In this week’s edition of the Conference of (real NCAA) Champions basketball history lesson on Pac-12 Friday, we peek at the Oregon State Beavers—and we’re surprised they’re so low on the list (1oth out of the current 12 schools in the league). When we were kids, the Beavers were pretty good, and we expect that to be revealed in the list below. Sure, every school has hard times, but Oregon State always rocks orange & black.

5. 1990

With a 22-7 record, the Beavers won the Pac-10 with a 15-3 conference record while earning the No. 22 ranking in the Associated Press poll and the No. 27 finish in the overall SRS. This got Oregon State a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament, where it promptly lost to Ball State in the first round by a single point. Ooops. That’s how the college career of the great Gary Payton ended, after he posted 25.7 ppg and 8.1 apg.

4. 1979

One of four teams on this list coached by the legendary Ralph Miller, these Beavs only managed an 18-10 record overall, but they finished No. 13 in the overall SRS. An 11-7 conference finish got Oregon State third place, but there was no NCAA bid to be had in those days. However, the Beavers did only lose by 8 points to eventual national champion Michigan State. The No. 22 defense and the No. 33 SOS helped sabermetrics.

3. 1989

Miller’s last season as coach coincided with Payton’s junior MVP campaign (20.1 ppg, 8.1 apg), although the result was the same as the team above: a first-round upset loss in the NCAA Tournament. A 22-8 overall record and a 13-5 finish in league play for third place fueled the Beavers’ season—despite being unranked. Oregon State was 19th in the SRS overall with a 6 seed for March Madness but lost to Evansville by 4 points.

2. 1981

Five players on this roster made it to the NBA, but the team still couldn’t win an NCAA Tournament game. Oregon State finished 26-2 after starting the season with 26 consecutive wins, losing in its first NCAA tourney game to Kansas State by 2 points. After being ranked No. 1 in the AP poll for five weeks, the Beavers finished at No. 2 overall—in both the poll and the SRS. It was a brutal end to an otherwise brilliant season.

1. 1982

The best team in school history featured a freshman named A.C. Green who would win some NBA fame later. The Beavers finished No. 4 in the AP poll after a run to the Elite 8 that left the team with a 25-5 record. Another Pac-10 title meant a No. 2 seed in March Madness, and Oregon State beat Pepperdine and Idaho before losing to eventual national runner-up Georgetown. Yet a No. 1 SRS finish was a small consolation.