OSU on the Outside Looking in Heading Into Final Regular Season Game

STILLWATER – There was a lot of hope and momentum for Oklahoma State as they had won seven of eight games, which included a sweep of a then top-15 ranked Iowa State team, a win over top-15 ranked TCU and a sweep of Oklahoma.

However, following a five-game losing streak going into the Pokes’ final game of the regular season, all the momentum is gone and while nothing is ever completely hopeless, the Pokes need a lot to happen to get back into the NCAA tournament mix.

After being squarely in the mix in all forms of the rankings, including a mid-20s ranking in the NET, the Cowboys are now the second team out of the tournament behind North Carolina in Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology update. And while that, nor a ranking of No. 47 in the NET is what’s important, the slide is certainly a bad one.

A slide that now makes the road game against Texas Tech on Saturday an absolute must-win.

"I don't really talk about momentum, because I think it's only as good as you prepare,” Mike Boynton said after the loss to Baylor. “Your next game is the most important, but I think the psychology of your team, just winning a game again and having that feeling of finishing it. Had a lead on Saturday [against K-State], didn't get the job done. We were right there with the opportunity tonight, but you've dug yourself too big of a hole. So, to be able to put it all together and have somebody go up to the board and write that all of it matters going into next week in Kansas City feeling like we got this thing back on track.”

With how the Cowboys have played at times this season, it’s certainly possible to get the team back on the right track. Another thing Boynton said after the loss to Baylor was how he doesn’t believe the team has given up, not because the losing streak or the slide in the rankings.

"We don't dance around this stuff. We show them the standings; this is where we are, this is what we've done, this is what we have in front of us. I thought they approached it the right way, we just didn't make shots early. I thought that was more of it than them not really believing."