February 7, 2026; Corvallis, Oregon, USA; Oregon State Beavers head coach Wayne Tinkle during the first half against the Gonzaga Bulldogs at Gill Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Craig Strobeck-Imagn Image Top-seeded Gonzaga is looking for one last West Coast Conference tournament title before bidding farewell to the league and heading to the rebuilt Pac-12.
The 12th-ranked Bulldogs will begin their quest for their 22nd tournament title in the past 28 campaigns when they meet Oregon State in the semifinals Monday night in Las Vegas.
The fourth-seeded Beavers (17-15) advanced to the semifinals with a 78-77 win over fifth-seeded San Francisco on Sunday night. Oregon State didn’t score until 6:22 had passed and later built a nine-point lead with 85 seconds left before holding off a frantic rally by the Dons.
The Beavers are also scheduled to leave the WCC after the season and return to the Pac-12. They spent the last two seasons in the WCC after the Pac-12 collapsed, sending the schools to three different conferences.
Oregon State will return to the Pac-12 without 12th-year coach Wayne Tinkle, who was fired on Feb. 26 but will remain the team’s coach until the end of the season.
“It’s going to take a lot of effort from the women (Monday),” Tinkle said after the win over San Francisco. “We’re going to enjoy this a little bit and know that we have a really tough challenge against Gonzaga.”
The Bulldogs (28-3) have won 11 of the last 13 tournament wins, with second-seeded St. Mary’s winning the other two (2019, 2024).
Gonzaga went 16-2 in WCC play during the regular season, surprisingly losing to host Portland on Feb. 4 and losing to St. Mary’s on Saturday in the regular-season finale.
Bulldogs big man Graham Ike was the WCC Player of the Year. He scored a conference-best 19.7 points per game, was second with 8.3 rebounds and led the WCC with a 56.4% field goal percentage.
Ike spent his first two seasons at Wyoming before spending three seasons at Gonzaga. He ranks first among active players in the nation in career scoring with 2,492 points and is second in rebounds with 1,118.
“I try to dominate as much as possible,” Ike said of his approach. “Rebound as much as you can. I don’t know. I like playing this game with a lot of passion. Just trying to do the little things to help us win.”
Ike has been outstanding over the past two seasons, scoring 35, 26 and 22 points in three matchups against Oregon State. The 35-point outing came in their lone meeting this season, which the Jags won 81-61 on Feb. 7.
“It’s about getting our guys more involved in the game plan,” Tinkle said about defending Ike. “He’s a really nice guy.”
The Beavers and Bulldogs split two meetings last season.
Gonzaga remains without Braden Huff (knee), who has missed the last 13 games. His scoring average of 17.8 points is second on the team.
Jalen Warley (quadriceps) missed the final two games of the regular season but is expected to be available Monday. The average score is 7.1 points.
“It really affects us because he does a lot of things and definitely keeps us organized,” Bulldogs coach Mark Few said of Warley’s absence. “He makes all the hustle plays and all the big plays.”
Oregon State gained motivation and incentive from the firing of Tinkle, who led the program to an Elite Eight in 2021.
But with Tinkle recording only two 20-win seasons during his time in Corvallis, athletic director Scott Barnes decided it was time to try a new approach to fit the changes in the conference.
Playing their second game since the layoff was announced, the Beavers opened the game 0-for-5 and finished staring at an 11-0 deficit.
Dez White had 18 points on six 3-pointers, and Josiah Lake II also had 18 points for the Beavers.
“It was a really emotional 10 days,” Tinkle said. “… We worked really hard to talk about our team and play our ball.”
Second-seeded St. Mary’s will face third-seeded Santa Clara in the other tournament semifinal on Monday night.
–Field level media
