Could the 2024-25 Season Be a Success for Oklahoma State?

Oklahoma State is on the path to finish with a losing record, but it might still be a successful season.

Throughout the history of OSU athletics, wrestling has been the school’s top sport. With so many banners hanging in Gallagher-Iba, it’s hard not to notice the dominance of that sport. However, it is not the only sport that has a rich history in that arena. Also hanging in the rafters are two banners of men’s basketball championships from when OSU became the first team to ever win back-to-back NCAA championships.

Since then, the program has seen plenty of eras, most notably Eddie Sutton’s long and successful tenure. Even in the years since his departure, the Cowboys have managed to find their way to the NCAA Tournament and be a top team in the Big 12, albeit not with the same consistency.

However, the Cowboys’ luck has run out, with OSU set to miss the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time in eight seasons. With the program also set for back-to-back losing seasons for the first time in decades, it would be easy to say the program is at its lowest point.

Yet, the 2024-25 campaign might still be a successful season. After OSU fired Mike Boynton last season, the Cowboys took their time looking for a coach before landing on Steve Lutz.

While Lutz’s hiring was seen as an exciting moment for the program, there was also an understanding he could not fix things in one year.

Still, he managed to find transfers from around the country to fill out the roster despite how much time had already passed in the heat of the portal by the time of his hiring. This roster is among the worst in recent memory in Stillwater, but given the circumstances, the team could have been much worse.

Still sitting at .500 in early February, with just over half of the Big 12 slate over, OSU has managed to stay competitive and be a tough team in a number of games despite a clear talent disadvantage.

While the Lutz era could simply go down as one filled with other seasons of this caliber, the 2024-25 season could also be looked back upon as the beginning of a long but worthwhile process to make OSU basketball a contender.

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