Oklahoma State's Must Avoid Missing Same Opportunities in 2026-27

The Cowboys need to take advantage of the situations thrown their way.

Jan 10, 2026; Ames, Iowa, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys head coach Steve Lutz watches his team play the Iowa State Cyclones during the second half at James H. Hilton Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-Imagn Images | Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

Oklahoma State’s 2025-26 season was a wild ride, and the Cowboys might have been closer to reaching their goals than it seemed.

Over the course of the past few months, Cowboy basketball went from a fun story in nonconference play to its usual struggling program when Big 12 play arrived. While the season ended the same as so many others have in recent years, this season might not have been as bad as it seemed.

Sure, the Pokes’ incredibly hot start in nonconference play may have turned expectations up a notch, but all of the goals the Cowboys wanted to achieve at the beginning of the season were firmly in sight. The main goal, of course, was to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021.

Going into their final game of the season against TCU in the Big 12 Tournament, the Pokes had just reappeared on Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology, potentially ready to creep back into the bubble picture if they had been able to advance to the conference quarterfinals. Ultimately, the loss to TCU ended up being the final nail in the coffin for the Cowboys.

However, there were plenty of opportunities throughout the season that OSU simply missed out on. From games that swung the wrong way in the final moments to big losses that featured awful starts but solid finishes, OSU simply couldn’t put together a full 40 minutes in some of the season’s most critical moments.

Sure, every team can say that only a few bounces needed to go their way to change the entire season, especially in a conference as competitive as the Big 12. However, the Cowboys might have been the epitome of that.

With tight losses against TCU in the regular season and missed opportunities for upsets against Houston, Iowa State and others, OSU was only a few plays away from bolstering its overall record and adding some signature wins to the resume.

Going into next season, it will be up to Steve Lutz and company to put together another competitive roster and go on a run in Big 12 play that features not only some signature wins, but also some consistency against the middle of the conference. Of course, it’s easier said than done to accomplish either of those things, as OSU knows all too well, but the formula to a successful season in 2026-27 has been written in the form of 2025-26’s missed opportunities.