Wednesday night in Portland, Oregon, was a nightmare. The 87-80 loss to the Portland Pilots was arguably the worst in the coach Mark Few era and will hurt his No. 6 Gonzaga Bulldogs (22-2, 10-1 WCC) come Selection Sunday as a Quad 3 loss. But it’s time to move past.
The road trip through the Beaver State still isn’t complete, with a matchup with the Oregon State Beavers (13-12, 6-6 WCC) in Corvallis, Oregon, on Saturday, Jan. 6. It’s the only regular-season matchup between the two Pacific Northwest schools.
This is an opportunity to come out with a statement and improve on the previous mistakes before a battle for the top of the West Coast Conference standings at the Santa Clara Broncos next week. Bringing more energy from the tip on the defensive end is a must, and hopefully, a complete makeover in the rotation from Few. Especially at the point guard position between redshirt junior guard Braeden Smith and freshman guard Mario Saint-Supery. Just something to bring back some new life in the roster after suffering a historic upset.
Few touched on the recent inconsistent play from his unit as a whole when speaking to the media late on Jan. 4.
“It’s hard to find any consistency on the defensive end…. We got some real inconsistent effort from some guys, and some guys probably didn’t bring what they were supposed to bring. If everyone does their job and bring what they’re supposed to bring, we’ve been pretty darn good this year. But when they deviate from that and not bring what they’re supposed to bring, that really exposes us.” – Gonzaga coach Mark few
The last time the Zags and Beavers played on Jan. 19, 2025, it ended in another shocking upset, 97-89 in overtime at the Gill Coliseum. That was a completely different Oregon State squad last season, losing five key members to the transfer portal this past offseason.
Coach Wayne Tinkle’s current team is riding a three-game winning streak, including two straight second-half comebacks against the San Diego Toreros and Washington State Cougars, and is playing its best ball of the season. They aren’t the best overall shooting team that Gonzaga has come across, actually one of the worst at only hitting 42.1 percent from the field (ranks No. 317 in the country).
Oregon State Player to Watch For
Junior guard Josiah Lake II
2025-26 season averages: team-high 13.5 points on 49.7 field goal percentage/37.7 three-point percentage/83.2 free throw percentage, 4.2 rebounds, team-high 3.8 assists, team-high 1.5 steals per game
Josiah Lake II has made a jump in usage from his sophomore season to now. He continuously attacks the rack with aggression and gets to the free-throw line.
The former walk-on led the charge of the most recent 17-point comeback over Washington State, scoring 20 of his 22 points in the second half. He also snagged five rebounds in the win, reaching a .500 winning percentage in conference play.
The 6-2, 190-pound Lake II has been known for the clutch factor throughout 2025-26. His most memorable shot came in the 67-65 season-opening win on Nov. 3, over the North Dakota State Bison, with a go-ahead make with under three seconds remaining in the game.
Gonzaga’s Keys to the Game
Preach defensive pressure on the ball from the start
Oregon State doesn’t share the rock a whole lot at only 13.2 assists per game, which is also last in the conference rankings. The defensive miscues were evident in the backcourt on the Bluff, going under screens and allowing clean looks from beyond the arc. Switch everything and communicate clearly in what should be a loud opposing crowd.
Get back to the basics, force will inside the paint
After the Zags were beaten by the Pilots 40-26 with scoring at the rim, it’s necessary to give graduate forward Graham Ike (team-leading 19.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game) any sort of offensive support in the frontcourt. If there was any game for seven-foot sophomore center Ismaila Diagne to break out of his funk in his new role with redshirt junior forward Braden Huff out for the foreseeable future (left knee injury; no official timeline of a return), the time is now.
Take advantage of Oregon State’s lack of rebounding
The Beavers are in dead last place in the West Coast Conference with 32.0 boards per game. Crash the glass hard and relentlessly.
Gonzaga at Oregon State Betting Odds
According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Gonzaga is the favorite against Oregon State by 17.5 points. Moneyline for the Zags is at -3500 and +1280 for the Gaels. The over/under is set at 146.5.
The matchup between the two future members of the Pac-12 Conference is set for 3:00 p.m. PT on ESPN+/KHQ.
Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on X @a_cravalho
