Cowboy Basketball Looking to Prove Doubters Wrong Next Season

Oklahoma State has higher expectations for next season, but it still isn’t getting national respect ahead of opening tip.

Next week, the Cowboys will begin the second season of the Steve Lutz era and look to snap their four-year NCAA Tournament drought. With a couple of interesting exhibition matchups behind them, the Cowboys are almost ready to tip off the season and get back into the Big 12 discussion.

Of course, it won’t be easy for OSU to end up back in the Big 12 race any time soon. With no consistent success in Stillwater since Eddie Sutton’s departure, OSU has been one of the most directionless programs in major college basketball for the past decade.

OSU’s status as an unknown was affirmed again on Thursday, when the Big 12 released the preseason media poll, with the Cowboys taking the No. 12 spot in the 16-team league. Although OSU made some strides this offseason, the questions surrounding the team from the outside are more than warranted.

The Cowboys saw some areas of improvement under Lutz in year one, going 7-13 in conference play after a generally encouraging nonconference slate. However, the Pokes’ 0-10 mark in conference road games left plenty to be desired.

One of the biggest issues for OSU last season was its offensive struggles. While that has been the story of OSU basketball since the beginning of the Mike Boynton era, Lutz looked to address that in his first full offseason in Stillwater.

Using the transfer portal to his advantage, Lutz added some impressive scoring talent to the roster, most notably Green Bay transfer Anthony Roy, who could easily lead the Cowboys in scoring this season after being among the best scorers in the nation in limited games with Green Bay last year.

Still, it can be hard to believe that OSU will suddenly be ready to take the next step and legitimately compete in the Big 12. With aspirations of making the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021, OSU needs to take a major step on both ends.

But with Lutz running the show, it appears OSU is at least headed in the right direction, even if it can muster a better spot than 12 in the preseason poll. Although the Cowboys probably won’t be able to challenge the teams at the top like Houston, the Cowboys could easily climb up the Big 12 standings just enough to make their way into the 68-team field in March.