Oregon St. @ San Jose St. preview

Oregon State takes a three-game winning streak with it to Las Vegas where it will face San Jose State on Wednesday night in the Las Vegas Classic at the Orleans Arena. With a win, the Beavers (5-1) can equal their best start through seven games to a season since the 1980-81 team opened 26-0.

Eight other Oregon State teams have started a season with a 6-1 mark since then. The Beavers, whose lone loss was to Oklahoma (77-69) in the Phil Knight Invitational in Portland on Nov. 12, have bounced back to win at Wyoming (83-63) and then win home games over UC Santa Barbara (78-67) and Saturday against Grambling State (80-58). "Other than a few possessions when we lost our focus and maybe a little bit of energy in the first half, I thought we were pretty locked in defensively," Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle told the Corvallis Gazette-Times after the Beavers held the Tigers to just 37 percent shooting, including 32 percent in the second half. San Jose State also holds a 83-76 win over Grambling State last Wednesday but comes in off a 91-76 home loss to Portland State last Saturday.

TV: 11 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1

ABOUT OREGON STATE (5-1): Guard Tres Tinkle is a triple-threat for the Beavers, leading the team in scoring (21.7 points per game), which also ranks 17th in the NCAA, rebounding (9.5) and assists (4.7) while also shooting 40 percent from 3-point range. Junior guard Ethan Thompsom is second in scoring (13.7), rebounding (5.5) and assists (4.2) and was a preseason All-Pac-12 Second Team pick. Kylor Kelley, a 7-foot junior, also is averaging in double figures (13.2) and had a career-high 22 points to go with seven rebounds and seven blocks in the win over Grambling.

ABOUT SAN JOSE STATE (3-3): The Spartans, who opened the season with an impressive 79-71 win over a Hofstra squad that has since defeated UCLA, are playing their second Pac-12 opponent of the season, losing at Arizona, 87-39, on Nov. 14. Sophomore guard Seneca Knight, who had a career-high 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting against Grambling, leads the team in scoring (12.7) and rebounding (6.3) while junior guard Richard Washington, who began his career at Wake Forest, is second in both scoring (11.2) and rebounding (6.2). Senior forward Craig LeCesne (10.2) also is averaging in double figures.

TIP-INS

1. Oregon State leads the series with San Jose State, 2-0, with the last meeting in 1986 in the Far West Classic in Portland when a freshman guard named Gary Payton finished with six points and nine assists in a 65-55 victory.

2. Kelley is tied for second in the nation in blocked shots per game (4.33) behind Georgia Tech's James Banks III (4.50).

3. Tinkle (1,791) needs 382 points to pass Payton (2,172) to become the all-time leading scorer in Oregon State history.

PREDICTION: Oregon State 80, San Jose State 61