Are The Cowboys' Tournament Hopes Still Alive?

The Cowboys’ path to the postseason is getting slimmer by the minute. 

Saturday’s matchup against TCU seemed like a must-win game for OSU. With both teams on the outside looking in on the NCAA Tournament, this was a heated back-and-forth matchup that reached overtime after a last-second putback shot by Parsa Fallah. 

However, in the end, the Horned Frogs got the best of the Pokes for the second time this season, winning 92-95. Now, with a conference record of 4-8 and only six games remaining in the season, is there still a way for the Pokes to reach the 64-team tournament?

Luckily, a loss to TCU isn’t a horrible loss to have. The Horned Frogs were listed as the “First Team Out” in the latest ESPN Bracketology and have steadily climbed the rankings over the past couple of weeks. The problem is, the Cowboys have now lost to TCU twice and have lost another opportunity to add a good win to their resume. 

With the chance to tie the season series with the Horned Frogs out the window, Oklahoma State will need some convincing wins to have a chance at the postseason come March. 

The path ahead is difficult, but not impossible. Four of the six games remaining for the Pokes are against unranked opponents, but they aren’t bad opponents. Colorado, Cincinnati and West Virginia aren’t teams that have made enough noise to be considered contenders in March Madness, but are now teams that OSU has to beat. Another loss to an inferior team could snap the last string that is holding the Pokes in the hunt for the big dance, and a loss to one of these three teams would do that. 

The last unranked team, UCF, is an opportunity for the Cowboys to show they can beat a tournament-level team. The Golden Knights are currently a 10-seed and are in the “Last Four Byes” category of the bracket. The Pokes have taken down UCF once this season already, and another win would be icing on the cake for the Cowboys’ resume. 

Finally, OSU has two games left that, if they won, would put them right back into the conversation of the tournament. The first is this upcoming Wednesday when the Kansas Jayhawks come to Stillwater. The Jayhawks have basically already secured a spot in March and are now just searching for a higher seed. A win against the No. 9 Kansas team would add a third-ranked win to the Pokes' resume and inch them closer to receiving a tournament berth. 

The same goes for the Cowboys’ last game of the season, as the No. 3 Houston Cougars travel to GIA on March 7. The Cougars, just like the Jayhawks, would be the perfect addition to a resume that is currently lacking for the Cowboys. If the Pokes can get back on the right track and finish the season with a big ranked win, they might just see themselves playing in March.