4 Takeaways From Oregon State MBB's First 4 Games of 2025-2026
In this story:
The Oregon State Men’s Basketball team heads into the Paradise Jam tournament this month with a 3-1 record, though they’ve only played one high-quality opponent thus far.
The Beavers picked up nail-biting wins over NDSU, UIC and North Texas, followed by a loss to Oregon in Eugene. Here are four takeaways from the first few games of the season.
1. Josiah Lake can run an offense
By watching him so far this season, you would not know that the former Tualatin star began his Beaver career as a walk-on. Lake has scored in double figures in all four games, and his court presence has proven to be much bigger than just his scoring. With his strong ability to drive and draw defenses in, the OSU offense has functioned more smoothly so far this season with Lake at point. Last game against Oregon, Lake scored 10 points and put up three assists despite being limited to just 18 minutes because of fouls. Going forward, head coach Wayne Tinkle will certainly want to see his standout guard stay out of early foul trouble.
MORE: State of the Beavs: A Decent Start For Oregon State Basketball + New Pac-12 Media
2. Defensive Rebounding needs to improve
Despite having a tall roster with a plethora of bigs, the Beavers have struggled to keep opponents off the offensive glass so far.
Uncharacteristic of a Wayne Tinkle team, Oregon State has given up at least twelve offensive rebounds in each of their last two games. This really hurt them in the loss at Oregon, as the Ducks were able to rack up the second-chance points. In addition, their three-point defense needs to make strides. Against both Oregon and North Texas, there were several of instances of wide-open perimeter shooters, and OSU needs to be quicker rotating off of screens. It’s still very early in the season, and overall defensive efficiency should improve as chemistry continues to build.
MORE: Beavers Overwhelmed By Oregon 87-75 in Road Loss
3. The team’s depth looks solid
Centers Johan Munch and Noah Amenhauser both got into foul trouble in the first few minutes against Oregon. While it’s hard to spin this as a positive, it did allow younger guys to step up and play some really quality minutes. Olavi Suutela, a 6’10” freshman from Finland, shot 3-4 from the field and grabbed four rebounds at Matthew Knight arena on Monday night. Yaak Yaak, a junior forward who transferred in from the Division II level, was pivotal in keeping the Beavers in the game after they fell behind.
In addition, combo guard Matija Samar has been a pleasant surprise early on, as the freshman has started all four games. Sophomore small forward Isaiah Sy led the Beavers in scoring against the Ducks after coming off the bench. Finally, Pitt transfer Jorge Diaz-Graham showed out for the Beavers Monday night once Munch got into foul trouble, finishing with three points, two rebounds, two assists and three blocks in 19 minutes. While there appear to be decent options off the bench all-around, the front- court depth in particular has been impressive so far.
4. The Paradise Jam presents a good opportunity
The tournament field contains eight teams, and the Beavers should be one of the favorites. With three games in four days guaranteed, this will be a great chance for the team to grow and continue to build chemistry, and to possibly walk out of the Virgin Islands with a trophy. OSU’s first game in this tournament is Friday at 5 P.M. against the University of Evansville Aces, who are off to a 2-3 start to the season.
More Reading Material From Oregon State Beavers On SI
Ben Pahl is a sportswriter and broadcaster based in Portland, Oregon. His work covering college and professional sports has been featured by the Orange Media Network at Oregon State University as well as KBVR.fm. His other career stops in sports include the Portland Pickles baseball club and the NBA G-League's Rip City Remix.