Oregon State Set To Face Loyola-Chicago In Sweet Sixteen

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With the Oregon State men's basketball team (19-12) set to take on Loyola-Chicago (26-4) in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, BeaversEdge.com previews the matchup between the Beavers and Ramblers.

MORE: HOOP SCOOP: 2022 Recruiting Snapshot | EDGE POD: Previewing OSU-Loyola-Chicago

No. 12 Oregon State (19-12) vs No. 8 Loyola-Chicago (26-4)

11:40 a.m. PT (2:40 p.m. ET)

Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind

TV - CBS (Kevin Harlan & Dan Bonner, Dana Jacobson reporting from the sideline.)

Radio - Beaver Sports Network (LINK)

Series: Oregon State is 0-1 all-time against Loyola Chicago: 1927-28 season - Loyola Chicago 29, Oregon State 19

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Oregon State PROJECTED STARTERS

#2 G Jarod Lucas - 6-foot-3, 195-pound So. - 13 points, 2.4 rebounds, & 1.2 assists

#5 G Ethan Thompson - 6-foot-5, 195-pound Sr. - 15.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, & 3.8 assists

#11 G Zach Reichle - 6-foot-5, 205-pound Sr. - 7.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, & 2.9 assists

#10 F Warith Alatishe - 6-foot-7, 200-pound Jr. - 9.5 points, 8.6 rebounds, & 1.7 assists

#12 C Roman Silva - 7-foot-1, 265-pound Sr. - 5.7 points & 2.8 rebounds

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Loyola-Chicago PROJECTED STARTERS

#4 G Braden Norris - 6-foot, 180-pound So. - 8.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, & 3.1 assists

#5 G Keith Clemons - 6-foot-1, 180-pound Sr. - 7.5 points & 1.5 rebounds

#1 G Lucas Williamson- 6-foot-4, 205-pound Sr. - 8.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, & 2.1 assists

#30 F Aher Uguak - 6-foot-7, 225-pound Sr. - 7.2 points & 4.0 rebounds

#25 F Cameron Krutwig - 6-foot-9, 255-pound Sr. - 15.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, & 2.9 assists

- Oregon State has defeated four Top 25 teams (No. 21 Oregon, No. 25 Oregon, No. 23 Colorado, No. 11 Oklahoma State), its most wins over ranked teams in a season since 1979-80.

- In the two NCAA Tournament games, the Beavers are shooting 44.9% (48-for-107) from the field and limiting its opponent to 30.5% (39-for-128).

- Oregon State is shooting 42.1% (45-for-107) from beyond the arc and limiting its opponent to 25.2% (30-for-119) from deep during the current five-game winning streak.

- Ethan Thompson is averaging 19.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in the NCAA Tournament.

- Warith Alatishe is averaging 10.4 points and 10.0 rebounds during the current five-game winning streak.

- Roman Silva is averaging 11.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.5 blocked shots in the two NCAA Tournament games; he averaged 5.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.5 blocks in the previous 29 games.

- Maurice Calloo is averaging 10.5 points in the two NCAA Tournament games; he averaged 5.2 points in the previous 29 games.

- Oregon State went 5-5 against teams that made the 2021 NCAA Tournament (all Pac-12 opponents) with wins over Colorado, Oregon (twice), UCLA and USC. The losses came against Colorado (twice), Oregon, UCLA and USC.

- Oregon State has set three NCAA Tournament team records this year: 10 3-point field goals vs. Tennessee; 32 free throws made vs. Oklahoma State; 11 blocked shots vs. Oklahoma State.

- The Oregon State-Loyola Chicago winner will play the winner of No. 2-seed Houston and No. 11-seed Syracuse.

- In the 19 wins, Oregon State is averaging 75.2 points, while shooting 46.8%from the field, 39.1% from beyond the arc and 78.0% from the free throw line with a rebounding margin of +4.8 and assist average of 15.4.

- 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.

- In seven seasons under Wayne Tinkle, Oregon State is 82-19 (12-2 this sea-son) when leading at halftime and 94-11 (16-2 this season) when leading with five minutes to play.

- Oregon State is 27-1 since the start of the 2017-18 season when scoring 80-plus points (6-0 in 2017-18; 7-0 in 2018-19; 10-0 in 2019-20, 4-1 in 2020-21).

Knocking off Loyola-Chicago will be no easy feat, but Oregon State is capable of getting the job done and it's my prediction that they will.

The key matchup in my eyes is Oregon State's three-point offense vs Loyola-Chicago's three-point defense. It's no secret that the Beavers catching fire from behind-the-arc during this five-game win streak (42% compared to 35% on the year) has been a big key to their success.

Whether or not the Beavers can get good looks and make shots from three against the Ramblers' three-point defense (allowing 32%) will go a long way in determining the winner in this contest.

If Oregon State can shoot close to 40% as they have been during this run against Loyola, they'll be in a great position to pull out the victory. If the Beavers struggle to manufacture looks and force the issue against the Ramblers' stout defense, it could be a long afternoon.

Additionally, the matchup between Roman Silva/OSU's frontcourt vs Cameron Krutwig is going to factor in massively as well. Krutwig is one of the most decorated players in Ramblers' history and he's the straw that stirs everything. While he's their leading scorer at 15 points per game, his all-around play is what makes both him and Loyola-Chicago very dangerous.

The Beavers will have their work cut out for them as the Ramblers likely present their toughest challenge yet of the postseason, but Oregon State has been firing on all cylinders as of late and it's going to take a shell-shocking opposing performance to knock them out of a contest.

I like Oregon State to win a tightly-contested game...

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