Tonight, Wayne Tinkle’s Oregon State Beavers notched their fourth win of the season by beating Cal State-Fullerton, 70-51, at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis. The winless Titans fought hard and held a halftime lead, holding onto their advantage until just past the 12-minute mark of the second half before Oregon State went on a run to break the game open.

After the second media timeout of period two, the Beavers locked in, outscoring Fullerton 25-6 over the last eight minutes of the contest to create a 19-point lead. Before that, Fullerton defended their 32-25 halftime lead admirably against a much more talented Oregon State squad, but eventually, the talent took over for the Beavers.

Oregon State finished with three players in double figures, led by Nate Kingz, who scored 22 points on 6-for-9 from the field, all of which were from beyond the arc, and also recorded eight boards. Michael Rataj had 18 points and 10 rebounds on 7-for-13 shooting, while Lithuanian wing Liutauras Lelevicius, who was cleared to play by the NCAA just before the season started, added 12 points on 4-for-8 (3-for-6 from deep). Guard DaMarco Minor struggled with efficiency, but managed nine points and five assists with zero turnovers, playing the lead initiator role effectively in facilitating the offense.

For Fullerton, just one player scored 10-plus: Davis Bynum put up 12 points on 55% shooting and 40% from three on five attempts. No one else scored more than eight; their leading scorer entering the game, Donovan Oday, had a particularly tough evening, shooting just 2-for-11 overall and 0-for-2 on threes.

Though it was a very shaky start for Oregon State, they demonstrated what they can look like when they focus in on an inferior opponent, evident in their 19-point swing over the last eight minutes of the game. They held the Titans to 22.7% from beyond the arc, and only allowed them to get to the line 13 times compared to their own 24 attempts.

Their next game, on Thursday, will be by far their biggest test to date as they host cross-state rival Oregon, giving them an opportunity for an early-season victory that could help define their 2024 campaign.

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The No. 1 Oregon Ducks hit the road for the final time in the regular season as they travel to Madison, Wisconsin, to take on the Wisconsin Badgers in Camp Randall Stadium.

Badgers’ coach Luke Fickell spoke at length about how the Ducks may be the best team that Wisconsin has lined up against this season.

Fickell said on Monday that the Badgers are going challenged by the explosive offensive that the Ducks possess.

“They are going to be challenged in different ways,” Fickell noted. “You can be challenged each and every week in a lot of different ways. This one will be one we maybe haven’t seen the entire year. The ability for them to throw the ball down the field, the dynamic of the wide receivers they have and the quarterback’s ability. . . to make plays both with his feet and through the air.”

It’s been a tough year for the Badgers as their season hasn’t gone exactly to plan. They sit at 5-4, currently in the middle of the pack in the Big Ten. Despite the adversity, Fickell remains adamant that his team hasn’t lost hope for the season and knows that a win over the Ducks could put some juice back into the program.

“You continue to remind them that this is what we signed up for. We recognize that this league, and college football in general, is evolving. This is what you play for. You have every opportunity to go out there and earn the respect that you want,” Fickell said.

The Badgers are going to have to play better defense than they did in their last outing, giving up 42 points to Iowa in a 42-10 loss on Nov. 2. Fickell, a defensive-minded coach, knows his unit needs to play better, but he has faith in his team to get the job done.

“We’ve got guys who we believe are really good football players. They’re gonna be put in some positions to be challenged. . . . I’ve got the utmost confidence they’ll step up to the challenge,” Fickell said.

Oregon is currently favorited by 13.5 points heading into Saturday’s showdown with the Badgers. The game will be broadcasted on NBC and kickoff is at 4:30 p.m.

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