Arkansas-Pine Bluff @ Oregon St. preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 9, 2017 ) Arkansas-Pine Bluff 58, Oregon St. 85

Oregon State takes a six-game winning streak into Saturday afternoon's non-conference home game with Arkansas-Pine Bluff. With a win, the Beavers can equal their longest winning streak since their 1992-93 team won seven in a row.

Oregon State has already equaled its best start since its 1980-81 squad opened 26-0. A big reason for the hot start is the play of all-Pac-12 forward Tres Tinkle, the son of head coach Wayne Tinkle. The 6-8 Tinkle leads the Pac-12 in scoring (21.4 per game) and assist/turnover ratio (2.79) and has made huge strides with his outside shot, connecting on 19-of-40 3-pointers (47.5 percent) after never shooting better than 36.3 percent beyond the arc in his three previous full seasons. "When I release it, it was fine," Tinkle, who credits assistant coach Kerry Rupp with tightening up his shooting mechanics, told oregonlive.com. "But it was the things before. It was a bunch of wasted motions." Now Tinkle will get to test a Golden Lions defense that has struggled defending the arc, ranking in a tie for 141st nationally (31.6 percent) in 3-point percentage defense while allowing an average of 6.8 treys per game.

TV: 6 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network

ABOUT ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF (1-7): The Golden Lions have played just one home game -- a 75-67 victory over Champion Christian College -- and come in off a 59-50 loss at UTEP on Saturday. Junior forward Shaun Doss, a returning starter from a team that finished 10-8 in the SWAC last season, leads the team in scoring (12.3). Junior forward Markedric Bell is also averaging double figures (10.9) to go along with 5.4 rebounds per game for the Golden Lions who are averaging just 51.4 points per game while shooting 39.1 percent from the field.

ABOUT OREGON STATE (7-1): Tinkle, who also leads the team in rebounds (8.6) and assists (4.9), has scored in double figures in 73 consecutive games, the second-longest streak in Oregon State history behind former NBA star Mel Counts (89). Junior guard Ethan Thompson is second in scoring (14.6), rebounding (5.3) and assists (4.3). Kylor Kelley, a 7-foot senior forward, also is averaging in double figures (10.4) and leads the nation in blocked shots per game (4.50) while junior guard Zach Reichle is averaging 10.1 points and is 10-for-14 from the field over the last two games.

TIP-INS

1. Oregon State holds a 3-0 series lead over the Golden Lions including a 85-58 victory in the last meeting on Dec. 9, 2017 at Gill Coliseum when Tinkle scored 19 points.

2. The Beavers lead the Pac-12 and are fifth in the nation in assist/turnover ratio (1.56).

3. Tinkle (1,832) needs to score 341 more points to pass Gary Payton (2,172) to become the all-time leading scorer in school history.

PREDICTION: Oregon State 87, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 53