No. 12, Oregon State, upset the Oklahoma State Cowboys quarterbacks at Hinkle Fieldhouse 80-70 on Sunday night to advance to the Sweet 16 in the Midwest region of the NCAA tournament.
Senior guard Ethan Thompson led the Beavers with 26 points on 5-of-11 shots and seven rebounds. Oregon State also got a strong, unexpected rise from junior striker Maurice Calloo, who scored 15 points in the first half. Calloo entered the game with an average of 5.2 points.
Cade Cunningham, a freshman from Oklahoma State, NBA lottery coach of the all-American and projected first team, finished with 24 points, four rebounds and three assists, but the Cowboys squandered possessions length of the stretch by not getting the ball.
The Beavers scored 44 points in the first half, the most allowed by Oklahoma State in a first half this season. His 44-30 lead at halftime was also the biggest deficit of the season at Oklahoma State. The Cowboys shot 27.7% from the ground during the game, their worst shooting performance since 2014.
After the game, Thompson said, “This team had big goals for the season. One of them was to win a Pac-12 tournament championship, also a Pac-12 regular season championship, of course, but we didn’t. do that. We have the tournament championship. The ultimate goal is to win the NCAA championship. “
Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle curbed emotions after the game. His father was dean of students at Loyola-Chicago, the team the Beavers will face at Sweet 16 on March 27th.
“I grew up on their campus,” Tinkle said.
He added: “Coach Moser has done a hell of a job. They are a great team. That would mean something extra special for me and my family.”
Tinkle also took the opportunity to talk about the Pac-12, now 6-0 in the NCAA tournament.
“We have talented and talented teams in our league,” he said. “Obviously we are warning everyone. I am very happy for our program, but I am very happy for the Pac-12 conference.
“Maybe now we’ll have a damn respect.”
Oregon State has now won five straight playoff games: three in the Pac-12 tournament and two in the NCAA tournament. According to ESPN Stats & Information research, the probability of winning Beavers BPI was less than 30% in each of these games and the odds of winning all five were approximately 1 in 2,800.
With Oregon State winning, there will be at least four double-digit seeds in the Sweet 16 for the third time, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Oral Roberts (15), Oregon State (12) and Syracuse (11) are already there, and (11) UCLA plays against (14) Abilene Christian on Monday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.