INDIANAPOLIS – The Oregon State, no. 12, Sunday night upset the fourth-seeded Oklahoma State Cowboys 80-70 at Hinkle Fieldhouse 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 shooting and seven rebounds. Oregon State also suffered a heavy and unexpected surge from junior forward Maurice Calloo, who scored 15 points in the first half. Calloo averaged 5.2 points in the game.
First-year student Cade Cunningham, an All-American and projected NBA draft lottery, finished in Oklahoma State with 24 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, but the Cowboys rushed shots and sometimes did not get the ball for him.
Although he did not commit in any way when asked if this was his last game, Cunningham spoke as if he were looking beyond the university.
“It was special,” he said when he played in Oklahoma State. ‘I think that’s the best way to describe it. I think the biggest thing is that I surrounded myself around great people. More than anything, it’s the thing I’m most proud of. That’s the thing, I feel like I grew up the most by being good people who pushed me to be someone good on the job and out of court. I’m definitely going to miss it. ‘
The Beavers scored 44 points in the first half, the most allowed by Oklahoma State in a first half this season. Their 44-30 halftime lead also represents the biggest backlog in Oklahoma States for the season. The Cowboys shot 27.7% off the floor for the game, their worst shooting performance since 2014.
“This team has had some big goals this season,” Thompson said after the game. ‘One of them was to win a Pac-12 tournament – of course a Pac-12 championship for regular seasons, but we did not do that. We got the tournament championship. The ultimate goal is to win the NCAA. championship. ‘
Oregon coach Wayne Tinkle held back emotions after the game. His father was a student dean of Loyola Chicago, the team the Beavers face in the Sweet 16 on Saturday.
“I grew up on campus,” Tinkle explained.
‘Coach [Porter] Moser did a hell of a job, “Tinkle said of the Ramblers. They are an excellent team. It’s really going to mean something extra special to me and my family. ‘
Oregon State was selected to finish last in the Pac-12 and had to win the conference tournament just to make it to the NCAA field. The Beavers pulled it off and then sailed past the No. 5 seeded Tennessee in the first round.
During his availability in the media, Tinkle took the opportunity to talk about the Pac-12, now 6-0 in the NCAA Tournament.
“We have some talented, talented teams in our league,” he said. “Of course we all bring knowledge. I’m very happy for our program, but I’m very happy for the Pac-12 conference.
“Maybe we’ll get damn respect now.”
Oregon State has now won five games in the playoffs – three in the Pac-12 tournament and two in the NCAA tournament. According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Beavers’ BPI chance of winning was less than 30% in each of the games, and the chance that they would win all five was about 1 in 2800.
With the victory of Oregon State, 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 in, and (11) UCLA play Monday against (14) Abilene Christian.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.