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Warith Alatishe looks to lead Oregon State Basketall to a win over Tennessee

By Jacob Stevenson

Mar 13, 2021; Las Vegas, NV, USA; The Oregon State Beavers cheer as head coach Wayne Tinkle presents the Pac-12 Tournament trophy after the Beavers defeated the Colorado Buffaloes 70-68 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 13, 2021; Las Vegas, NV, USA; The Oregon State Beavers cheer as head coach Wayne Tinkle presents the Pac-12 Tournament trophy after the Beavers defeated the Colorado Buffaloes 70-68 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oregon State Basketball
Ethan Thompson Oregon State Basketball (Photo by Soobum Im/Getty Images) /

Oregon State Basketball has been red hot as of late winning seven out of their last nine and will need to continue their positive play against Tennessee to keep their season alive.

The Beavers had a surprising run in the NCAA tourney where they have won three in a row and defeated three NCAA tournament teams in UCLA, Oregon, and Colorado. This is the same Oregon State team that lost 5 out of 7 in the middle of the year and lost to a Portland team that was winless in the WCC and Wyoming. With the improvement the Beavers have made this season, they have jumped from 153rd to 85th a 68 spot jump.

Wayne Tinkle has done an incredible job with this group. He would have had my vote for the PAC-12 coach of the year and he deserves a ton of credit for taking a team that was voted last in the PAC-12’s media poll to the NCAA tournament.

This Tennessee team that Oregon State is playing is one of the best defensive teams in the country rating 4th in Kenpom’s defensive efficiency. The Volunteers are super athletic and have lots of versatile defenders that could give the Beavers problems.

But speaking of the great job Tinkle has done, Oregon State started to mix defenses in the middle of the year especially during the Washington State game. According to the Three-man-weave, Oregon State played zone on more than 25 percent of their possessions this year. With Tennessee having struggled to shoot from distance, ranking 11th in 3 point percentage in conference play. I think you can expect Tinkle to mix up his defenses in this matchup.

Regardless, these are my three keys for Oregon State to upset Tennessee and continue their season.

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