Oregon State Basketball: 2017-18 season preview for the Beavers

Season Outlook

The Oregon State Beavers’ favorable non-conference schedule should allow them to enter Pac-12 play with a winning record. If they can finish with fewer than four losses, they should be set up pretty well entering conference play. This is where their chances of making the NCAA Tournament can be eliminated pretty quickly. Unlike teams in other major conferences, Pac-12 teams are usually not given a NCAA Tournament bid with more than 10 losses. This means Oregon State would need to have a winning record in Pac-12 play, even if they do finish non-conference play with only one or two losses. This would mean picking up multiple wins against the top four teams in the conference and going perfect in the other 10 games, a task that will probably prove too much for the Beavers.

In the end, the ceiling for Oregon State is probably the NIT and a fifth to eighth place finish in the Pac-12. They will be competing with Stanford, Utah and Arizona State in the middle of the Pac-12, and only one of these teams really has a chance for a NCAA Tournament bid. Individually, the Beavers have plenty of players that could compete for All-Conference honors. Tres Tinkle and Drew Eubanks should both be in the conversation for All-Pac-12 team honors and Ethan Thompson could find his way onto the All-Freshman team.

Next: Projecting the Arizona Wildcats' Starters

The team Wayne Tinkle has put together this season should have a better record than the disappointing finish Oregon State had last season, but right now they do not look like a NCAA Tournament team. A lack of big win opportunities in the non-conference slate and a really tough Pac-12 schedule will be working against Oregon State come March.