Oregon State Beavers
Record: 19-12 (9-9 Pac-12)
Head coach: Wayne Tinkle (2nd season)
Season Recap: The Beavers are at their best when they rebound and get to the free throw line. Senior guard Gary Payton II leads Oregon State on the boards and averages 7.9 rebounds per game and contributes a team-high 15.9 points per game. The Beavers enter the tournament with a strong resume buoyed by wins against Oregon, California, Utah and Southern California, but most recently suffered a 76-68 loss to the Golden Bears in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 tournament.
The Beavers rank 62nd in basketball statistician Ken Pomeroy's adjusted defensive efficiency metric and have the size to go toe-to-toe with any team in the tournament, boasting six players on the roster who stand 6-foot-10 or higher.
How they make a run: Oregon State’s bigs assert themselves in the paint and Payton heats up in the backcourt as the Beavers make some noise in the West region.
How they falter: The Beavers struggle to compete on the boards and defend the 3-point line against a high-scoring opponent, and fall in the second round to second-seeded Oklahoma.
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