Matchup vs. No. 7 Houston Gives Cowboys Chance to Get Back in Postseason Picture

Oklahoma State's path to the NCAA Tournament isn't easy, but it could start on Saturday.

Jan 6, 2026; Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys coach Steve Lutz watches game play during the second half against the UCF Knights at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images | William Purnell-Imagn Images

March could be an interesting month for the Cowboys if this weekend goes their way.

Throughout the 2025-26 season, OSU men’s basketball has been on a roller coaster. From a hot nonconference start that nearly got Steve Lutz’s team a spot in the AP Top 25 to a four-game Big 12 losing streak that was snapped as Parsa Fallah tears his ACL on the final play of the night, OSU hasn’t had a predictable season.

So, it would be incredibly fitting for this impossible-to-predict year to end with a bang in the regular season finale. On Saturday, OSU will host No. 7 Houston in the final home game of the season.

Aside from potentially hosting some NIT matchups, the Cowboys will be playing in front of their fans in Gallagher-Iba Arena for the final time this season. While the NCAA Tournament appears to be out of the picture as of now, there’s a chance that OSU could begin to rewrite its script if it can pull off one of the biggest upsets in recent Cowboy basketball history.

This season, Lutz has led his squad to some wins against some of the Big 12’s top teams, boasting two wins against UCF and a win against BYU. While neither of those teams are in the national contender tier like Houston, the Cowboys should have some confidence they can compete with the best.

That confidence should only be growing after this week’s win at UCF, marking the Cowboys’ first victory since Fallah’s injury. Sure, the Cowboys were blown out at Cincinnati just a few days earlier, and that could easily happen against Houston, but there’s at least some optimism that the Pokes can turn things around to finish the season.

Should OSU knock off Houston, it could be ready to make a run in the Big 12 Tournament. While postseason hoops in Kansas City haven’t been kind to OSU in recent years, it might not take much for the Cowboys to get rolling, considering the amount of individual offensive talent they still have on the roster.

A win against Houston this weekend likely won’t change much for OSU’s postseason situation, even if the Cowboys are able to put together a convincing performance. Still, it could set up a Big 12 Tournament run and be a real difference-maker if OSU can play its way back into the bubble.

This season has been a roller coaster, and OSU could be ready for the biggest rise yet.