CORVALLIS - You can add counselor to Craig Robinson's job description.

Robinson has spent the past week trying to help the members of the Oregon State men's basketball team work through how they handle the pressure of high expectations.

Robinson first noticed the issue during the Beavers' season-opening loss to Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

Apparently the Beavers haven't found a way to deal with the problem. They struggled through a sluggish first half against Sacramento State, falling behind by 22 before making a run in the second half that didn't quite overcome the Hornets in a 65-63 loss in Gill Coliseum.

"This is going to be an interesting season for me to deal with the quirkiness of our team and our ability to handle pressure and expectations," Robinson said. "But having said that, it's still early on. I'm really not too panicked.

"As a matter of fact, it's good to have a problem that you know what the answer is or you think you know what the answer is as opposed to having to have to throw your arms up in the air and say ‘I don't know what the heck's going on.' I think we have a handle on the problem, but we'll see."

Although the Beavers gradually gained confidence last year and finished on a high note by winning the College Basketball Invitational, that success resulted in high hopes for this season among friends, family and fans and high expectations from the media.

Robinson said that's an aspect of the game the veterans are not accustomed to and they, in turn, put extra pressure on themselves.

"So that's tough," Robinson said. "There are a lot of adults who deal with the fear of success or failure, depending on how you want to characterize it, at work every day. If it wasn't the case, everybody would be the A student, everybody would be the guy driving around in a Maserati and master of the universe."

The Beavers' play in the second half against the Hornets was a step in the right direction, but it took a talk by Robinson at the half to set the tone.

The Beavers need to be ready to play at that level from the tip-off.

"We just need to play defense better and not let people score easy buckets in the first half. Just pretty much buckle down and play hard the whole game, not just the second half," OSU freshman forward Joe Burton said. "The hustle and just the will to win, that's what we need more. Going hard and just going after it. Going out there and working harder than your opponent."

Robinson agreed that hard work will help the Beavers work through the pressure.

"I've always thought, and this is no secret, that whenever you are second-guessing yourself or you're not sure your abilities are what everyone else thinks they are, you prove them right or wrong by how hard you work," he said. "So we just have to work a little bit harder, a little bit smarter and hopefully that will put us on the right track."

It could take a few practices this week or a few more games for the Beavers to settle down.

Robinson said he wants to get it fixed as soon as possible, but he is treading on new territory although he took part in turning around programs at Northwestern and Brown.

The spotlight wasn't shining on those programs as readily as it finds teams in the Pacific-10 Conference.

"This is going to be a good laboratory test for me, so I'm looking forward to it," Robinson said.