Wayne Tinkle knows there’s no rebuilding the old Pac-12. It isn’t possible to recapture the history and the emotion that accompanied regular matchups with national powerhouses like Arizona and UCLA, or the blood-fueled grudge match with Oregon.
But when his Beavers resume their long dormant series with Gonzaga on Thursday, Tinkle hopes that fans will see the positive of this new era for his program.
“To have a team like that coming in as a conference opponent makes up for the loss of maybe one or two programs that maybe carried that same weight out west the last few decades,” Tinkle said.
It’s strange times in college sports.
In less than a year, the Beavers joined the WCC and the Zags joined the Pac-12.
They’re conference opponents now in the WCC and will be again in two years when the reformed Pac-12 gets off the ground. In the fall, Gonzaga joined the conference as a non-football member, joining the Beavers, Washington State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Boise State, Colorado State and Utah State. It doesn’t take much insight to understand why that’s important for the Beavers.
In sports, like life, you are the company you keep.
Folks at Oregon State have been hesitant to use the S-word until the last ticket is sold, but a sellout at Gill Coliseum on Thursday is likely.
Beavers administrators claimed to have set a modern-era student attendance record in their narrow loss against Oregon in November, and believe they will break it again on Thursday.
Tinkle is unequivocal about the Beavers homecourt advantage when the building is full.
“It makes all the difference,” he said. “You can see it on your guys’ faces, when you’ve got a great crowd and the vibe and the energy … It’s just an incredible vibe. It can fire some opponents up but also over 40 minutes can tighten things up for them a little bit.
“We’ve had years where we’ve packed that thing the majority of the nights and it’s one of the tougher places to win. The last few years not so much because we haven’t won as much but we certainly think our group this year has deserved to get that fanbase back.”
The Beavers have sold out Gill four times in Tinkle’s tenure and won all four. The last was against Oregon in 2019.
While it could be argued that counting on high-profile opponents to boost the Beavers’ brand is what led to their excommunication from a power conference, visibility matters more than ever.
And this is a Beavers team that is starting to get some attention.
After three straight losing seasons, the Beavers are 13-5 with what seems to be Tinkle’s most complete roster since the surprise NCAA Tournament run of 2021. By going heavy on veteran transfers and international players, the Beavers have quickly rebuilt a roster that lost its two leading scorers to the transfer portal a year ago, among several others.
Is it good enough to knock off the Zags?
“It’s going to be a heck of a challenge,” Tinkle said. “But I think it’s going to be a great environment and the start of something pretty special between the two schools.”
Tinkle has notable ties to Thursday’s opponent. The Beavers coach grew up in the shadow of Gonzaga. His dad was the dean of students there in the 1970s, moving the family to Spokane for the job. He regularly played in open gyms with John Stockton and was recruited by Gonzaga before deciding to play at Montana. “I visited Gonzaga but they weren’t obviously the Gonzaga that they are now,” he said.
His daughter, Elle, played at Gonzaga from 2012-17 — and was initially recruited by now-Oregon women’s coach Kelly Graves.
The Beavers own a 25-2 all-time series record against Gonzaga, a number that speaks to the era in which the games were played. It has been, in fact, 34 years since the Beavers and Zags met.
Charles McKinney and Will Brantley combined to score 49 points in a 74-65 win on Jan. 7, 1991.
That night in Corvallis, Beavers coach Jimmy Anderson lamented how his team played. The Beavers required a late scoring surge to pull away from a Bulldogs’ team that the next day’s Oregonian described as “pesky.”
Anderson, who died last year at 86, said this of the Bulldogs: “They are a good team. Our players just didn’t realize it.”
It’s funny, isn’t it? The idea of the Zags sneaking up on anybody?
In the 34 years since, Gonzaga has won 905 games, reached the NCAA Tournament 27 times, including each of the past 26 seasons and seen 12 players get drafted in the first round of the NBA Draft. This spring they will try to reach the Sweet 16 for the 10th straight season.
The Beavers? Have cycled through six head coaches and made the NCAA Tournament just twice, both times under Tinkle.
It’s fair to say that the programs went their separate directions in more ways than one after that last meeting.
But Tinkle hopes the regionality of a rivalry renewed will appeal to fans who have seen Gonzaga rise from March Madness darling to juggernaut.
“I think it’s great for our program,” Tinkle said, “and the new, eventual Pac-12.”
— Bill Oram is the sports columnist at The Oregonian/OregonLive.
Tinkle sees the renewal of this series as an opportunity for his team to test themselves against one of the top programs in the country. Gonzaga, a perennial contender in college basketball, will provide a tough challenge for the Beavers, but Tinkle is confident that his team will rise to the occasion.
Beyond the individual matchup, Tinkle believes that the renewed series with Gonzaga will also benefit the Pac-12 as a whole. By competing against top-tier programs like Gonzaga, Oregon State and other Pac-12 teams can raise the profile of the conference and showcase the talent and competitiveness of West Coast basketball.
Overall, Tinkle is eager for the opportunity to face off against Gonzaga and believes that the renewed series will be a positive development for Oregon State and the Pac-12 conference. Fans can expect an exciting and competitive matchup when these two teams meet on the court.
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