In a season marked by incremental progress, Oregon State took another step forward with last week’s surprising win over Southern California.

The Beavers (10-16, 4-11 Pac-12) look to build on the victory when they visit Washington State (11-15, 6-9) on Thursday.

Glenn Taylor Jr. scored 18 points and Jordan Pope added 16 in Oregon State’s 61-58 win over USC on Saturday. Dzmitry Ryuny provided a spark off the bench with nine points on three 3-pointers.

The Beavers won despite shooting a season-low 31.3 percent from the field.

“I thought we were as resilient and kept as good of body language as we’ve done all year,” Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle said. “This is one win, but it’s a great time because we have struggled a little bit of late, and they found a way to get it done.”

Washington State has won the past two meetings between the teams, including a thrilling 103-97 overtime victory on Feb. 28, 2022.

The Cougars snapped a two-game losing skid with a 56-51 win over in-state rival Washington on Saturday. TJ Bamba scored a team-high 20 points, while Mouhamed Gueye recorded his 11th double-double of the season with 17 points and 15 rebounds.

Forward DJ Rodman added nine rebounds for the Cougars, who outrebounded Washington 47-35. Washington State struggled on the offensive end but limited the Huskies to 33.9 percent shooting from the field and 4 of 18 (22.2 percent) from 3-point range.

“It was hard to get a bucket out there, but we were just gritty enough on the glass, getting ourselves second and third opportunities, and we defended really well,” Cougars coach Kyle Smith said.

The Cougars boast a promising core led by Gueye, who is averaging 13.8 points and 8.5 rebounds. The 6-foot-11 sophomore has scored in double figures 16 times this season.

Gueye will need another strong outing against an improving Oregon State squad, which has reached the 10-win mark after going 3-28 last season.

–Field Level Media