“Peaking in March”

That’s what head coach Wayne Tinkle has been hoping for the Oregon State University men’s basketball team all season. 

Now that the regular season is over, the team is gearing up for the West Coast Conference tournament. This is the first time since the 1989-1990 season that OSU has gotten at least 20 wins in the regular season.

Despite the fruitful season, OSU is coming off of two losses. One to the University of San Fransisco at home and another to Saint Mary’s College, the conference leader.

Ending with losses isn’t the worst thing that could happen, according to some members of the team.

“There’s definitely some confidence because we saw we can play with two of the best teams in the league,” guard Liutauras Lelevicius said. “On the other hand, we just have to let it go because we have a postseason ahead of us and then these games are irrelevant to us right now.”

Guard Josiah Lake II agreed and is looking into the postseason with hope.

“We’re super confident as a team, we know that we made some mistakes and let two games slip, but our momentum’s there and I think our fire’s there too,” Lake II said. “It’s not a good thing we lost but I think everyone’s humble and ready to play in Vegas.”

If the Beavers were to win the tournament, they’d have to win four games in four days. Being the fifth-ranked team in the WCC, they’ll have their first game in the third round of the tournament. 

“We’re professional basketball players, I mean, you just have to do what you have to do,” Lelevicius remarked. “We’re ready for that, we’re not afraid of playing four games in a row if we need to.”

Unlike the former Pac-12 tournaments, where the top four seeds got a bye and the rest competed in a standard single-elimination bracket, every day in the WCC they see two new teams playing their first game. 

The top two seeds only have to win two games to win it all, while the tenth and eleventh seeds would have to win six in a row to take home the title. Pepperdine University beat the University of Portland, Friday night and will be facing OSU.

“You got two teams that you got to prepare for, so you got to kind of plan your week,” Tinkle said. “Right now our focus is on the Beavers the next couple of days. As we get closer to leaving for Vegas we’ll start throwing some things from those two opponents.”

The Beavers have beaten Pepperdine in both of their battles this season, and are split against Portland, with a win at home and a loss on the road.

The third round of the WCC tournament, when OSU first plays, will take place on March 8. The tournament began on March 6 with a win by the University of San Diego over the University of the Pacific. The bracket will host one round each day until the championship game on March 11.