Top-seeded Gonzaga has its sights set on one last West Coast Conference tournament title before it bids adieu to the league and departs for the rebuilt Pac-12.
The No. 12-ranked Bulldogs will begin pursuit of their 22nd tournament title in the past 28 campaigns when they meet Oregon State in the semifinals on Monday night in Las Vegas.
The fourth-seeded Beavers (17-15) reached the semis by edging fifth-seeded San Francisco 78-77 on Sunday night. Oregon State didn’t score until 6:22 had elapsed and later led by nine points with 85 seconds left before holding off a frantic rally by the Dons.
The Beavers also are leaving the WCC after the season to return to the Pac-12. They spent the past two seasons in the WCC after the Pac-12 imploded with schools transferring to three different conferences.
Oregon State will return to the Pac-12 without 12th-year coach Wayne Tinkle, who was dismissed on Feb. 26 but will remain the team’s coach until the season’s end.
“It will take a yeoman’s effort (Monday),” Tinkle said after the win over San Francisco. “We’re going to enjoy this a little bit and know we have a really tough challenge against Gonzaga.”
The Bulldogs (28-3) have won 11 of the last 13 tournament crowns, with second-seeded Saint Mary’s winning the other two (2019, 2024).
Gonzaga went 16-2 in WCC play during the regular season, stunningly losing to host Portland on Feb. 4 and falling at Saint Mary’s on Saturday in the regular-season finale.
Bulldogs big man Graham Ike was the WCC Player of the Year. He averaged a conference-best 19.7 points per game, ranked second with 8.3 rebounds, and led the WCC with 56.4% shooting from the field.
Ike played his first two college seasons at Wyoming before suiting up for three seasons with Gonzaga. He leads all active players nationally with 2,492 career points and is second with 1,118 rebounds.
“Try to dominate as much as I can,” Ike said of his approach. “Rebound as much as I can. I don’t know, man, I just love playing this game with great passion. Just trying to do all the little things to help us win.”
Ike has excelled in three matchups against Oregon State over the past two seasons, with outputs of 35, 26 and 22 points. The 35-point outing came in this season’s lone meeting, an 81-61 road win for the Zags on Feb. 7.
“It’s about getting our guys more dialed into the game plan,” Tinkle said of defending Ike. “He’s really good.”
The Beavers and Bulldogs split last season’s two meetings.
Gonzaga remains without Braden Huff (knee), who has missed the past 13 games. His 17.8-point scoring average is second-best on the squad.
Jalen Warley (quadriceps) missed the final two regular-season games but is expected to be available Monday. He’s averaging 7.1 points.
“Obviously, it really impacts us because he does so much and he definitely keeps us organized,” Bulldogs coach Mark Few said of Warley’s absences. “He makes all those hustle plays and all those important plays.”
Oregon State has drawn motivation and incentive from the dismissal of Tinkle, who led the program to the Elite Eight in 2021.
But with Tinkle having just two 20-win seasons during his time in Corvallis, athletic director Scott Barnes decided it was time to try a new approach in conjunction with the change in conferences.
Playing their second game since the dismissal announcement, the Beavers started the game 0-for-6 shooting with five turnovers and staring at an 11-0 deficit before getting things together.
Dez White scored 18 points on six 3-pointers, and Josiah Lake II also had 18 points for the Beavers.
“It’s been a really emotional 10 days,” Tinkle said. “… We tried really hard to make it about us, the team, and played our ball.”
Second-seeded Saint Mary’s will face third-seeded Santa Clara in the other tournament semifinal on Monday night.
–Field Level Media
