A lot has happened since Oregon State and Oregon first matched up on Jan. 3.

OSU won that game in Corvallis 70-57, but it has been the Ducks who have leapt to the top of the Pac-12 standings by going 9-3 since then. OSU is 6-7 in conference with three wins of their last four, while Oregon lost both games last week at California and Stanford.

Still, Oregon heads into Saturday’s 7 p.m. Civil War game in Eugene while ranked No. 16 in the nation with a 15-0 record in Matthew Knight Arena this season.

“People are trying to say they tripped up last week,” said head coach Wayne Tinkle. “Well, they played arguably one of the best home teams in the conference — Cal. And they drew Stanford after that, who were reeling after a tough loss to us. So it’s tough on the road, no matter how talented you are. You can get beat when you’re not at your best.”

Though the Ducks have lost two straight, they are still 6-2 in the last month and three of their six losses this year were by four points or less. Still, that doesn’t worry the Beavers, whose win over Oregon in January ended a four-game winning streak for the Ducks.

“They were playing hot right before they played us, too, last time,” said senior guard Langston Morris-Walker. “But they’re a great team. Coach Altman does a great job with their guys, but I like our chances on Saturday.”

Gomis Out, Payton II bruised

Senior forward Daniel Gomis has been ruled out for Saturday’s game and possibly longer, according to coach Tinkle. Gomis has missed the last four games with a stress fracture in his right shin and missed time earlier in the year with a broken hand.

“We don’t anticipate getting him back anytime soon,” Tinkle said.

Tinkle added that the rest of the team is generally healthy despite a few “nicks” here and there. Senior guard Gary Payton II, for example, is wearing a shooting sleeve on his left arm due to a bone bruise he sustained in last week’s Stanford game while attempting to block a fast break dunk attempt.

“I just tried to block his shot, and he dunked it quick,” Payton II said. “I hit my whole elbow on the backboard. I’ll never do that again.”

He’ll wear the shooting sleeve until it stops hurting, which he estimates will take a couple weeks. When he plays, though, the pain level is only a “discomfort.”

Bracketology

NCAA Tournament expectations for the Pac-12 are becoming clearer as the season enters the home stretch. OSU, with five games remaining before the conference tournament, is right on the bubble of making the field of 68 teams come March.

This week, USA Today and CBS Sports put OSU as a No. 8 seed, while ESPN had OSU in the top eight teams just outside the bracket.

“It’s there for us to take it, we’ve just got to buckle down and fight,” Payton II said.

“I just want to win all the games,” Morris-Walker said. “I don’t know how many games we have to win or what our placing will be in the NCAA Tournament. I try to stay away from that. But I know the more games we win, the more likely we are to get in, and I know we’re right on the bubble.”

Brooms at the Ready

When the Beavers face the Ducks on Saturday, they will be attempting to complete a Civil War sweep for the first time in six years.

In the first Civil War game this season, Gill Coliseum’s first sellout crowd since 2012 witnessed OSU take down Oregon, 70-57, with freshman forward Tres Tinkle’s 19 points leading five Beavers in double figures. The Ducks never held a lead in that game and trailed by as much as 18 in the second half.

Sophomore forward Dillon Brooks, who currently leads Oregon with 17.2 points per game, shot 4-of-11 from the field and 1-for-5 on 3-pointers, totaling 13 points.

“He’s a good player and we just hope to be able to stop him (on Saturday) the way we did last time,” Morris-Walker said.

OSU will have to travel to Eugene for this Civil War, though the Beavers did win their first road Pac-12 game of the year a week ago versus Stanford. Still, OSU is just 2-13 in Pac-12 games away from Corvallis under coach Tinkle.

“This is another big rivalry game,” Tres said. “(We) treat it like a home game just because it’s up in the air for anybody.”