Cowgirls Featured in One of ESPN's Best Remaining Games This Season

Oklahoma State has been one of the best teams in the country this season, and it still has some important matchups on the schedule.

After the Cowgirls dominated against Kansas State in an 85-55 win on Saturday, they rose to a spot in the top 20 in the AP poll for the first time since the 2017-18 season. With Jacie Hoyt’s team already making noise nationally in her third season, OSU has its sights set on a deep run in March.

Of the other four Big 12 teams in this week’s top 25, OSU has beaten all of them and earned a 4-1 record against them, splitting the season series against West Virginia. By winning their only matchups against TCU, Kansas State and Baylor, the Cowgirls have put themselves in a position to contend for a Big 12 title and earn one of the top seeds in the conference tournament.

However, the Cowgirls’ lack of ranked opponents doesn’t necessarily make their schedule easy. Two of OSU’s losses this season have come against teams in the bottom half of the Big 12 standings, falling to Kansas and Houston.

OSU is far from perfect and could fall against one of the teams near the bottom of the conference. Still, the Cowgirls have one more chance to get a premier conference win, even if the opponent isn’t currently ranked.

On Feb. 18, the Cowgirls will head to Salt Lake City to face a Utah team that is tied with OSU for second in the Big 12 standings at 9-3. Although the Utes aren’t ranked, they are receiving votes and have two winnable games this week that could vault them into the top 25 by OSU’s matchup.

In ESPN’s list of the best remaining games each day of the regular season, OSU’s matchup with Utah earned the spot for Feb. 18. OSU’s matchup with Utah is one of five Big 12 matchups that made the cut out of the remaining 21 days.

While the Big 12 has been a solid conference all season, OSU’s inclusion on this list shows the impressive job Hoyt has done through three seasons, and her work has put the program in perhaps the best position it has ever been.

Want to join the discussion? Like Oklahoma State Cowboys on SI on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Cowboys news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.