Can Cowboy Basketball Break NCAA Tournament Drought Next Season?

Oklahoma State is hoping to break an unfortunate streak in 2026.

In 2021, Cade Cunningham led the Cowboys to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 4 seed. After a win against Liberty in the first round, Cunningham’s squad simply couldn’t overcome a tough Oregon State team in the second round, ending OSU’s season.

Since that happened, Cunningham has won a couple of more postseason games. Of course, those came as a member of the Detroit Pistons in his fourth NBA season back in April.

Meanwhile, OSU is still searching for its first NCAA Tournament appearance since he left. That might finally be able to happen when the Cowboys take the floor next season in Steve Lutz’s second season at the helm. 

While Lutz is entering his second year as the Cowboys’ head coach, this will be his first season where he had the luxury of a full offseason to create a roster that truly fits his style and has the talent to compete in the Big 12. It remains to be seen if the Cowboys will actually be able to compete in arguably the toughest conference in college hoops, but there is some legitimate excitement surrounding the program for the first time since Cunningham’s departure.

While some big changes have led to some optimism in Stillwater, the national consensus on the Cowboys hasn’t changed much. Many analysts believe the program is headed in the right direction and that Lutz is a good coach, but they also believe that OSU won’t be making its NCAA Tournament return in 2026.

In CBS Sports’ recent bracketology, David Cobb left the Cowboys on the outside of the 68-team field and off the first four out list. Considering OSU didn’t even have a winning record last season, it’s understandable to not have the Cowboys on a list of the top 72 teams.

Still, OSU understands that the program’s standard is to compete for a Big 12 title and make the NCAA Tournament. While going from a conference bottomfeeder to conference contender in one year is unlikely, simply improving to the middle of the pack in the Big 12 could be enough to get back to the big dance.

It won’t be an easy climb for the Cowboys to make, but Lutz and company have to start winning at some point.