From the beginning, the Oregon State Beavers were not supposed to be in the NCAA Tournament. But they couldn’t be kept out, since they won the season-ending conference tournament. Then they shocked the hell out of Tennessee in the first round, winning 72-56.
Since then OSU has taken the measure of Oklahoma State and Loyola-Chicago, by ten and seven points, respectively. And while you were watching these games, you would not have known who you were supposed to favor.
And they are now one step from the Final Four. All they have to do is get by the fierce Houston Cougars in Monday night’s matchup at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Game time is 7:15 PM ET. And here are the numbers from our friends at BetOnline:
| Team | SP/RL | TOTAL | ML | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon | +8 (-110) | 129½ (-110) | +290 |  |
| Houston | -8 (-110) | 129½ (-110) | -350 | |
|
||||
Naturally people have been asking how Oregon State has done it thus far.
Well, it has to start with defense….
Oregon State has shut down the ability of other teams to shoot threes against them. Well, practically, anyway. Over the last six games, opponents have gone slightly below 25% from beyond the three-point line.That is transformational. And it is also not the greatest news in the world for Houston, which takes 42% of its field goal attempts from downtown. That is something that should not be forgotten.
The hot hand at the right time
Ethan Thompson was probably Oregon State’s most significant contributor on offense this season./ But he has raised his level of play in the NCAA Tournament. Thompson came up with an especially huge game against Oklahoma State, with 26 points and seven rebounds. In that one he was matched up opposite the freshman who will likely be the #1 pick in the NBA Draft (Cade Cunningham). And against Loyola he had 22 points. This was on a day when his teammates were not particularly hot, so his presence was doubly critical.
A little size doesn’t hurt either
Around mid-season the move was made to insert 7-1 center Ramon Silva into the starting lineup. And that gave them a little more defensive flexibility. What we mean by that is that he doesn’t necessarily go up and down the floor that fast. He is not a dominant offensive player. He is not a demon shot-blocker. But he is there in the lane as an impediment and lets them get out more to defend the perimeter. Against Tennessee he had 16 points and two blocked shots.
We’ve got the intangibles…
Well, maybe they aren’t all that intangible, actually. Oregon State knows how to make its shots at the free throw line (77%). And that came in handy against Oklahoma State, as they made 32 of 35. They can bring some people off the bench in the way of size (6-8 Rodrigue Andela) and shooting (Maurice Calloo, who has made 9 of 15 triples in his five games).
Maybe the fact that they haven’t wilted, even once, when on the big stage is an indicator of their ability to adapt to any situation.
And then there’s the coach….
Wayne Tinkle is in his seventh year at Oregon State, coming from Montana, where he spent eight seasons. His son Tres was a star in Corvallis through last season (and is now in the NBA G League). When you handicap his games, you know that all of his teams have a deliberate pace. In fact, they have never been inside the top 200 in the nation in Adjusted Tempo (this year they are 303rd). If Houston grinds it out, it will not cramp their style.
And don’t forget…..
BetOnline has a lot of props to play on each of these NCAA tournament games, and don’t forget that Live Betting keeps you very involved in the action even after the opening tip….. You can also find an Odds Booster, which gives you explosive payouts on pre-selected parlays, every day of the week …. You can open your account virtually any way imaginable, and that includes a number of cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin!
