Beavers To Face Cowboys In Round Of 32

With the Oregon State men's basketball team (18-12) set to take on Oklahoma State (21-18) in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, BeaversEdge.com previews the matchup between the Beavers and Cowboys.

MORE: WBB: Beavers Set To Open NCAA Tournament vs Florida State | MBB: Beavers Upset Tennessee

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WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN

No. 12 Oregon State (18-12) vs No. 4 Oklahoma State (21-8)

6:40 p.m. PT (9:40 p.m. ET)

Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind.

TV - TBS (Kevin Harlan, Dan Bonner, Dana Jacobson)

Radio - Beaver Sports Network

Series: Oregon State leads 5-2

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Oregon State PROJECTED STARTERS

#2 G Jarod Lucas - 6-foot-3, 195-pound So. - 13 points, 2.2 rebounds, & 1.2 assists per game

#5 G Ethan Thompson - 6-foot-5, 195-pound Sr. - 15.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, & 3.9 assists

#11 G Zach Reichle - 6-foot-5, 205-pound Sr. - 7.7 points, 3.2 rebounds, & 3.0 assists

#10 F Warith Alatishe - 6-foot-7, 200-pound Jr. - 9.7 points, 8.5 rebounds, & 1.7 assists

#12 C Roman Silva - 7-foot-1, 265-pound Sr. - 5.7 points & 2.5 rebounds

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Oklahoma State PROJECTED STARTERS

#0 G Avery Anderson III - 6-foot-3, 170-pound So. - 12.0 points & 4.1 rebounds per game

#45 G Cade Cunningham - 6-foot-8, 220-pound Fr. - 20.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, & 3.1 assists

#13 G Isaac Likekele - 6-foot-5, 215-pound Jr. - 9.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, & 2.9 assists

#7 F Matthew Alexander-Moncrieffe - 6-foot-7, 215-pound Fr. - 9.2 points & 5.3 rebounds

#22 F Kalib Boone - 6-foot-9, 210-pound So. - 9.6 points & 5.6 rebounds

Quick Hits

- Oregon State won its first NCAA Tournament game since beating Idaho, 60-42, on March 18, 1982, in the West Regional Semifinals in Provo, Utah ...

- The Beavers are shooting 44.8% (39-for-87) from beyond the arc and limiting its opponent to 24.4%(22-for-90) from deep during the current four-game winning streak ...

- Six different players (Jarod Lucas, Gianni Hunt, Ethan Thompson (twice), Warith Alatishe, Maurice Calloo, Roman Silva) have led Oregon State in scoring over the last seven games...

- Ethan Thompson posted his fifth career double-double, and first this season, with 13 points and 10 rebounds against Tennessee ...

- Zach Reichle is shooting 50.0% (12-for-24) from beyond the arc over the last six games.

- Warith Alatishe leads the Pac-12 with 13 double-figure rebounding games.

- Jarod Lucas leads the Pac-12 and is 14thin the nation in free throw percentage at 88.9% (96-for-107).

- Roman Silva scored a career-high 16 points, going 8-for-8 from the field, and added a career-best three blocked shots against Tennessee.

- The No. 12 seed is 12-26 all-time against the No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

- The Oregon State-Oklahoma State winner will play the winner of No. 1-seed Illinois and No. 8-seed Loyola Chicago.

- In the 18 wins, Oregon State is averaging 74.9 points, while shooting 47.1%from the field, 39.7% from beyond the arc, and 76.8% from the free-throw line with a rebounding margin of +4.0 and assist average of 15.9.

- In the 12 losses, Oregon State is averaging 64.2 points, while shooting 38.9%from the field, 30.8% from beyond the arc, and 72.8% from the free-throw line with a rebounding margin of -4.7 and assist average of 13.3.

Prediction

Oregon State Defeats Oklahoma State, Advances To Sweet Sixteen

-> After knocking off fifth-seeded Tennessee in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the Beavers will continue its Cinderella run by beating the Cowboys to reach the programs' first Sweet Sixteen since 1982.

Oklahoma State figures to present a bevy of challenges for Oregon State, first and foremost with likely No. 1 pick Cade Cunningham, but the Beavers are playing with a confidence that isn't easily shaken and I think it would take an impressive opposing performance to knock them off their rhythm.

With Roman Silva having a mismatch where he's several inches taller and 50-pounds bigger than Oklahoma State's frontcourt rotation, I'd expect the Beavers to look to establish him as a low-post force again to free up the inside-out game.

When Silva and others can create an inside game, it really makes the OSU offense hum and that's going to be a huge key to the Beavers' success.

Slowing down Cunningham will certainly be at the top of the Beavers' priority list, but equally as important will be continuing its stout three-point defense.

By staying within their gaps and playing the same type of suffocating defense that we saw vs the Volunteers, the Beavers can control the tempo and force the Cowboys to play at their pace rather than wide open in the transition game.

This should be a great contest between two teams that are playing good basketball at the right time, but Oregon State's unflappable confidence gives them a slight edge.

By playing UCLA, Oregon, & Colorado in the Pac-12 Tournament, three tournament teams with very different styles, the Beavers prepared themselves well to handle anything that is thrown their way.