Poor Performance vs. Kansas Delivers Another Blow to Cowboys' Tournament Hopes

Oklahoma State's time to turn the season around is running out.

Oklahoma State Cowboys guard Anthony Roy (9) dribbles beside Kansas Jayhawks guard Darryn Peterson (22) during a men's college basketball game between the Oklahoma State Cowboys and the Kansas Jayhawks at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Okla., Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Oklahoma State’s season is hanging on by a thread, assuming it hasn’t collapsed already.

On Wednesday night, OSU suffered yet another loss in Big 12 play. With an 81-69 defeat in Gallagher-Iba Arena to No. 8 Kansas, the Cowboys dropped their fourth straight and looked unprepared to face a team of the Jayhawks’ caliber.

After beating then-No. 16 BYU to begin the month, the Cowboys appeared ready to potentially make a late-season run into the NCAA Tournament. With Steve Lutz and several players noting after that game that the Cowboys could use the performance against the Cougars as a turning point and let it build some momentum for the rest of the season, OSU looked to be in a good spot.

Of course, OSU was almost always going to lose at No. 1 Arizona in the ensuing game, especially considering that the Wildcats were still unbeaten at the time and looked nearly unstoppable. However, following that game with losses to Arizona State and TCU before this season-defining opportunity against Kansas was something OSU couldn’t afford.

The Cowboys had been on or near the bubble for most of the season after their solid start to nonconference play, but their ability to stay in the NCAA Tournament picture has faded. Nothing has gone right for the Cowboys since that win against BYU, and it seems likely that it might already be too late to turn things around.

Had OSU not gone on a four-game losing streak here, a win against Houston to cap the regular season and a couple of solid wins in the Big 12 Tournament might’ve been enough to get the Pokes back into the at-large picture. However, it now seems like OSU might be out of that discussion entirely, and winning the conference tournament might be the Cowboys’ only hopes of making the big dance, a stark difference from where OSU expected to be when Big 12 play tipped off.

No, winning in the Big 12 isn’t easy, but failing like this didn’t seem like an option after OSU’s nonconference success. If the Cowboys want to win, they have to play much better, especially considering they hold arguably the worst defense in the entire country. 

Maybe it’s simply too late for any results from here on out to matter for the Cowboys’ tournament hopes. Maybe it’s not too late yet. The only thing that’s certain is that the Cowboys only hurt their chances of making it with Wednesday night’s performance.