“Let’s Not Hit the Panic Button,” OSU Still Looking for Tourney Bid

STILLWATER – Every game in a Big 12 season is important, from facing the lowest-ranked team, to the first-place team. But Oklahoma State is now to the point of its season where every game is of the utmost importance.

The Cowboys are hosting TCU on Saturday morning at 11. This is the second of two games between these two teams, as the Pokes will be looking to avenge the loss from January down in Fort Worth. 

This is the very definition of must-win for the Pokes. They’re coming off two-straight losses on the road this past week, a 37-point loss to Arizona last Saturday and a nine-point loss to Arizona State, dropping them to 16-8 overall and 4-7 in Big 12 play. Joe Lunardi has them as the sixth team out of the tournament, so things aren’t super dire just yet, but it’s not a fool-proof method.

“The season is not over; it’s not lost,” head coach Steve Lutz said on Thursday. “We’ve made progress in the program. We were not in the running for going to the NCAA Tournament last year. At this point in the year, man, we were just hoping to get into the NIT or something.

“We have seven games left, that we can win a few of those games, especially the Quad 1 games, you’re going to go to the NCAA Tournament. Prior to the game at Arizona State on Tuesday, bracketology still had us in. Let’s not hit the panic button, and let’s not lose sight of the fact that this program has continued to improve. We’re in Year 2. We’re in talks, or we’re in the hunt of going to the NCAA Tournament. That’s our job to get to the NCAA Tournament. We have seven games left. Now, in seven games if we go 0-7, you guys are gonna have a different attitude and a different feel to this press conference. But there’s no reason to think we can’t still do it.”

The Horned Frogs are 42nd in the NET. So, while it’s a Quad 2 game in Stillwater, this would be a huge boost to the Pokes’ resume. The Pokes are currently 70th in the NET, with games against No. 4 Houston, No. 13 Kansas, No. 45 UCF, No. 61 Cincinnati, No. 62 WVU and No. 79 Colorado. 

Plenty of games left and plenty of opportunities left for the Pokes, but that window is closing quickly. A loss to TCU on Saturday would make a few upsets by the Pokes a necessity, whether Kansas and Houston in Stillwater, Kansas and UCF or Houston and UCF.