3 Takeaways From Oregon State MBB's Win Over UC Irvine

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This isn’t Ralph Miller’s Orange Express, but the International Orange Express.

Oregon State men’s basketball, after a tumultuous offseason with the transfer portal, has a whole new roster for the Beavers this season, with many newcomers coming from overseas.

Head coach Wayne Tinkle and assistant coach Chris Haslam, former assistant coach at Utah State, have quietly put together a squad that has size, length, plays solid defense, and has multiple guys score in double figures.

Parsa Fallah, Matthew Marsh, Isaiah Sy, and Liutauras Lelevicius have all been solid pieces for the Beavers on both sides of the ball, in addition to the in-house talent that the team retained in the offseason, like Michael Rataj.

“When we’ve got LT at the three, Mike, Parsa, and Matt inside, We’ve got good shot blockers, but also guys, when we’re locked in, that are great hedgers of ball screens,” Tinkle said on the skillsets of Fallah, Marsh, Lelevicius, and Rataj.

“We can be in gaps and close and use our length to contest shots, bringing guys off the bench, but we haven’t gone down our bench real far in the post. Length is a key and fun for us moving forward if we can play different combinations and show more versatility.”

I was impressed with Fallah, the Southern Utah transfer, in the win over the Anteaters, particularly with his presence in the paint, passing, and ability to rebound and score through contact.

Fallah flashed that skillset against UC Irvine, scoring 12 points to go along with four rebounds and three assists, but likely could have had more of an impact in the post-game had it not been for the three fouls he had picked up.

However, he’ll be a guy that Tinkle can rely on in critical situations down the stretch of the season, especially since he’s a great option to complement Rataj and Damarco Minor.

Rataj had 13 points and four rebounds in the victory over the Anteaters and was an essential factor on the defensive side of the ball as he picked up two steals.

Rataj and Fallah have been through nine games this season, leading the team in points scored, and while there’s plenty of time left, I think they’ll only continue to improve and get better along with both Marsh, Sy, Lelevicius, and the rest of the group as the season goes on.

Especially if Fallah and Rataj continue their impressive start against the WCC Competition after closing their non-conference games.

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