The 12-seeded Oregon State Beavers knocked off the 8-seeded Loyola Chicago Ramblers, 65-58, to advance to the program’s first Elite 8 since 1966. The Beavers also made the Elite 8 in 1982, though it has since been vacated by the NCAA.
Defense led the way for the Beavers, as they held the Ramblers to 33% from the field and 21% from three. Senior guard Ethan Thompson scored more than a third of the Beavers’ points, dropping 22 on 6-13 shooting.
Cameron Krutwig muscled his way to 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists for the Ramblers. Sophomore guard Braden Norris dropped 10 points and 6 dimes, and played all 40 minutes for the Ramblers.
Defensive Slugfest
The first half was dominated by defense, as the teams combined for only 40 points. The Beavers in particular, played an incredible half of defense.
The Ramblers shot only 17% from the field, and made only 1 three. Only two Ramblers, Krutwig and Norris, had made field goals at halftime. Their bench was not doing them any favors either, with 0 points on 0-10 shooting.
“They’re a very talented team and a well-balanced team, and they run a great offense,” Thompson said. “Defensively, we picked up on some tendencies mid-game, and we were able to communicate and lock-in defensively.”
With under 5 minutes remaining in the half, the Beavers seemed to finally find their stride. The team ended the half on an 11-0 run, grabbing an 8-point lead entering halftime. Thompson led the way for the Beavers, scoring 7 of those 11 points.
Second-half shootout
Shots began to fall in the second-half as each team, in the final fram alone, outscored the game’s point total from the first half.
Both teams got hot, and traded buckets in the first minutes of the second-half. An 11-4 run from the Beavers gave them a 13-point lead. They maintained that for most of the rest of the game.
It seemed that every run the Ramblers made was met with a counterpunch from the Beavers. Thompson acted as the team’s safety valve, hitting late shot-clock shots when the Beavers offense began to stall.
Rambler make their run
When the going got tough, the Ramblers responded. They went on a 20-10 run, pulling their deficit down to just 3 points with 3:31 remaining.
Jarod Lucas hit a tough jumper to stop the bleeding for the Beavers. From there, the team was able to stiff-arm the Ramblers with tough shots answering tough shots.
With only 90 seconds left, the lead was 4 for the Beavers, and the Ramblers needed a stop. Right before the shot clock hit 0, Thompson found Lucas for a right wing three, effectively the dagger. The Beavers were able to hit their free-throws down the stretch and survive the Ramblers’ late push.
Up Next
After yet another upset, the Midwest Region’s 12-seed finds itself in the Elite Eight. The Beavers were picked to finish dead-last in the Pac 12 this season, and defied all odds to make it here. They will move on to play the winner of Syracuse – Houston on Monday March 29.
“This is our time,” Beavers’ head coach Wayne Tinkle said. “It’s meant to be.”
