Can Cowboys Make a Miraculous Run in March?

Oklahoma State hasn’t had a good run for most of Big 12 play, but its latest win could be a reason for optimism.

On Tuesday, OSU earned its first ranked win of the Steve Lutz era, beating No. 9 Iowa State 74-68 at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater. Despite owning only a 6-11 record in Big 12 play, the Cowboys have a 6-3 mark in conference games on their home floor.

At No. 9, Iowa State is the highest-ranked opponent OSU has defeated since beating No. 1 Baylor on the road in 2022. It was the highest-ranked opponent OSU has won against at home since a win over No. 6 Texas in 2021.

While OSU’s success in conference play at home has been a drastic contrast from its road performances, it hasn’t been two weeks since the Cowboys fell to Texas Tech by 38 to mark the largest loss in Gallagher-Iba Arena history.

While OSU’s variance appears to range from beating a top 10 team to losing by nearly 40 against good teams, the Cowboys just need to put their best version on the floor when March comes around. Through his first three seasons as a head coach at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Western Kentucky, Lutz made three NCAA Tournament appearances.

While that streak looks destined to come to an end over the next couple of weeks, the beauty of college basketball is that every team always has a chance. Sitting at 14-14, OSU has no hope of earning an at-large bid to the big dance, but the automatic qualifier for winning the conference tournament is still technically on the table.

For OSU to actually win the Big 12 Tournament, it might take a miracle, but that’s what March is known for. The Cowboys haven’t won a conference tournament game since their win against Oklahoma in the first round of 2023, but the restructured format with 16 teams might just give OSU enough of a runway to make some noise.

While OSU won't get high enough in the conference to earn a bye, it will face another team in the bottom eight in the first round before taking on a team from 5-8 in the standings. OSU could at least compete for a spot in the quarterfinals, and if the Cowboys have already rattled off back-to-back wins, anything could be on the table.

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