The Oregon State Beavers are setting their sights on making a surprise appearance in March Madness after reaching the Finals stage of the Pac-12 tournament. Their underdog story will be completed once they overcome the third-seeded team in the Colorado Buffaloes on March 13.
Beavers head coach Wayne Tinkle and his men already overachieved when they garnered a 10-10 record in conference play, ultimately accounting for a 16-12 overall tally. They eventually headed to the Pac-12 tournament with the fifth seed after the Arizona Wildcats were deemed ineligible due to their self-imposed postseason ban.
They successfully dealt an upset to the fourth-seeded UCLA Bruins with a narrow 83-79 victory in overtime. The Beavers then eliminated their top-seeded rival in the Oregon Ducks in the semi-finals with a 75-64 triumph, ultimately setting up a finals tilt with the Buffaloes.
Article Continues BelowMeanwhile, Colorado didn't have an easy path to the Finals as well as they had to overcome the 11th seeded California Golden Bears who managed to put up a good fight against them. However, the Buffaloes proved to be steadier in crunch time as they avoided an upset and ran away with a 61-58 win.
They encountered another tough adversity when they met the No.2 seed USC Trojans in the semi-finals where they fought hard for a 72-70 victory. Both teams will certainly be eager to secure their spot in The Big Dance though the Beavers won't easily go down without a fight as the underdog team.
Head coach Wayne Tinkle and his team will aim to overcome the final battle in the Pac-12 tournament in a bid to return to March Madness for the first time since 2016.