The Oregon State Beavers are primed to return to the NCAA tournament. They have a one-two punch offensively in Tres Tinkle and Ethan Thompson and a lot of size in the paint with Kylor Kelley and Roman Silva. The Freshman have made some early contributions and Zac Reichle has shown he can contribute on both sides of the basketball. 10-2 in non-conference play with some impressive moments. An impressive win at home over Iowa State. A nationally telecast blowout of San Jose State. On the other side of the basketball coin they really struggled in the second half at College State against Texas A & M. The folks who put together ratings are not impressed. They are currently ranked 78th in the NCAA Net rankings which is a key benchmark to determine if you are tournament worthy. 68 teams make the big dance of course.
Head coach Wayne Tinkle didn't mince words this week regarding the task at hand beginning tonight:
"We are putting the non-conference games behind us but we're carrying the knowledge and experience forward. We've got a very tough start to league. The mountain schools to start then hosting the Arizona schools. We have a great opportunity here and that is what we are going to sell to the players. We have a great opportunity to make some things happen early."
The Oregon State-Utah matchup will be broadcast live on 1190 KEX. Pregame coverage begins at 5:pm with the play-by-play provided by the voice of the Beavers Mike Parker at 5:35 PM from the Huntsman Center.