Coach Wayne Tinkle has built a competitive roster at Oregon State Basketball. The Pac 12 is as wide open as it has ever been. Can the Beavers finish the season at the top of the Pac-12?
West Coast basketball has left a lot to be desired this season. Possibly the most surprising conference in the entire country is the Pac 12. The Pac 12 is normally a very deep conference that can ensure themselves multiple NCAA tournament bids. This year is going to much different for the schools that constitute the Pac 12 conference. The conference has destroyed any equity it potentially could have built up with a dreadful non-conference season.
The traditional powerhouses in the conference of Arizona, Oregon, and UCLA are going through a rebuilding process. The Ducks and the Wildcats both were implicated in the FBI probe and neither team has seemed to recover from that as well as many hoped they would. Oregon has spiraled out of control. The injuries and lack of depth they have experienced is really taking a toll on the Ducks. Arizona is undefeated in the conference but has not had a signature good win. They have a win over Iowa State, but other than that lone in Maui they do not a single good out of conference win.
With the conference appearing to be up for grabs this season, a new experienced team may rise up and claim the regular season crown. The Oregon State Beavers are the team who has been playing the best basketball as of late. The Beavers have no tradition in basketball and are a perennial doormat in the league. The team is experienced, they are coached well, and they have the early front runner for the Pac 12 player of the year. Oregon State is a real threat to win the conference and if they win enough games, they have an outside shot at an at-large into the NCAA tournament. How are the Beavers a favorite at this point to win the conference?