INDIANAPOLIS — Oregon State’s NCAA Tournament secret weapon might be its most noticeable player, 7-foot-1, 265-pound Roman Silva.
The 7-footer with back-to-the basket offensive skills has all but disappeared in college basketball. It’s about stepping out and hitting threes, rejecting shots and taking lobs for dunks.
Silva? He’s as old school as a four-door sedan. And as it’s turning out, college basketball might not have much of an answer for Oregon State’s Oldsmobile Cutlass.
Silva dominated the inside Friday afternoon, hitting 8 of 8 shots and scoring a career-high 16 points in Oregon State’s 70-56 first-round NCAA Tournament win over Tennessee. Silva also had three blocked shots, an OSU NCAA Tournament record.
Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle, being a former college big man himself at Montana, loves a post who can finish like Silva. But it didn’t happen overnight. It took Silva to get himself in shape, and teammates to buy into an offensive throwback.
“We wanted to dribble, jack and all that,” Tinkle said. “We finally got through to guys the importance of the inside-out balance. Roman’s been a big part of that … I couldn’t be more happy for Roman just because of who he is.”
Tennessee coach Rick Barnes all but said Silva was the difference.
“They had an inside game, and we didn’t get a chance,” Barnes said. “We didn’t do what we have to do to stop that.”
Silva has had moments the past two years, just not consistently. He came to Oregon State two years ago as an unheralded JC transfer. Fouls and conditioning were an issue last season. Silva got in better shape for this season, only to get hit with COVID-19 in late December.
Silva recovered, and showed he could be a force when he stayed out of foul trouble. Silva led OSU to a 58-56 upset of USC in mid-January by hitting 6 of 7 from the floor. Late in the season, Silva hit 6 of 8 in a win over California, and 5 of 6 in the regular-season finale against Oregon.
Oregon State’s coaching staff was patient when he was returning from the COVID-19 pause. In a nutshell, they told Silva of their belief in his game and what he could do when he’s right.
“It means a lot to have support like that,” Silva said. “Not just the coaching staff, but teammates supporting you and willing to look for you. It’s a great feeling.”
Why wouldn’t they look for Silva? When the shot goes up, he’s as automatic as anyone in the Pac-12, hitting shots at a 67.6% clip (71 of 105). When Silva gets rolling, he rarely misses. Friday it was 8 of 8.
“Roman was big time,” Tinkle said. “He’s done that for us, and we know he’s got an advantage in there. … we rifle it to him, and he’s going to catch it, and he’s going to score it.
“He’s an unbelievable kid, and he really epitomizes a team-first guy. That’s why his teammates are so happy for him.”
-- Nick Daschel | ndaschel@oregonian.com | @nickdaschel
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