OSU To Hoop It Up In Vegas During MGM Grand Main Event

Thanksgiving week’s schedule just got a little more crowded in Beaver Nation. The Oregon State Men’s Basketball squad will travel to Las Vegas and the MGM Grand to compete in the inaugural MGM Grand Main Event, an eight-team tournament to be played November 24-26.

While Oregon State’s 2013-14 season ended with all the pageantry and hype of a 10 cent firework sold on the 5th of July, new Head Coach Wayne Tinkle and his staff are at least working to stir up excitement around a program faced with an extensive top-to-bottom rebuilding project.

The tournament’s fields are divided into the ‘Heavyweight’ and ‘Middleweight’ divisions, with the winner of both respective groups playing in the culminating championship game.

Oregon State will play in the Heavyweight division with Oklahoma State, Auburn, and Tulsa. The Middleweight division is comprised of Louisiana, Milwaukee, Oral Roberts, and a team to be announced at a later date.

The final bracket, Middleweight team, and match-ups will be announced August 5th.

Oregon State played in the first-ever basketball game in the MGM Grand Garden Arena when they defeated San Diego, 86-79, on Dec. 22, 2012.

Historically, The Beavers hold the record advantage over their orange and black imitation “OSU” rivals. Oregon State is 5-1 all time against the Oklahoma State Cowboys, with the most recent meeting ending in a 70-56 Beaver victory on December 11th, 1971.

Oregon State has never played Auburn, a program that has garnered a lot of attention with the offseason hiring of former Tennessee head coach Bruce Pearl.

Tulsa defeated the Beavers in the two schools only encounter, 59-57, in the 1998 Pearl Harbor Classic. Oregon State, Tulsa, and Auburn will all debut new coaches in 2014.

Oregon State’s full basketball schedule is slated to be released in September.