Live updates: Oregon State Beavers men's basketball hosts No. 14 Arizona, minus Allonzo Trier

Update: Arizona junior guard Allonzo Trier has been ruled ineligible by the NCAA and will not play Thursday. More here.

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The Oregon State men's basketball team is 12-3 at Gill Coliseum this season and returns home after dropping games on the road to UCLA and USC. On Thursday, the Beavers will host No. 14 Arizona in search of their first victory over a ranked opponent in two years.

Read below for a game preview and scroll to the bottom for live updates.

Game information:

No. 14 Arizona at Oregon State

Time: 6 p.m.

Where: Gill Coliseum

On air: FS1; Radio on Beaver Sports Radio Network (stream here)

Projected starters:

Arizona (21-6, 11-3 Pac-12)

0 - Parker Jackson-Cartwright, 5-11, 170, Sr. | 7.2 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 4.8 apg

35 - Allonzo Trier, 6-5, 205, Jr. | 19.6 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 3.2 apg

1 - Rawle Alkins, 6-5, 220, So. | 13.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.7 apg

14 - Dusan Ristic, 7-0, 245, Sr. | 11.9 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 1.0 apg

13 - Deandre Ayton, 7-1, 260, Fr. | 19.7 ppg, 10.9 rpg, 1.9 bpg

Oregon State (13-13, 5-9)

1 - Stephen Thompson Jr., 6-4, 190, Jr. | 16.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.3 apg

5 - Ethan Thompson, 6-5, 190, Fr. | 9.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.5 apg

4 - Alfred Hollins, 6-6, 195, Fr. | 6.0 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 0.4 apg

3 - Tres Tinkle, 6-8, 220, R-So. | 18.1 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 3.6 apg

12 - Drew Eubanks, 6-10, 250, Jr. | 12.9 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 2.0 bpg

Coaches: Arizona: Sean Miller - 241-72 in nine seasons at Arizona (361-119 overall). Oregon State: Wayne Tinkle - 54-67 in four seasons at Oregon State (212-158 overall).

Line: Arizona by 6.

RPI: Arizona: 18. Oregon State: 170.

KenPom rating: Arizona: 23. Oregon State: 103.

Previous meetings: Arizona beat Oregon State 62-53 on Jan. 11 in Tucson. The Wildcats lead the all-time series 62-21 and are 23-15 in Corvallis.

Key stats: Oregon State is shooting 58.3 percent from the free throw line (28 of 48) during the past three games.

Arizona is the only Pac-12 team shooting over 50 percent in conference play (.503) and is first in rebounding margin (plus-7.3). OSU remains fourth in defensive field goal percentage (.430) and second in defensive three-point percentage (.330) during league games.

Opponent rundown: Despite a disappointing start to the season that saw Arizona ensnared in an FBI investigation and drop from No. 2 in the nation to unranked, the Wildcats now appear well on their way to at least a share of the Pac-12 regular season title for the fourth time in five years.

Led by freshman center Deandre Ayton, the conference's leader in scoring and rebounding, Arizona snapped a two-game losing streak with key wins over USC and Arizona State over the past two weeks. Ayton has 17 double-doubles this season and could be the No. 1 overall pick at the NBA Draft this summer. Additionally, junior guard Allonzo Trier is averaging 19.4 points on 56.3 percent shooting over his last 10 games since playing the Beavers. Senior center Dusan Ristic is averaging 14.8 points on 66.7 percent shooting in that same span.

Although the Wildcats are statistically well below average defensively for a Sean Miller team, they held OSU to its lowest point total of the season during their last meeting. The Beavers made only made 3 of 8 free throws and had seven assists, while Tres Tinkle and Stephen Thompson Jr. combined for 12 turnovers.

On the flip side, the Wildcats struggled mightily against the OSU matchup zone and finished with their second-lowest point total and field goal percentage of the season.

The stakes: Oregon State has likely played itself out of NIT contention. The focus has turned to building momentum for the Pac-12 Tournament in two weeks. Colorado (15-13, 7-9) lost Wednesday night, meaning an OSU victory would take the Beavers to within a 1/2 game of ninth in the league standings.

A victory Thursday would also be the highlight of the season and the Beavers' first over a ranked opponent since Jan. 24, 2016. It would also give Wayne Tinkle two home wins over Arizona in three tries.

Conversely, Arizona is playing for NCAA Tournament seeding and a Pac-12 regular season title. The Wildcats have a 1 1/2 game lead over UCLA and USC in the league standings with four games to play. They could afford a slip-up and still be in great shape come March.

They said it: "It's a mental thing at this point. They understand. We show film. It's like every Monday we show the same things almost. ... Everyone wants to be a part of turning things around, but they've got to think outside of themselves and about the group. The more we think about the group, those accountability things come into your role defensively, on the ball, off the ball. I think that's part of the maturing." -- Wayne Tinkle

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Tweets about from:dannyjmoran OR from:beavermbb OR from:aplayersprogram OR from:brucepascoe -- Danny Moran

dmoran@oregonian.com

@DannyJMoran

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