Cowboy Basketball Sees Postseason Hopes Slipping Away In Latest NCAA Tournament Projection

The inevitable has happened for Cowboy basketball.

The past 10 days have been a disaster for OSU men’s basketball, as it started with a blowout loss to, at the time, No.1 Arizona, 84-47. This shell-shocked the Cowboys and proved that they weren’t ready to compete with the best of the best. However, this was only the start of the Pokes’ fall.

The Cowboys would stay in Arizona and try to bounce back against Arizona State, but the Sun Devils had other plans. OSU’s inability to limit ASU’s offensive boards and its own turnovers spelled chaos for the Pokes in Tempe, and the Pokes lost their second straight game 85-76.

OSU hoped that coming back to Stillwater would be enough to stop its bad luck, as it prepared for a bout with TCU. Unfortunately, the Pokes would fall once again, this time in overtime, 95-92.

Before this three-game slide, the Cowboys were in a prime position as they had just upset BYU. Now, Oklahoma State’s chances of making it to the big dance are looking slimmer than ever.

ESPN’s latest Bracketology agrees, as the Cowboys have fallen out of the next four out category and have fallen out of the tournament projection altogether. Furthermore, OSU’s last opponent, TCU, has climbed the ranks into the last four in category after its win over the Pokes.

Even though this was to be expected after three straight losses, it confirms the Cowboys’ worst nightmares, that the road to March will not be an easy path, if possible at all.

Count is as a blessing or a curse, but the Pokes still have four matchups against tournament hopeful teams to help them with a push to March.

The No. 8 Kansas Jayhawks appear first on the schedule, and OSU is looking for a repeat of its last ranked matchup in GIA. The Cowboys shocked the world by dismantling BYU in Stillwater, and it's possible the only way to keep Oklahoma State’s postseason hopes alive is to shock the world again.

It’s clear that OSU needs to pull off something huge to get its name back in conversations of the 64-team tournament, and a third-ranked win could do that. It also doesn’t hurt that they would be taking down the team led by projected No. 1 pick Darryn Peterson.

With almost all hope of an NCAA Tournament slot slipping away, the Pokes need to turn their play around now, and doing so against Kansas could be the spark that lets the fire simmer a little while longer.