After Stumble in Portland, No. 6 Gonzaga Looks to Regain Edge Against Oregon State
Gonzaga doesn’t lose often - and certainly not to Portland. But after Wednesday night’s surprising 87-80 road loss to the Pilots, the Bulldogs are suddenly looking a little more human.
Now, with a trip to Corvallis on deck, the No. 6 Zags are aiming to reset against an Oregon State team riding a wave of momentum.
Let’s not sugarcoat it: the loss to Portland was a shocker. Gonzaga had beaten the Pilots 20 straight times and hadn’t dropped a game in Portland since the early 2000s.
But on Wednesday, the Pilots flipped the script - and did it convincingly. They shot a blistering 59.3% from the field, controlled the tempo, and outplayed the Zags in just about every phase.
“They beat us in all facets,” head coach Mark Few said bluntly. “They just outplayed us, out-executed us, outshot us. When they got open shots, they made them - and we didn’t.”
That loss snapped Gonzaga’s 15-game win streak and raised a few eyebrows around the WCC. At 22-2 overall and 10-1 in conference play, the Zags are still very much in control of their season, but Few made it clear: the effort on the defensive end wasn’t up to standard.
“It’s hard to find any consistency on the defensive end,” he said. “We got some real inconsistent effort from some guys, and some guys probably didn’t bring what they were supposed to bring.”
Translation: Gonzaga can’t afford to sleepwalk through games - not in February, and definitely not against a hungry Oregon State team that’s figuring things out at the right time.
One bright spot in the loss? Graham Ike.
The big man did his part, putting up 24 points and 10 boards - another strong showing in a season where he’s averaging 19.0 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. But outside of Ike, the starting lineup struggled.
The other four starters combined for just 19 points on 5-of-16 shooting. That kind of imbalance won’t cut it, especially on the road.
And speaking of road games - Saturday’s matchup in Corvallis won’t be a walk in the park. Oregon State (13-12, 6-6) is coming off three straight comeback wins and playing some of its most inspired basketball of the season.
The Beavers have shown real resilience lately. On Jan. 28, they trailed Loyola Marymount by 11 in the first half before rallying for a 72-69 win.
Then came a wild one at San Diego, where they erased a 10-point deficit with under two minutes to play, forced overtime with an 11-1 run, and pulled out a 78-76 victory. And just this past Wednesday, they stormed back from 17 down in the second half to beat Washington State 74-64.
That’s not just winning - that’s building belief.
“They accepted the challenge that we put in front of them,” Oregon State head coach Wayne Tinkle said. “We played with way more pace and conviction.
Then defensively, we said ‘no more switching. Fight through, guard your guy.
No excuses. No explanations.’”
That kind of no-nonsense approach has paid off, especially for guard Josiah Lake II. The sophomore poured in 22 points against Washington State - 20 of them in the second half - marking his fourth 20-point game of the season. He’s the Beavers’ lone double-digit scorer on the year, averaging 13.5 points per game, but he’s starting to look more and more like a go-to guy in crunch time.
Oregon State is now part of a four-way tie for fourth place in the WCC, and Tinkle sees Saturday’s showdown as a chance to climb even higher.
“We mentioned to the team, we take care of business here at home, we’ll climb the table,” he said. “We’ve got some momentum going. We know we’re going to be facing a tough one on Saturday afternoon, but I’m glad that we’re learning lessons and still winning.”
Last season, these two split their matchups. Oregon State grabbed a 97-89 overtime win in Corvallis, while Gonzaga answered with a dominant 98-60 win at home.
That was the first time the programs had met since the 1990-91 season - back before Gonzaga became the national powerhouse we know today. Historically, the Beavers have the upper hand, winning 26 of the 29 all-time meetings.
But history won’t mean much when the ball tips on Saturday. What matters now is how Gonzaga responds.
After a rare stumble, the Bulldogs have a chance to show they’re still the team to beat in the WCC - but they’ll need more than just Graham Ike to get it done. Oregon State is surging, and if Gonzaga doesn’t bring the energy from the opening tip, they could find themselves in another fight they didn’t expect.