UC Santa Barbara @ Oregon St. preview
Gill Coliseum
Last Meeting ( Nov 21, 2015 ) Oregon St. 71, UC Santa Barbara 59
Oregon State is back home after notching its largest non-conference road victory in nearly seven years. UC Santa Barbara will serve as the opponent Wednesday night as the Beavers tip off a two-game homestand.
Coming off its lone loss of the season – a 77-69 defeat against Oklahoma in the Phil Knight Invitational in Portland, Ore. – earlier in the week, Oregon State traveled to Wyoming on Saturday and pulled away in the second half for an 83-63 win. Senior forward Tres Tinkle led five Beavers in double figures with 16 points as the visitors shot 49.1 percent from the field. It was the program’s largest margin of victory in a true non-conference road contest since a 92-66 win over Chicago State on Dec. 21, 2012. The Gauchos, of the Big West Conference, bring a two-game losing streak to Corvallis after opening the season with an 83-62 win over Jacksonville State.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network
ABOUT UC SANTA BARBARA (1-2): The Gauchos appeared to be headed to a 2-1 start Saturday but couldn’t hold a 22-point lead with 12:09 remaining in a stunning 82-81 home loss to Rice. Senior Max Heidegger scored a game-high 21 points to lead UC Santa Barbara – just above his team-leading average of 20.3 – while freshman forward Amadou Sou is averaging 15.3 points and a team-most 8.7 rebounds. Overall, the Gauchos are shooting 53.8 percent from the field and 78.6 percent from the free-throw line.
ABOUT OREGON STATE (3-1): Junior guard Zach Reichle had 10 points against Wyoming and has joined Tinkle, the son of Beavers head coach Wayne Tinkle, in double figures in each game this season while averaging an even 11 per outing. Tres Tinkle also is pacing the team with averages of 10.0 rebounds and 4.8 assists while guard Ethan Thompson (13.3 points) and forward Kylor Kelley (12.8) also boast double-figure scoring averages. The 7-foot Kelley, a 215-pound senior, is tops in the Pac-12 and ranks 14th nationally with an average of 3.3 blocked shots per game.
TIP-INS
1. Oregon State leads the series 3-2 after having defeated UC Santa Barbara in coach Tinkle’s first two seasons in Corvallis, winning 76-64 in 2014 and 71-59 the following season.
2. Tres Tinkle on Saturday moved into fifth place on the program’s all-time scoring list and needs 426 points to surpass leader Gary Payton (2,172). This Saturday’s game will be Tinkle’s 100th with the program.
3. The Gauchos, who lost at UCLA 77-61 on Nov. 10, are 1-9 against Pac-12 foes since 2015.
PREDICTION: Oregon State 81, UC Santa Barbara 72