2021 Beavers named 12th best All Time NCAA Tournament team

The Cinderella story that continues to chap some of the biggest WT haters in OSU history. This team proved some people wrong and they will never forgive that. The banners hang forever! Greatest OSU MBB story ever told! Keep posting. TY

When OSU tied the game against Houston with 3 and half minutes left, I thought we were gonna win that game. All we needed to do was to secure 2 rebounds off of Cougar missed shots at the end, and we would have faced Baylor in the Final Four. We matched up very well against Baylor. Remember, this OSU team beat the UCLA team that faced Gonzaga in the same Final Four. A National Championship in MBB was there for the taking.

I think Baylor would have run us out of the gym. That was a freakishly talented team.

But getting to a Final Four would have been worth it. No one remembers that we were run out of the gym in both games at the 1963 Final Four, they just remember we were there. 

The last 3:30 of that game!  Oh man!  For the first 19 minutes of the second half, Oregon State has zero turnovers.  The Beavers outscored the Cougars 38-21 over the first 16:30 of the second half.

Fabian White, Jr., tore his ACL, during a solo workout in May 2020 and was supposed to miss the entire 2020-21 season.  Instead, he recovered in less than nine months and came back with 17 days left in the regular season.  White appeared to get back up to speed after a couple of games.  White played 20 minutes three times in 2021, and Oregon State was the third and final time.  White grabbed five offensive rebounds against Oregon State, which was his season high up until that point.  He also added two defensive rebounds, seven total rebounds, White's most in more than a month.

White, who plays for the South Bay Lakers, comes up with a rebound off the miss.  The Cougars swing the ball to Marcus Sasser, the star after Quentin Grimes left, to Grimes (25th pick in the 2021 draft), who hits for three, 58-55.  Lucas misread his assignment and accidentally double-teamed Sasser, leaving Grimes alone.  Ethan Thompson saw Lucas' blunder too late and could not quite get there in time.  Thompson uncharacteristically misses a free throw hard off the back iron.  58-56.  Grimes misses a three pointer, and White rebounds.  DeJon Jarreau (who played a game for the Pacers in 2021 and now plays for the Wizards' G League team) missed a second three-pointer, and Grimes rebounds.  Grimes looks like he travels, but they call a foul on Lucas, and Grimes hits both free throws, 60-56.

Gianni Hunt for some reason opts for an off-balance contested three with nine seconds on the clock and misses badly to the left.  Jarreau comes up with the rebound.

Thompson is on Grimes like white on rice, and Grimes airs it with six seconds left on the shot clock.  The shot is so bad, though, that Justin Gorham (who has been bouncing around Europe and Israel since Houston's loss to Baylor) comes up with it.  His jumper is no good, but Alatishe mistimes his jump, and White goes over Alatishe's back (a foul?) to come up with it.  Hunt fouls to put an end to the nonsense, and White misses the front end of a one-in-one.

Lucas takes a three.  Grimes may have hit his leg, because Lucas comes down weird, but it isn't called.  Lucas airs it, and Gorham rebounds.  Gorham looks like his changes pivot feet.  Again, nothing's called. 

And we're under a minute left, still 60-56.

Alatishe clearly blocks Gorham.  However, Gorham screams and draws a foul on Alatishe.  It's Alatishe's third, which shouldn't matter, but it winds up mattering.  Gorham hits a free throw with 53 seconds left, 61-56.

Thompson is tripped by Jarreau.  No call.  Jarreau ties it up for a jump ball, arrow to Houston with 47 seconds left.  This is the first Oregon State turnover since Maurice Calloo threw into traffic trying to get the ball into Dearon Tucker with 30 seconds left in the first half, 19:43 of game time elapsed between turnovers.

Oregon State runs a full court trap, which Grimes breaks out of.  Grimes passes to Jarreau, who passes to Sasser, getting it across half court.  Alatishe and Hunt successfully trap him.  Jarreau hooks Alatishe, and they call a foul on Alatishe, because why not at this point.  That is four on Alatishe.  Lucas, animated as ever, loudly indicates that it is clearly a hook.  Sasser hits the second free throw to go up 62-56.

The Beavers run a great play, but Hunt cuts into the lane without the ball and the ball bounces out of bounds.  Hunt is on Grimes and looks like he is supposed to foul.  He doesn't.  Alatishe has to foul, his fifth.  Grimes makes both, 64-56 with 27 seconds left.

Thompson goes coast to coast in seven seconds to make it 64-58 with 20.7 seconds left.

Silver and Thompson trap Sasser backcourt.  However, without Alatishe, Calloo has to play defense, and, between Calloo and Lucas, they lose Gorham.  Sasser throws to Gorham without about one second left on the 10-second count.  Gorham looks like he falls down without Calloo touching him and then flops around some more, so they call an intentional foul on Calloo, because why not?  And that basically ices it.  Jarreau gets to at least to four on a five count to throw it in, but Gorham gets it and is fouled by Silva.  Gorham hits both to cap scoring for Houston.

Calloo hits a three with 3.5 seconds left to make the final 67-61.  Oregon State had not been to a Final Four since 1963.  Houston had not been to a Final Four since 1984 but ended that drought right there.

Who is "they"? 

People who remember we were at the 1963 Final Four. Or media, when it gets mentioned.