The 3-2-1: Oregon State MBB looking to finish strong

With the Oregon State men's basketball team (15-10, 5-8 Pac-12) earning a split against the mountain schools this past weekend, BeaversEdge.com Managing Editor Brenden Slaughter gives you the latest on Wayne Tinkle's squad in another edition of the 3-2-1.

3 Things We Learned

1. Oregon State is not out of the NCAA Tournament: While getting clobbered by Colorado at home is a bitter pill to swallow, the Big Dance isn't out of the question just yet. Granted, the Beavers' hopes are hanging on by a thread, but because of who they've beat, they've got a chance down the stretch. The Beavers play Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon, Stanford, and Cal to close out the year and all but the Golden Bears are good enough teams to be able to further bolster their resume. Obviously, playing the Arizona's and Oregon on the road is a tough task, but the Beavers have proven they're capable of beating anyone in this conference when they're hitting their shots and are engaged on the defensive end. While many Beaver fans may think the season is already on ice, it's not over just yet, which could inspire some great basketball down the stretch. If not, this will become a season of what if's...

2. Poor-shooting games happen: The Beavers certainly needed that Colorado win, but when you shoot just 33 percent from the field and six percent from three, you're not going to win. Period. With that being said, poor shooting nights happen. Heck, they even happen to some of the NBA's best teams. For whatever reason, there are just those kinda nights where nothing is falling. The key for the Beavers, however, will be not letting that cold-shooting follow them to Arizona. This has to be a flush and move on type of game for Tinkle and Co.

3. Tres Tinkle isn't 100 percent: Before the start of this past weekend of games, Wayne Tinkle noted that Tres suffered an ankle sprain against Oregon that limited him in practice leading up to the Utah and Colorado contests. While Tinkle was able to reach his double-figures in each of those contests, he wasn't his usual self. With any luck, another few days of R&R should be able to get Tinkle back to 100 percent. The Beavers will go as far as Tinkle takes them in his senior season, so they'll need him as close to perfect as he can be in the final five games.

Two Questions

1. Who will rise up and get hot? While Tres Tinkle is a bonafide Pac-12 Player of the Year candidate, if the Beavers are going to make a push for the NCAA Tournament, they'll need someone else to step up and be a consistent scorer. Ethan Thompson has done his best to take on some of the scoring load as he's reached double-figures in four of his last five games, but outside of Thompson and Tinkle, it's been a mixed bag of inconsistency. If the Beavers are going to make a run for the postseason, someone like Kylor Kelley, Jarod Lucas, Zach Reichle, or Alfred Hollins needs to find his stoke and help ease the scoring burden on the Beavers' big guns.

2. Can the Beavers dig deep and find consistency over the final five? Make no mistake about it, if the Beavers are going to push for the NCAA Tournament, it's going to be the hardest thing they've ever done. Thanks to being hamstrung by early-season miscues, the Beavers have left themselves little room for error and can't afford more than one more conference loss. If the Beavers could go 4-1 or 3-2 in the final five with a win in the Pac-12 tournament, that just might be enough to keep themselves on the bubble. With all that being said, however, it's going to require a level of focus and intensity that we perhaps haven't seen in the Tinkle era.

One Prediction

Oregon State earns a split in the desert: While the Beavers' NCAA Tournament hopes are on life-support with five conference games remaining, earning a split in the desert would still give themselves a chance down the stretch. Despite all the Beavers' struggles and inconsistency, they still boast four quadrant 1 wins and have the opportunity to get several more before the Pac-12 slate is concluded, giving them control of their own destiny. With that being said, I expect the Beavers to win one of these games this weekend. The Colorado loss certainly stung, and I expect them to come out firing against the Wildcats and Sun Devils.