After falling to Oregon State 97-89, Gonzaga moves to 0-3 in games finishing in overtime this season. Another Quad 1 opportunity was wasted by the Zags with their worst defensive performance in recent memory.
It’s a continuing trend for the Zags this season. Can’t close out games in the clutch as Oregon State outscored Gonzaga 14-6 during overtime. It shouldn’t have even gotten to that point.
Gill Coliseum in Corvallis was sold out with 9,000+ in attendance for the first time in five seasons. The Gonzaga effect is real. The last time these two programs met was 34 years ago back in 1991. The Beavers now own a 26-2 advantage in the series and this is just the start as both schools will be moving onto the Pac-12 Conference together in 2026-27.
Coming into this one, Oregon State’s size was going to be a factor with coach Wayne Tinkle have one of the biggest rosters in the West Coast Conference this season. Tinkle preaches a defensive mindset for all of his past teams and has the No. 33 scoring defense in the country while giving up just 64.6 points per game. This looked to counteract Gonzaga’s high-powered offense which ranks No. 4 scoring offense in the country at 87.8 points per game.
Oregon State’s defensive zone was giving Gonzaga a handful of problems throughout this one. The Beavers forced 12 turnovers which then turned into 19 points off turnovers. None more important than that Ben Gregg (15 points on 6-12 FG/1-4 3PT, 13 rebounds, four assists, two steals) turnover with about 34 seconds left in overtime which turned into two free throws for Josiah Lake II (11 points on 1-2 FG/9-10 FT, four rebounds, three steals, three blocks).
It was a mess of possessions over and over again, especially after once Graham Ike (26 points on 9-14 FG/7-8 FT and one unbelievable three-pointer to send this game into free basketball, nine rebounds) fouled out with about two minutes left in overtime. That was an extremely soft call by the refs in the closing moments of this one, by the way.
Once Ike was off the floor, it was game over. The Zags had no one step up once Ike was on the bench (especially Braden Huff who was invisible at times and finished with just four points in 11 minutes off the bench). A repeating theme for this group.
Gonzaga’s defensive intensity inside the paint was lacking physicality throughout this game. This is an Oregon State squad that can score inside-and-out and Michael Rataj (career-high 29 points on 9-15 FG/2-3 3PT/9-10 FT, seven rebounds, two assists, one block, one steal) made it his sole purpose to get whatever he wanted offensively. No one could body with him down low or get out on the perimeter when he let it fly.
The Beavers weren’t afraid to push the pace and play at Gonzaga’s level. It was looking like a track meet at times. Nate Kingz (20 points on 6-9 FG/3-4 3PT/5-6 FT, four rebounds, three steals, two blocks) was showing off his versatility in transition. He was catch-and-shooting, attacking the cup, doing it all. No answer to stopping him from the Zags and lost his whereabouts completely out on the floor multiple times. Kingz was wide open for looks from deep with no one in his vicinity.
Oregon State leads the WCC in three-point percentage with 38.1% for a reason. And the Zags allowing the Beavers to shoot 58.5% from the field and 42.9% on three-pointers is unacceptable.
What is most frustrating about this loss is Gonzaga had 19 offensive rebounds, so many second-chance opportunities. No one seemed to capitalize. Someone needs to step and deliver in a pinch for coach Mark Few when it matters most. Khalif Battle (15 points on 4-13 FG/1-7 3PT/6-6 FT, three steals)? Nolan Hickman (11 points on 4-11 FG/3-8 3PT, three assists)?
Oregon State (14-5, 4-2 conference record) has been dominant at home this season, moving into a 11-1 overall record. The Beavers got their first signature win on their March Madness resume.
Gonzaga (14-5, 5-1 conference record) is now 2-5 in Quad 1 opportunities but don’t have any bad losses as they’re 12-0 in Quad, 2, 3, and 4 games. The last time they won a Quad 1 game was at San Diego State all the way back on November 18th. The Zags will have some more cracks at Saint Mary’s, at Santa Clara, maybe at Washington State, possibly vs. San Francisco in the Chase Center coming up.
It was another disappointing late night out on the West Coast for the Zags but time to move on. Gonzaga hosts Santa Clara in the Kennel on Saturday, January 18th at 6 PM PT on ESPN+/KHQ. No games should be taken for granted in the stacked West Coast Conference.
Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on Twitter @a_cravalho