Oregon State to Compete in MGM Grand Main Event

The remainder of Oregon State’s 2014-15 men’s basketball schedule will be announced in early September.

The Oregon State men’s basketball team will compete at the MGM Grand Main Event in Las Vegas, Nev., a new tournament featuring eight teams playing on Monday and Wednesday of Thanksgiving week. Image Courtesy: OSU Athletics

(LAS VEGAS, Nev. ) - The Oregon State men’s basketball team will compete at the MGM Grand Main Event in Las Vegas, Nev., a new tournament featuring eight teams playing on Monday and Wednesday of Thanksgiving week.

The MGM Grand Main Event features two four-team brackets with each team playing two games at the resort on Monday, Nov. 24 and Wednesday, Nov. 26.

The Heavyweight bracket includes Oregon State, Auburn, Oklahoma State and Tulsa, while the Middleweight bracket will feature Louisiana, Milwaukee, Oral Roberts and a final team to be announced.

The pairings for both brackets will be announced on ESPN.com on Tuesday, Aug. 5. An additional eight games will be played at home sites preceding the games in Las Vegas.

Oregon State and Oklahoma State have played six previous times with the Beavers holding a 5-1 advantage in the series. The teams first met in the 1949 NCAA West Regional Semifinals when Oklahoma State, then called Oklahoma A&M, won the game to earn a trip to the national championship.

Despite falling in that contest, the Beavers advanced to the Final Four for the first time in school history where they lost to Illinois in the third-place game in Seattle, Wash.

The teams met for the second time at the Sun Devil Tournament in Phoenix, Ariz., in 1967 with the Beavers coming out on top, 49-48. They played a four-game home-and-home series in 1970 and 1971 when Oregon State won all four over the Cowboys behind the strong play of Beaver greats Freddie Boyd and Sam Whitehead.

Oregon State vs. Oklahoma State All-Time Series:

March 19, 1949 -- Oklahoma State 55, Oregon State 30 (NCAA West Regional in Kansas City, Mo.)

Dec. 22, 1967 -- Oregon State 49, Oklahoma State 48 (Sun Devil Tournament in Phoenix, Ariz.)

Dec. 4, 1970 -- Oregon State 69, Oklahoma State 63 (Corvallis, Ore.)

Dec. 5, 1970 -- Oregon State 84, Oklahoma State 76 (Portland, Ore.)

Dec. 10, 1971 -- Oregon State 76, Oklahoma State 72 (Stillwater, Okla.)

Dec. 11, 1971 -- Oregon State 70, Oklahoma State 56 (Stillwater, Okla.)

Oregon State and Auburn have never played, while the Beavers and Tulsa met one time previously in 1998 when the Golden Hurricane won, 59-57, at the Pearl Harbor Classic in Laie, Hawai’i.

All three teams hired a new head coach recently, as Wayne Tinkle took over the Beavers’ program, Bruce Pearl left the TV booth for Auburn and Frank Haith went from Missouri to Tulsa.

The Beavers competed in the first-ever basketball game that was played at the MGM Grand Garden Arena when they defeated San Diego, 86-79, on Dec. 22, 2012.

The Pac-12 Tournament has been held at the MGM Grand the past two years and will be there again in 2015 from Wednesday, March 11 to Saturday, March 14.

Tickets are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com or by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Complete event information can be found at www.mgmgrandmainevent.com and www.mgmgrandshowcase.com or on Twitter at @HOOPSatMGM.

Source: Oregon State Athletics