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After being picked to finish 12th in the preseason by the Pac-12 media, the Oregon State men's basketball team is one win away from March Madness.

A day after knocking off fourth-seed UCLA in the quarterfinal round, the Beavers continued their hot stretch of play, upsetting top-seeded Oregon 75-64 in the semifinal round of the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas.

"Just a great win," head coach Wayne Tinkle said. "Just really excited for our guys, the way we gutted out last night, and then to bounce back against just such a great, great team in Oregon. What can I say? Couldn't be more proud."

Just days after watching Oregon shoot the lights out and celebrate their second straight Pac-12 regular-season title at Gill Coliseum to close out the regular season, the Beavers got the last laugh when it mattered most.

Unlike the matchup on March 7th that saw the Ducks scorch the nets to the tune of 80 points on 57% shooting from the field and 65% from three, the Beavers completely flipped the script and held the Ducks in check for the majority of the contest.

"We just got into shooters," Tinkle said. "The whole scouting report last Sunday was to arrive with high hands, pressure them off the line. We didn't do it. So the guys just responded and did what we did all year."

The Beavers (16-12) came out of the gates locked in and ready to go as they were determined to get off to a fast start against the Ducks (20-6). OSU led 38-28 at the halftime break and built a lead as large as 19 with just over 13 minutes remaining.

Oregon fought back tough and cut the Beavers' lead to as few as five with just over four minutes remaining in the second half, but the Beavers always seemed to have an answer.

Whether it was hitting a clutch triple, securing an offensive/defensive board, being the first to the floor for loose balls, or just wanting it more, OSU just refused to let the Ducks take this moment from them.

Ethan Thompson led the way for the Beavers with 16 points (five made threes), six rebounds, and three assists while Rodrigue Andela had 13 points and nine boards.

The Beavers held the Ducks to 42% shooting from the field and 24% from three while shooting 50% from the floor and 53% from three themselves.

Zach Reichle had 12 points, Warith Alatishe added 12 points and 12 rebounds and Jarod Lucas had 11 points, six rebounds, and four assists to help pace the Beavers' balanced production.

It's not often that a team openly embraces the outside expectations placed on a program as it's often dismissed as noise, but the Beavers have done the exact opposite. They've rallied behind being picked to finish last by the Pac-12 media before the start of the season.

"It's definitely motivated us and especially recently we wanted to come out here and make some noise," Reichle said. "So we use it as motivation, but we know what we're capable of and we know we don't need other people telling us where we might end up in the league or anything. We know what we can do and so that's just what we're doing. We're coming out and showing it."

With the win, Oregon State will play Colorado in the Pac-12 Championship game Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN... CU won the two matchups earlier this season.

The Beavers will play in their first Pac-12 title game since 1988.

A berth in the NCAA Tournament will be on the line for the Beavers, so it's no understatement that it'll be one of the biggest games for the program in recent history...

"It's an amazing feeling, making it this far," Thompson said. "All glory to God, we're extremely blessed, and we're ready for this opportunity tomorrow. We can't wait."

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