Cowboy Basketball's Season Meets An Embarrassing Ending

OSU is sent packing into the offseason after a 96-70 loss to Wichita State.

Mar 11, 2026; Kansas City, MO, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys coach Steve Lutz reacts to game play during the second half against the TCU Horned Frogs at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images | William Purnell-Imagn Images

The Oklahoma State Cowboys' season is officially over. 

The Pokes faced off against the Wichita State Shockers on Sunday night for the second round of the NIT. OSU had hoped that with a win, it would reach the elite eight of the NIT for the second straight year, but the Shockers had other plans. 

Wichita State absolutely dismantled the Cowboys, running away with a 96-70 win to send the Cowboys into the offseason. OSU would go down early, with the Shockers jumping out to a 22-8 lead. However, the Cowboys would try to claw their way back. 

The Pokes would try to dig themselves out of this hole, and even led 47-46 early in the second half. Unfortunately, this would be the end of the positives for the Cowboys, as the Shockers would pull away fast. 

Christian Coleman and Kanye Clary did as much as they could, with Coleman having a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Clary adding 19 points of his own. It just wouldn’t be enough to combat the Shockers' electric offense led by Kenyon Giles, who had 28 points. 

Anthony Roy, Vyctorius Miller and Isaiah Coleman were all off suspension and participated in this bout, but just couldn’t find their stride. The three key players came off the bench for the Cowboys and only scored a combined 17 points. 

Roy had a rough night shooting, as he went 3-11 from the field and shot 16.7% from beyond the arc. 

The Shockers did not have a rough night shooting, as they shot 54% from deep on Sunday night to absolutely torch the Cowboys. Giles hit eight threes himself, two more than the entirety of the Cowboy team. 

The Pokes also seemed to make it too easy for the Shockers, as Wichita State scored 18 points off OSU turnovers. 

This embarrassing night seems to sum up Oklahoma State’s season as a whole and signifies how far they fell as the season progressed. The Pokes started the season 12-1 before heading into Big 12 play, and things took a turn for the worse.

The Cowboys would go 6-12 in conference play, ranking them No. 13 in the conference. This underwhelming Big 12 performance, along with an early exit in the Big 12 Tournament, would knock the Pokes out of contention for the NCAA Tournament and land them in the NIT. 

Now, the Pokes find themselves as a second-round exit and a lot of questions going into the offseason.