Oklahoma State Needs to Overcome Road Struggles to Advance in NIT
Oklahoma State has had many issues this season, but none are more prevalent than its road woes.
The Cowboys are having a relatively successful season in the first year of the Steve Lutz era. After going 12-20 last season, the Cowboys managed to go a respectable 7-13 in conference play and are playing postseason basketball yet again.
Although OSU isn’t in the NCAA Tournament, it still has plenty to play for in the NIT. Back in the NIT for the first time since 2023, OSU isn’t in its typical NIT positioning. In past years, the Cowboys have resorted to the NIT after narrowly missing the NCAA Tournament and have typically been one of the favorites to win.
However, the Cowboys managed only a No. 4 seed after entering the 32-team field with a losing record. Still, that No. 4 seed was good enough to put OSU on its home floor in the first round for its win against Wichita State.
After the win, OSU awaited its fate for round two, which would be decided a day later. On Wednesday night, Northern Iowa put up a good fight but couldn’t take out SMU, which means the Cowboys will have to travel to Dallas to take on the Mustangs.
OSU won both of its nonconference road games, taking down Tulsa and Seton Hall. However, it had no luck once conference play began. OSU’s last trip to the Dallas-Fort Worth area featured OSU’s best shot at a road Big 12 win as it fell to TCU on a last-second shot in a wild finish.
That loss and many others helped the Cowboys to an 0-10 mark in Big 12 road games. While SMU might not be a Big 12 team, playing against a solid team on the road has proved to be problematic for the Pokes.
One thing that could be in OSU’s favor is it beat SMU earlier this season… kind of. The Cowboys faced SMU in a charity exhibition in the weeks before the season started and won 89-78 in Gallagher-Iba Arena.
Of course, much has evolved for both teams over the course of the season, and this battle will be the final for one team. If OSU wants to keep its season going beyond Sunday, it must find a way to overcome its issues away from Stillwater.
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Ivan is a sports media student at Oklahoma State University. He has covered OSU athletics since 2022 and also covers the OKC Thunder for Inside The Thunder and Thunderous Intentions.