Paul Sancya / Associated Press
The Oregon State Beavers are on their way to the second weekend of the 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
The No. 12 seed in the Midwest region upset the fourth-seeded Oklahoma State Cowboys 80-70 in the second-round pick at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Ethan Thompson and Maurice Calloo took the lead for the Beavers, who advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1982.
A late push and 24 points on just 6-out-20 Cade Cunningham’s shooting was not enough for the Cowboys, who have not reached the second round since 2005.
Remarkable player statistics
- Ethan Thompson, G, OF ST: 26 PTS, 7 REB
- Jarod Lucas, G, OF ST: 15 PTS, 6 REB
- Maurice Calloo, F, OF ST: 15 PTS, 5 REB, 3-of-5 3PT
- Cade Cunningham, G, OK ST: 24 PTS, 5 STL, 4 REB, 3 AST
- Avery Anderson III, G, OK ST: 16 PTS, 4 STL, 4 AST, 3 REB
Ethan Thompson’s Clutch Play Holds Oklahoma State Complaint
Sometimes it is just necessary to warm up at the right time to change the trajectory of an entire season.
Oregon State was completely mediocre at 11-11 overall and 7-9 in Pac-12 play in late February when something switched. The Beavers have won three of their last four games in the regular season and then three legal victories over tournament teams in UCLA, Oregon and Colorado in the conference tournament to secure the Pac-12 crown.
They called during the Big Dance with a 14-point victory over Tennessee and retained their spot where they left off Sunday by jumping to a double-digit lead in the first half.
It’s the bench that set the early tone as Calloo caught fire from deep and Dearon Tucker swung four shots before the break. It was Calloo (5.2 PPG) who provided the spark, emphasizing how different this Beavers team was from the one that permeated a large part of the schedule.
Contributions from the bench were all the more important with leading scorer Thompson in and out of the series with dirty problems. Jarod Lucas hit the start for the starting lineup by hitting from deep, while Warith Alatishe and Roman Silva struggled for plates.
Despite these efforts, the state of Oklahoma has pushed the lead to a minimum of two with a second half and it looks like he is ready to take over. Instead, Thompson returned to the floor and helped withstand the storm by avoiding turnover as he broke the press and calmly drilled 15-out-16 free throws into a whistle-heavy game.
He also hit a clutch jumper over Cunningham’s teeming defense and made six strokes from the charity line in the final two minutes to secure the win.
Oklahoma State’s tumultuous return falls short
Cunningham is always in the spotlight when the Oklahoma State takes the court, but that was especially the case after being just 3-out-14 off the field on Friday, in his first NCAA tournament.
Avery Anderson III came to the rescue in the win over Liberty, but he found himself in trouble early against the Beavers and was relatively quiet in the first half. This, coupled with more off-field battle for Cunningham, caused problems for the Cowboys as they fell behind by as many as 18 before the break.
Cunningham hit some early tries in the second half to turn the momentum around, but the biggest difference was Oklahoma State’s decision to increase defensive pressure. It returned in the game by forcing a total of 20 turnovers, many of which came when Thompson was on the bench with bad trouble as Oregon State’s primary ball handler.
Anderson applied much of the defensive pressure and helped create opportunities on the other side. His ability to get to the release line and make a trophy also helped the Cowboys storm back well before storm time.
Yet the state of Oregon had an answer every time it looked like the state would eventually take over Oklahoma. Cunningham helped make one last push by helping a Keylan Boone try, stealing the ball and hitting another try to reduce the deficit to three, but the Cowboys were completely out of control.
They did not score a single field goal in the last 3:40 of the game, while forcing the problem against steady defense, which eventually ended their season.
What’s next?
The Beavers take on the Chicago Ramblers’ eighth seeded Loyola next weekend.