Cowgirl Basketball Slips in Latest Bracketology After Colorado Loss
In this story:
Oklahoma State has some more work to do after its latest loss.
On Sunday, OSU fell on the road against Colorado 79-65, snapping the Cowgirls’ three-game winning streak. While it had seemed like OSU was turning a corner, Sunday’s loss showed that some of the same issues continue to plague the team.
While the Cowgirls still have several weeks of action left in the regular season, it’s hard not to think about what losses like that might mean for their NCAA Tournament hopes. OSU still appears to be firmly in the tournament field, but it’s far from a guarantee that the Cowgirls will find the postseason success they’re hoping for.
After the Cowgirls’ latest loss, ESPN’s Charlie Creme dropped them down to a No. 8 seed in his latest Bracketology. With a No. 8 seed, the Cowgirls would be in a similar position to last season, where a win in the first round would lead to a likely inevitable loss in the second round, or at least a significant uphill battle against one of the nation’s best teams.
In this instance, Creme threw the Cowgirls in the No. 8 spot in the Storrs region, which, of course, belongs to the UConn Huskies, who are the top-ranked team in the country with a 21-0 record thus far. While it’s not exactly news that facing UConn in the NCAA Tournament isn’t exactly a recipe for success, getting a draw of that nature would be somewhat crushing for the Cowgirls.
Coming into this season, OSU was ranked and expected to put up one of the best years in program history. With OSU never making it past the Sweet 16 in its history, this Cowgirl squad had a real chance to become the best in school history, at least in terms of an NCAA Tournament run.
While that opportunity still presents itself, the Cowgirls must clean up their play and climb into a much more desirable spot in the bracket. Getting out of the first round alone would still be an accomplishment for Jacie Hoyt’s team, but making it further would be a true representation of how far the program has come.
Over her first three seasons in charge, Hoyt led the Cowgirls to the NCAA Tournament twice, losing a couple of first-round heartbreakers in that span: a loss to Miami in 2023 and a loss to South Dakota State in 2025. With year four inching closer to the postseason, the Cowgirls still have plenty of time to play at the top of their game and get exactly where they want to be.
Ivan is a sports media student at Oklahoma State University. He has covered OSU athletics since 2022 and also covers the OKC Thunder for Inside The Thunder and Thunderous Intentions.