Can You Consider Cowboy Basketball's Season A Success?

The Pokes didn't reach their end goal, but they made progress in the hunt for it.

Mar 10, 2026; Kansas City, MO, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys huddle during a break in play in the second half of the game against the Colorado Buffaloes at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images | William Purnell-Imagn Images

Cowboy basketball didn’t have the best season, but it was a step in the right direction. 

Oklahoma State ended its basketball season Sunday night, when it fell to the Wichita State Shockers 96-70. You never want to end your season on a loss, and when the season started, the Cowboys hadn’t dreamed of ending theirs in the second round of the NIT. 

At the beginning of the season, Oklahoma State had high hopes for the year to come. The Pokes had picked up multiple key pieces in the portal, like Anthony Roy, Parsa Fallah and Christian Coleman. 

This new group hit the ground running, as the Cowboys opened the year 9-0. The Pokes ran into a slight hiccup with a loss to Oklahoma, but got back on track quickly to head into Big 12 play at 12-1. 

However, conference play is where the Cowboys’ year was turned on its head. The Pokes did have some really good wins, like beating No. 16 BYU, and sweeping the season series against UCF, which made the NCAA Tournament. Unfortunately, that’s about where the good parts stop. 

The Cowboys went 6-12 in Big 12 play, which ranked them thirteenth in the conference. Now, the Big 12 is no joke, as it is considered one of the best conferences in basketball and sent eight teams to the NCAA Tournament, but it's the conference the Pokes have to learn to navigate. 

The Cowboys went into conference play with a legit chance to make the NCAA Tournament, but the Pokes' underwhelming performance in conference play landed them in the NIT. Now, although this season wasn’t the ultimate goal, it might’ve been a good stepping stone to eventually reach that goal. 

This was Steve Lutz’s second season at the helm of the Cowboys, and he is already making progress. The Cowboys reached 20 wins this year, something that hadn’t been done since the  2022-23 season. 

Lutz also showcased how successful he can be in recruiting, as the heart and soul of the Cowboy team were all new additions from the transfer portal, and the Pokes currently have the No. 14 recruiting class in the nation with three four stars. 

As the season went on, many Cowboy fans continued to get more and more disappointed as it was made apparent that OSU would not make the NCAA Tournament. So, although the end goal might not have been achieved for the Cowboys, there are good pieces to take from this season that will make for exciting seasons to come.