Oregon State is the rare program with a dominating record against the powerhouse Gonzaga program.
The catch is the teams last met during the 1990-91 season when the Bulldogs were still four seasons away from their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. So it goes that No. 16 Gonzaga is just 2-25 all-time against the Beavers entering Thursday night’s West Coast Conference matchup at Corvallis, Ore.
The teams are meeting for the first time in 34 years now that Oregon State is in the first season of a two-year stay in the WCC after the breakup of the Pac-12.
Now the Beavers (13-5, 3-2 WCC) will be looking for an upset as they look to beat the Zags for the 13th straight time. Gonzaga last beat Oregon State in 1932. The Bulldogs are 1-8 all-time in Corvallis and it looks like they will be playing in front of a rare sellout crowd at Gill Coliseum on the Oregon State campus.
The Beavers’ last home sellout (9,301) came against No. 14 Oregon on Feb. 8, 2020. Oregon State pulled off a 63-53 upset win.
“We all know that when Gill is packed, our guys play at such a high level, and it does have a profound effect on our opponents as well,” Beavers coach Wayne Tinkle said, according to The Oregonian. “We’re really looking forward to an incredible environment Thursday.”
Oregon State is 10-1 at home this season, while Gonzaga has won 11 consecutive true road games dating to last season. Only Saint Mary’s (12) owns a longer streak.
The Bulldogs (14-4, 5-0) are playing their second straight casualty of the Pac-12 after notching an 88-75 home win over Washington State.
Gonzaga coach Mark Few is happy the two schools landed in the WCC as he feels their presence has strengthened the conference. Gonzaga, Oregon State and Washington State will all be part of a rebuilt Pac-12 beginning with the 2026-27 season.
“The (WCC) is going to be a lot tougher this year,” Few said after the victory over Washington State. “The additions are very, very good. They’re big, they’re physical and they have some nice players.”
Oregon State standout Michael Rataj is one of the players Few is impressed by. He leads the Beavers in scoring (16.6 points per game), rebounding (8.5), steals (38 total) and blocked shots (13).
Parsa Fallah is second on the squad with a 12.3 scoring average. Nate Kingz also is in double digits (11.4) and has knocked down a team-best 35 3-pointers with a stellar percentage of 49.3 behind the arc.
Fallah tied his season high of 25 points in Saturday’s 91-55 victory at Pacific. It marked the third time this season he has scored 25. He also had 24 two nights earlier in an 82-81 road overtime win over Santa Clara. Kingz added 20 points against Pacific during a contest in which the Beavers made 31 of 32 from the free-throw line.
Gonzaga has won five straight games since the start of WCC play. The Bulldogs have six players scoring in double digits, with Graham Ike leading the team in both scoring (16.6) and rebounding (7.4).
Ike scored 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting against Washington State. It was his seventh 20-point outing of the campaign.
Khalif Battle averages 13.4 points, and Ryan Nembhard and Braden Huff each contribute 11.4 points per game. Nembhard ranks second nationally with 9.4 assists per game, just behind Louisiana Tech’s Sean Newman Jr. (9.5).
Ben Gregg (10.2) and Nolan Hickman (10.0) also score in double figures. Hickman has made a team-best 40 treys.
–Field Level Media
