Oregon State men's basketball opens 2-0 under new coach Justin Joyner
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The gist
Oregon State beat Cal Baptist 96-68 to reach 2-0 in Justin Joyner's first season as head coach.
The Beavers return to the Pac-12 with 12 newcomers and host Eastern Washington next.
Background
Justin Joyner is Oregon State's first-year men's basketball head coach, who won a national championship as an assistant at Michigan last season. The Beavers are back in the Pac-12 this season after two campaigns in the WCC (West Coast Conference), and the roster is almost entirely new: one returning player, Josiah Lake II, and 12 newcomers. Oregon State Athletics says the team's 198 points across its first two games are the program's highest two-game total since the start of the 1997-98 season.
How it unfolded
- Oct 16, 2026Oregon State lost 98-93 at Michigan in an exhibition, a game that marked Joyner's return to his former school.
- Oct 24, 2026Oregon State beat California 89-76 in an exhibition at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis.
- Nov 2, 2026Oregon State beat Weber State 102-61 in the season opener in Corvallis, Joyner's first home game as head coach.
- Nov 6, 2026Oregon State beat Cal Baptist 96-68 at Gill Coliseum to move to 2-0; Legend Smiley scored a career-high 21 points off the bench.
- Nov 9, 2026Oregon State is scheduled to host Eastern Washington at 6:30 p.m. PT, with the game on the Pac-12 YouTube channel.
Key terms
- Pac-12
- A collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States competing in NCAA Division I sports.
- WCC
- A NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference with 10 member schools in the western United States.
- Gill Coliseum
- A multi-purpose indoor arena on the Oregon State University campus in Corvallis, Oregon.
Source: Wikipedia
Who’s saying what
- Official
- Oregon State Athletics notes the 198 points over two games are the program's highest two-game total since the start of the 1997-98 season, and that the Beavers have started the last four seasons 2-0.
- Analysts
- Standard-Examiner writer Brett Hein wrote that Oregon State showed the speed, size and firepower that helped the Beavers scare Michigan in a recent exhibition.