Win Or Go Home...Again: #5 Oregon State Will Try For The Upset Against #1 Oregon In Pac-12 Semifinals

On Thursday night, #5 seed Oregon State shook up the Pac-12 Tournament by knocking off #4 seed UCLA in the Pac-12 quarterfinals.

On Friday, they’ll now try to advance to the Pac-12 Tournament finals by completing the two-day sweep against #1 seed Oregon.

The Beavers and Ducks will be meeting for the 357th time overall and the third time this season, with both teams claiming the away fixture in the two duels. For Oregon State, Friday’s clash with the Ducks is a chance to keep any shot at making the NCAA Tournament alive, as the Beavers 15-12 overall record and two Quadrant 4 losses will not nearly be enough to even get them in the conversation for the big dance.

For the Ducks, it’s all about maintaining their resume for quality seeding in the NCAA Tournament and a chance at winning a Pac-12 Tournament Championship, which could boost them above their widely projected 8-seed line.

Regardless of the outcome of this one though, head coach Wayne Tinkle should be given a massive amount of credit for the job he’s done with this squad, as a year and a month ago I was questioning if he should even be the coach in Corvallis anymore and now he has Oregon State in their first Pac-12 Tournament semifinals since 2012.

Yet, for the players, especially guys like Ethan Thompson, who became the program’s all-time leader in games started (121) on Thursday night, who have given it all to Oregon State over the length of their career, the want for the season to continue is more than there.

Here’s to hoping Saturday is a day of celebration and preparation for a Pac-12 Tournament final and not a day of remorse and reflection on a season that definitely has outlived expectations.

Game Info

• Date: Friday, March 12th
• Time: 5:30 PM PT
• Location: T-Mobile Arena (Las Vegas, Nevada)
• Coverage: Pac-12 Networks