The Barometer Online

Issue date: 2/4/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Cory Reed Oregon State coach Craig Robinson calls timeout in the final seconds of Oregon State's 57-54 win over rival Oregon. Robinson coached Oregon State to their first sweep of Cal and Stanford since 1993.

The 57-54 victory over the Oregon Ducks last Saturday did not just mark the first Civil War win in more than two years for Oregon State men's basketball; it also marked the exact halfway point through the Pac-10 season for Craig Robinson and the new-look Beavers.

With an overall record of 10-10 and a conference record of 4-5, the Beavers are light-years ahead of where they were at the start of the Craig Robinson era, yet the highly publicized coach maintains that there's still a long way to go.

"What we have to do is remind ourselves, the staff and the players that we can't be satisfied with where we are," Robinson said. "A lot of the guys on the team have exceeded the expectations that they had for this season, so it would be very easy for us to take our foot off the gas pedal."

That Beaver foot has been down in full force, especially lately. Since Robinson's brother-in-law Barack Obama was inaugurated as President of the United States, the Beavers are 4-0 and coming along much faster than almost all anticipated.

Not only have the wins been coming faster than nearly everyone expected, but the losses are filled with visible improvements and solid team play that was missing from the disappointing losses of the past.

"When I first started out in league play, one of our stated goals was to play well in every game," Robinson said. "Now I've got a room full of guys that feel like we should win every game."

A new attitude has been instituted in Corvallis that has led the basketball team to not only be the talk of the town but have garnered national attention as one of the best stories in college basketball this year.

There are still nine games to go, however, so OSU can't make the mistake of being "happy" with themselves, but there's no denying just how improbable it was to imagine the team in this position in this short of time.

Continued...

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