(670 The Score) Oregon State basketball coach Wayne Tinkle moved to the Chicago area as a child when his father became an administrator at Loyola.
Decades later, Tinkle fondly recalls attending afternoon Cubs games during his childhood, and he even had a connection to the Bears given that his older siblings' babysitter was the late, great Doug Buffone. Tinkle shared his memories of Loyola and Chicago with Ramblers coach Porter Moser during a Nike coaches trip several years ago. As fate would have it now, Tinkle's 12th-seeded Oregon State team is matching up against Moser's eighth-seeded Loyola squad in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.
"I know he's done a heck of a job," Tinkle said on the Mully & Haugh Show on Wednesday. "I know he's going to have his team geared up for us. They're a very, very good team, so disciplined on both ends. It's going to be a fun matchup. I got a buddy of mine I used to coach with who said the over-under might be 60 points. I don't know if that's true, but it's going to be a bloodbath and I'm looking forward to it."
Oregon State (19-12, 10-10) earned its way into the NCAA Tournament thanks to an automatic berth as the Pac-12 Tournament champion. The Beavers needed to accomplish that, as they weren't expected to reach the NCAA Tournament as an at-large selection.
Oregon State then stunned fifth-seeded Tennessee and fourth-seeded Oklahoma State in the first and second rounds, respectively, earning a trip to the Sweet 16. Loyola advanced by beating Georgia Tech and then upsetting top-seeded Illinois in the round of 32.
Loyola is seeking its second Final Four appearance in the last four years under the watch of Moser, something Tinkle wants Oregon State to realize as its enters this matchup.
"The big thing is getting our guys to understand that they're a high-major team," Tinkle said. "We just played Tennessee, we just played Oklahoma State, all the fanfare and hoopla that goes with that. Getting them to understand and believe that this team is really, really good, I think that's the first battle.
"Then it's going to be executing our game plan. We like to change defenses, we like to change coverages on ball screens and that sort of thing. We think that can help us. And then how are we going to attack them? Because their defense is really tough. They're very disciplined in what they do. We'll have a plan on where we think they're vulnerable.
"That's how we've had the success we've had. Our guys have bought into taking the game plan, figuring out how we exploit our opponent's weaknesses and take away their strengths, and that will be the same plan going into Saturday."