Corvallis, OR. -- The Oregon State men’s basketball team has shown flashes of excellence all season long. The Beavers have wins over the Pac-12’s top teams in Oregon, Arizona, Colorado and Stanford. However, OSU also holds a 17-13 overall record. So any hope of making the NCAA Tournament will depend on the Beavers’ ability to clinch a Pac-12 Tournament championship.

“It’s always a fun time of the year. It’s a great environment with fans from every team there,” said senior forward TresTinkle. “It’s just surviving the dance. So we have to keep believing, buying in and playing hard.”

Tinkle also mentioned the team’s motto for the Pac-12 Tournament is “at the end of the day everyone eats.” It’s a phrase, signifying that everyone wants a piece of the pie and winning cures all.

Oregon State head coach Wayne Tinkle believes he’s found a simple answer to the team’s midseason struggles.

“We are starting to shoot the ball better,” said Wayne Tinkle. “I know that sounds pretty elementary. But when you are making shots it makes things a little easier all around. The message moving forward is when there are nights when [the ball] is not going in, you have to defend. And defensively we did very well over the weekend against Stanford and Cal.”

Oregon State will face the Utes at noon on Wednesday in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.