Oklahoma State Ranked Among Worst Remaining Unbeatens in CBB
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Oklahoma State is turning heads with its hot start, but there is still plenty of work to do.
As one of only eight remaining unbeatens in Division I, the Cowboys have garnered some national attention. Still, there is no shortage of doubts surrounding the Cowboys after winning their first nine games.
In Steve Lutz’s second season at the helm, he has crafted a roster that is just about perfect for his preferred style of play. While the defense has been somewhat shaky to begin the year, OSU’s offense has been fast and hard to stop, suddenly making the Pokes one of the most dangerous teams in the Big 12.
Of course, on the national scale, there is still some warranted skepticism about the Cowboys’ hot start, and The Athletic’s Brendan Marks proved that with his ranking of the top remaining unbeatens in college basketball. Of the eight teams still without a loss, OSU was thrown at No. 7, ahead of only Miami (Ohio). Giving OSU a contender status of only 3/10, Marks explained why OSU’s hot start hasn’t been enough to move the needle.
“The Cowboys have only two wins of note thus far, over Texas A&M and Northwestern — neither of whom projects as an NCAA Tournament team — but their depth can still make life tough for opponents as they enter the gantlet of Big 12 play,” Marks wrote. “Lutz is currently playing seven players at least 20 minutes per game, but even more eye-opening is that 12 players see at least 10 minutes per game, a practically unheard of rotation at the high-major level. Of course, when you play as fast as Oklahoma State does — currently seventh nationally in adjusted tempo, per KenPom — you need to have depth. That track-meet style has worked so far, but we’ll see if it translates to the toughest conference in the country.”
The six teams ahead of OSU in order are: Michigan, Iowa State, Duke, Arizona, Vanderbilt and Nebraska. Considering two of the teams ahead of OSU are also in the Big 12, the concerns about how the Pokes’ style will translate to conference play are certainly valid.
While Marks didn’t throw the Cowboys higher than No. 7 on his list, he does still believe that OSU will remain on that list of undefeated teams throughout nonconference play, projecting the Pokes’ first loss to come against Texas Tech in early January.
Even if OSU isn’t getting the love it might deserve for this start and even begins to fade once conference play begins, it’s hard for anyone in Stillwater to poke holes in an undefeated Cowboy basketball season for now.
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.