CORVALLIS — The start of the 2016-17 season Oregon State men's basketball came with one final nod to the past.
A light shined on a rectangular orange, black and white banner hanging from the top of Gill Coliseum across from the Beavers' sideline. The banner acknowledged all the years that OSU had reached the NCAA Tournament, 17 dates with a notable gap between the final two – 1990 and 2016.
In the moments before what became a 78-58 win over Prairie View A&M on Friday, Oregon State head coach Wayne Tinkle said he caught himself counting the classes in between the years of the drought, noting all the players and coaches who had worked hard in Corvallis but come up short in the quest to return to the postseason.