MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — No. 20 West Virginia, so close to spoiling Senior Night at Kansas, now has a chance to spoil Oklahoma State’s postseason hopes.
Or at least render the Cowboys nervous.
While the Mountaineers are among five Big 12 teams comfortably in the NCAA tournament, Oklahoma State still needs to earn its invite. After an 82-70 win over TCU on Wednesday stopped a four-game losing streak, the Cowboys (18-11, 8-9) still require a victory in Morgantown on Saturday to avoid a losing conference record.
Last season, they finished 8-10 in the league yet became the first sub-.500 Big 12 team to make the NCAAs. Does OSU dare tempt fate again?
The latest bracket projections by Jerry Palm and Joe Lunardi show Oklahoma State as a nine seed, which leaves a buffer of eight to 10 spots between making and missing the field. A loss Saturday followed by a quarterfinal exit in the Big 12 tournament would give Travis Ford’s team six losses in its final seven games, the kind of fade that screams NIT.
Not that TCU coach Trent Johnson thinks OSU has anything left to prove.
“This team is not a bubble team. Let’s not kid ourselves,” he said after Wednesday’s game in Stillwater. “Everybody’s talking about Oklahoma State being desperate—I don’t get that. I just know that’s a good basketball team.”
Of course, coaches perpetually brag on their conference, so keep Johnson’s evaluation in its proper context.
“They’ve beaten Texas twice. They’ve beaten Baylor twice. Enough said. So I don’t get it.”
What the selection committee might not get are losses at RPI No. 169 Texas Tech and No. 126 TCU, along with a 26-point beatdown at South Carolina back in December. Regardless of the praise heaped by Johnson, the Cowboys are hardly an NCAA lock, and they could wind up being locked out if West Virginia completes the season sweep this weekend.