STILLWATER – Oklahoma State continues to make progress in the NCAA NET and KenPom rankings following the Pokes’ 64-56 win over No. 11 Iowa State in Ames on Saturday.
With that win, the Cowboys have moved up to No. 29 in the NCAA NET and No. 27 in the KenPom rankings.
The Cowboys are looking to secure a bid in the 2023 NCAA tournament and are just a few wins away from doing so. They sit at 16-9 overall on the season and 7-5 in Big 12 play. They’re tied with both Kansas State and Iowa State in the conference standings and are currently three games better than West Virginia in conference play, a team many people believe is in the tournament, but still four spots behind the Mountaineers in the NET.
The Quad 3 loss, as well as the two Quad 2 losses the Pokes sustained in non-conference play are still wreaking havoc.
There are six games remaining on the Pokes’ Big 12 schedule, beginning with a tough home game against No. 9 Kansas. The Jayhawks took the first matchup earlier in the season up in Lawrence, 69-67. If the Cowboys can find a way to get past Kansas on Tuesday, as well as secure a few more wins, those Quad 2 and 3 losses won’t matter.
With the win over the Cyclones to complete the season sweep, the Cowboys have now won seven of their last eight games, which includes upsets of No. 11 and 12 Iowa State and No. 15 TCU, as well as four-straight.
With that, there should be no reason the Cowboys aren’t hosting the Jayhawks in front of a sold-out Gallagher-Iba Arena. One of the hottest teams in the country hosting a top-10 team for a prime-time ESPN game.
