Men's Basketball Sports

UH-Oregon State rundown: What to know about the Beavers

Quentin Grimes (24) of the Houston Cougars looks to pass the ball around Quincy Guerrier (1) of the Syracuse Orange in the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2021 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament held at Hinkle Fieldhouse on March 27, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. UH will now play Oregon State on Monday in the Elite Eight. | Photo by Trevor Brown Jr/NCAA Photos via Getty Images

Quentin Grimes (24) of the Houston Cougars looks to pass the ball around Quincy Guerrier (1) of the Syracuse Orange in the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2021 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament held at Hinkle Fieldhouse on March 27, 2021, in Indianapolis, Indiana. UH will now play Oregon State on Monday in the Elite Eight. | Photo by Trevor Brown Jr/NCAA Photos via Getty Images

INDIANAPOLIS – The Houston men’s basketball team will face off against Oregon State in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament on Monday night at Lucas Oil Stadium.

No. 2 seed UH (27-3) defeated Syracuse in the Sweet 16 on Saturday night to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1984.

Junior guard Quentin Grimes led the Cougars in scoring with 14 points and tracked down four rebounds. Senior forward Justin Gorham had a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double.

Senior guard DeJon Jarreau flirted with another triple-double as he ended the night with nine points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

A look at the Beavers

No. 12 seed Oregon State (20-12) is coming off a 65-58 victory over No. 8 seed Loyola Chicago on Saturday afternoon to make its first Elite Eight appearance since 1983.

The Beavers were led by senior guard Ethan Thompson as he finished with 22 points, four rebounds and four assists. Junior forward Warith Alatishe recorded a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double.

“(Oregon State) has an alpha dog in Thompson,” UH head coach Kelvin Sampson told reporters on Sunday afternoon. “They are long upfront. They’re athletic. (Roman) Silva is a problem with his size. (He is a) screener, passer, tipper and keeps balls alive. 

“They’re put together really good,” Sampson added. “If you go back before the three games in the Pac-12 (Tournament) all the way to the three games here, you could see it building. Now they have confidence.”

For the season, Thompson leads Oregon State in three different categories with 15.8 points, 3.8 assists and 1.2 steals.

Alatishe, who garnered high praise from Sampson, leads Oregon State with 8.7 rebounds and 1.4 blocks.

“I think he’s a big part of why they’ve taken off,” Sampson said on Alatishe. “He’s a live wire. He could play on any of my teams any day. Tremendous rebounder. Got a lot of pop to him. Part of our success against them has to start with keeping them off the offensive boards. He is a tremendous offensive rebounder … He’s just a talented young man.”

The Beavers knocked off No. 5 seed Tennessee and No. 4 seed Oklahoma State in the first two rounds of the tournament before defeating Loyola Chicago.

“They’re a very physical team,” Jarreau said. “Have great guards and great big men, and a great four-man that rebounds the ball very well. They shoot the ball well. Able to get into the paint with their drives, and they have a great shooter.  We just have to do a good job of defending the 3-point line and trusting the game plan that our coaches come up with.”

How to watch

Monday’s Elite Eight matchup between UH and Oregon State will tip off at 6:15 p.m. and air on CBS and also be on KPRC 950 AM radio in Houston.

For more on The Cougar’s coverage of UH’s run in the NCAA Tournament, click here.

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