obviously have to play a really good game to beat them.”

Elijah Foster developing into key piece for Pack

Oregon State could be without key sophomore guard Stephen Thompson Jr., who averaged 10.6 points per game as a freshman last season. Thompson has missed the last two games with a foot injury. There was a chance he would play against Lamar but didn’t suit up and is questionable against Nevada.

“When he plays, he completely changes the complexion of their game,” Musselman said.

Whether Thompson plays or not, Oregon State will have its talented frontcourt to lean on.

Tinkle, Eubanks and N’diaye combined for 20.7 free throw attempts per game and will put a lot of pressure on Wolf Pack big men Foster, Cameron Oliver and Jordan Caroline, none of which are taller than 6-8. Oliver could have been a part of that Beavers’ frontline. He signed with Oregon State out of high school but never enrolled following a coaching change before eventually landing at Nevada a year later.

“That’s the squad I committed to before I came here, so I have a really, really big chip on my shoulder,” said Oliver, who has fought foul trouble in Nevada’s first two games this season.

Study shows Wolf Pack behind curve financially in MW

Oliver and the Wolf Pack frontcourt know they’ll have to play a good game against Oregon State to snare the program’s first win against a Pac-12 team since winning at Washington in December 2012.

The Oregon State game marks the most difficult part of Nevada’s non-league schedule. After playing Beavers, the Wolf Pack hosts Iona, an NCAA Tournament team last season, and then opens the GCI Alaska shootout against Oakland, which won 23 games and was the runner-up in the Vegas 16.

“We have a tough three-game stretch here and we’ll know a lot about where we are when we get back from Alaska,” Musselman said. “Oregon State, a Pac-12 team, an NCAA Tournament team. Iona, an NCAA Tournament team that plays a unique style. And Oakland, a really, really good basketball team. Those are three really good teams and if we don’t come to play, we won’t win any of the three.”

WOLF PACK BASKETBALL

Who: Oregon State (2-1) at Nevada (1-1)

When: Friday, 7 p.m.

Where: Lawlor Events Center (capacity, 11,536)

TV/Radio: None/94.5 FM

Online: ESPN3

Betting line: Nevada favored by 8.5