Oklahoma State Needs to Learn Important Lesson from Iowa State Loss
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Oklahoma State’s NCAA Tournament hopes took another hit this weekend.
On Saturday afternoon, OSU hosted No. 9 Iowa State, looking to get a signature win and get back on the right track after some struggles to begin conference play. Instead, OSU trailed by 30 at halftime on its way to a rough loss against the Cyclones.
Coming into the matchup, the Cowboys knew their ideal home-court advantage for a top 10 opponent wouldn’t be possible thanks to the snowstorm in Stillwater. However, the crowd still had some juice at tipoff that didn’t last long, mostly due to the Cowboys’ pathetic effort on the floor.
OSU’s loss pushed the Cowboys to 2-5 in conference play and 14-6 overall. With another loss in Stillwater, OSU’s path to making the NCAA Tournament got even trickier.
While the Cowboys had already been excluded in recent bracketologies, thanks to their recent rough stretch, it’s become more apparent by the game that this team simply might not be ready to make it to the big dance. OSU hasn’t made it to the NCAA Tournament since the 2021 season, and this streak of missing the tournament doesn’t appear to be ending anytime soon.
From here, OSU will have some more opportunities to get some signature wins and have some real opportunities to get some Big 12 road wins against opponents around OSU’s caliber. However, the Cowboys might have already dug a hole too deep to get out of.
After such a successful nonconfernce slate, OSU has reverted to its old ways in conference play. With only 21 points in the first half against Iowa State, the Cowboys’ offense looked no different than some of the absolute worst Mike Boynton-led squads.
While OSU was able to put up 50 in the second half, that sort of performance doesn’t matter much after digging a 30-point hole. That’s a lesson that OSU will need to learn quickly and apply to its season as a whole.
OSU could hit its stride in February into March, and that’s typically the exact time a college basketball wants to get hot. However, the Cowboys can’t afford to wait until then to play winning basketball.
If OSU wants to make it to the NCAA Tournament, it needs to start winning immediately. There has to be a sense of urgency every time the Cowboys run onto the floor from this point forward, and if at any point that urgency fades, so will the Pokes’ hopes of playing postseason hoops.
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.