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Conference games are all big, but against a ranked WCC opponent at home, the stakes were even higher for Wayne Tinkle’s squad against Gonzaga, given the adversity they’ve faced in the past few seasons.
“It’s an unbelievable reward after the crap that we’ve gone through the last three years as a program, the way this team has gone about its work, they’re so deserving,” Tinkle said post-game following the Beavers 97-89 win over No. 16 Gonzaga.
The Beavers have experienced the highs and lows of basketball success, from an Elite 8 run to 3-28 and everything in between.
However, it all culminated in a fairy tale ending Thursday night, and to get to that result, Tinkle asked his team not to make the moment more significant than necessary and to execute offensively and defensively on the court, which is what they did.
I had heard all offseason that Tinkle has the squad to make a run in March Madness, but the Beavers' resume of wins had yet to show the talent to justify such aspirations.
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Before the contest against Gonzaga, the Beavers had a straightforward goal if they wanted to play in the NCAA Tournament: to get quad-one and quad-two wins to help their case for an at-large bid.
Oregon State was 0-4 in those opportunities before its win against Gonzaga, and it will have more opportunities to secure quad-one and quad-two wins as we approach March.
The Beavers have rematches against Gonzaga, Santa Clara, and two games against San Francisco as well as Saint Mary's to improve their at-large bid resume.
