Oregon State MBB Hope To Follow Up Gonzaga Win At San Francisco Saturday Night
Oregon State Beavers (14-5, 4-2 WCC) @ San Francisco Dons (15-5, 5-2 WCC)
Date: Saturday, January 18
Time: 7 PM PT // 10 PM ET
Location: The Sobrato Center - San Francisco, California
TV: ESPN+
Wayne Tinkle's Oregon State Beavers will face the San Francisco Dons on Saturday for the first time since the 1968-69 season.
Now up to 14 wins on the season, OSU have their highest win total since their run to the Elite Eight in 2021. Their latest win was one of the program's most memorable in the last half decade: a 97-89 overtime victory over Gonzaga in front of a sellout crowd.
"[Gonzaga] had some unbelievable performances. They manhandled us on the boards, but our guys found a way to pull it out," Tinkle said of Thursday night's victory. Gonzaga grabbed 41 rebounds, while the Beavers pulled in 28. Generally though, OSU have done a decent job this season of winning the rebounding battle. They have allowed the fewest opponent rebounds in the WCC so far this season with 538 and have an average rebound margin of +4.7 (#3 in the WCC).
If the Beavers can again control possession for the majority of Saturday's game, it will go a long way in slowing down WCC leading scorer Malik Thomas. The San Francisco guard has a whopping 405 points through USF's first 20 games, averaging 20.3 points per game. Thomas also poses a threat on the defensive side of the ball, averaging 2.1 steals per game.
Currently 1.5 games back from league leaders Saint Mary's and half a game behind San Francisco, a win on Saturday would put the Beavers one step closer to the top of the WCC.
More Reading Material From Oregon State Beavers On SI
Oregon State Men's Hoops Stuns Gonzaga, 97-89 in OT
Parsa Fallah Scores 25 As Oregon State MBB Blows Out Pacific
Oregon State Women's Basketball: Beavers Take Down Santa Clara 74-72 in Overtime
Joe Londergan joined the SI brand in 2023 with G5 Football Daily. With over 15 years of experience in covering and working directly in college and pro sports, Joe's expertise has been featured in Front Office Sports, SB Nation, and XRAY.FM. He is a member of both the Football Writers' Association of America and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association. Joe holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Louisville and a master's degree in sports administration from Seattle University. Outside of his writing career, Joe enjoys golfing, although he admits that while he hits driver decently, his short game is a liability.