Mar 27, 2021; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Oregon State Beavers center Roman Silva (12) and forward Warith Alatishe (10) react after defeating the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2021 NCAA Tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
NCAABy Matt Clapp on

As we highlighted after No. 12 seed Oregon State took down Cade Cunningham and the No. 4 seed Oklahoma State Cowboys in the Round of 32, the Beavers have been on an amazing run of upsetting teams. That continued on Saturday in the Sweet 16.

The Beavers came away with a 65-58 victory over No. 8 seed Loyola Chicago (criminally underseeded), who crushed No. 1 seed Illinois in the Round of 32. Loyola Chicago was favored by seven points, making this the sixth straight game Oregon State has won despite being at least a 5.5-point underdog each time.

That’s surely leaving sportsbooks shaking their heads.

Oregon State played remarkable defense in the first half, holding Loyola Chicago to 16 points. Overall, the Beavers held Loyola Chicago to 33.1% shooting from the field.

Ethan Thompson led the way in scoring with 22 points for the Beavers, and Jarod Lucas hit what served as a dagger three with just over a minute remaining.

Oregon State was picked to finish last in the Pac-12, and entered the Pac-12 Tournament with a 14-12 record (10-10 in conference play). And now they’re the first team to reach this year’s Elite Eight. Amazing.

About Matt Clapp

Matt is an editor at The Comeback. He attended Colorado State University, wishes he was Saved by the Bell's Zack Morris, and idolizes Larry David. And loves pizza and dogs because obviously.

He can be followed on Twitter at @Matt2Clapp (also @TheBlogfines for Cubs/MLB tweets and @DaBearNecess for Bears/NFL tweets), and can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.

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