Cowboy Basketball Ready to Make Leap This Season

Oklahoma State is off to a great start in 2025-26, and it could be ready to make the leap this season.

Over the past few years, OSU basketball has been stuck in a rough situation. With plenty of losing seasons and NCAA Tournament misses throughout the past two decades, Cowboy basketball might finally be back.

In front of a rowdy Gallagher-Iba Arena crowd on Sunday, the Cowboys handily defeated Texas A&M. In the 24-point victory, the Pokes looked like a well-oiled machine.

With Isaiah Coleman and Christian Coleman showing out for the Cowboys, there was almost no stopping the potent OSU offense. However, the most important piece of the puzzle came on the other end.

After beating Oral Roberts in the season opener, OSU coach Steve Lutz was adamant about needing to step up defensively. While the second half of the opener featured a solid effort on that end, the 46-point first half from the Golden Eagles was a cause for concern coming into a game against an offense with as much potential as Texas A&M.

Instead, a cold shooting day for the Aggies, combined with an impressive defensive effort from the Cowboys, led to a miserable day for Texas A&M’s offense. While it won’t be easy to replicate that type of performance, it will be critical for OSU’s defense to continue playing at a high level throughout nonconference play and into the Big 12 schedule.

Of course, even if the Cowboys’ defense has some rough nights, it might not matter as much this season. With such a potent offensive attack, the Cowboys have already started to catch the attention of those around the country.

In Monday’s AP poll, OSU still remained on the outside but received one vote. While there were and still are plenty of question marks surrounding Lutz’s squad, it seems that some answers were found over the weekend with the dominant performance against the Aggies.

If the Cowboys can continue to put up big scoring nights and improve defensively, they should be a dangerous team by the time conference play begins. Most importantly, OSU is already looking like an NCAA Tournament team.

After recent years saw OSU suffer unfathomable losses in the early part of the schedule, this team has taken care of business through two games and could be ready to make a statement over the next few weeks. It’s far too early to say the Cowboys are back, but it sure feels like they are.