Feb 12, 2025; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys head coach Steve Lutz reacts during the second half against the TCU Horned Frogs at Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

What ESPN's Latest Bracketology Could Mean for Oklahoma State

Originally posted on Oklahoma State Cowboys on SI
By Ivan White | Last updated Aug 2, 2025 9:30 PM ET

College basketball is still three months away, but the quest to make the NCAA Tournament is already on.

Over the past few months, Oklahoma State head coach Steve Lutz has tried to build a roster suited to his needs and expectations to hopefully put out one of the best teams OSU has had in recent memory. Since Cade Cunningham led the Pokes to an NCAA Tournament bid in 2021, OSU has missed out on the big dance for four straight years, marking the program’s longest tournament drought since missing for seven straight years in the 1980s before Eddie Sutton’s arrival.

For OSU to make it into the NCAA Tournament and avoid letting that drought extend to five years, it will need to make some noise in the Big 12. Last season, the Cowboys actually did a decent job of that, going 7-3 in conference home games.

Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Of course, there were also some significant growing pains in Lutz’s first season at the helm, as evidenced by the team’s 0-10 mark in conference road games. Still, if the Cowboys can maintain their home success and find ways to win some marquee matchups away from Stillwater, they could be in the driver’s seat to make it back.

While that is the blueprint, a tournament appearance is not the expectation for the Cowboys on the national scale. In ESPN’s latest Bracketology, Joe Lunardi again left OSU out of the field of 68 and off the list of the next eight teams out.

In Lunardi’s bracket, there were eight Big 12 squads with another sitting on the bubble just on the outside. With nine teams expected to be firmly in the tournament discussion, OSU falls into the category of the seven teams that aren’t.

So, the first step for OSU would simply be to take care of business against those squads and prove it is the best of the worst. After that, it will be up to the Cowboys to prove they are a tournament team by beating tournament competition.

OSU's Interesting Schedule

Of the nine teams in the field or on the bubble, OSU will face Iowa State twice, while playing five of them only at home and the other three only on the road. With that breakdown, the Cowboys will have a chance to take on most of their toughest opponents in Stillwater, where they excelled last season.

It also gives OSU an opportunity to potentially get some key road wins against teams that could be near the bottom of the Big 12 standings. Overall, the Cowboys’ schedule could give them a golden opportunity to sneak into the tournament, but if this Bracketology holds true, it could be another year of coming up short.

This article first appeared on Oklahoma State Cowboys on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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