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- After reaching the Elite Eight last season, Oregon State basketball is not good this year.
- In fact, the Beavers are historically bad and it’s a tough scene.
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Oregon State men’s basketball was one of the biggest Cinderella teams in history last year. That will not be the case this year.
After going 20-13 during the 2020/21 regular season, head coach Wayne Tinkle and the Beavers went on to earn a 12-seed in the NCAA Tournament. As such, Oregon State faced 5-seed Tennessee in the First Round.
The Beavers proceeded to blowout the Vols 70-56 and advanced to play 4-seed Oklahoma State in the second round, who they beat by 10. In the Sweet Sixteen, Oregon State knocked off 8-seed Loyola Chicago to reach its first Elite Eight since 1981-82.
Although the miraculous run came to an end at the hands of 2-seed Houston, the Beavers were thought to have “arrived” on the national level. Thus, Tinkle received a six-year contract extension and Oregon State was picked to finish tied for fourth in the Pac-12 with Arizona behind USC, Oregon and UCLA in the 2021-22 Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Preseason Media Poll.
However, this season has fallen far short of expectations. Far, far short.
With three games left in the regular season, the Beavers are currently 3-24. Their only wins have come against Portland State, Nicholls State and Utah.
In fact, Oregon State is so bad this year that they have made history.
According to Elias Sports Bureau, Oregon State is the first time (since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams) to make the Elite Eight and then lost 24 or more games in the following season. And it isn’t particularly close.
There are only two other teams to make the Elite Eight and then lose 20 games, and they each lost exactly 20 games. 1997-98 Louisville went 12-20 after going 26-9 the year prior and 2016-17 Oklahoma went 11-20 after going 29-8 in 2015-16.
Yikes.
Oregon State’s 20-win season in 2020-21 was its first since 2011-12 and only its second since 1989-90. To win 20+ games may not be the norm in Corvallis, and that’s okay, but to make history as a loser after an Elite Eight appearance is very tough for the players, the coaches, the fans, and everyone involved.