Oklahoma State’s Remaining Schedule Among Toughest in College Basketball
Oklahoma State’s schedule only gets tougher as the season progresses.
OSU holds the 11th-toughest remaining strength of schedule in the country. When some call the Big 12 the toughest conference in the country, it’s far from hyperbole.
Although the Cowboys rank 11th out of the hundreds of teams in the NCAA, they don’t even crack the top half of the Big 12. Of the 16 toughest remaining schedules in college basketball, the conference holds 14 spots.
According to @espn College Basketball Power Index, all 14 @Big12Conference teams are among the Top 16 remaining “strength of schedules” left. Basically every night an NCAA Tourney game. Thanks, @MackeyMac8 pic.twitter.com/FW6aschtb1
— Fran Fraschilla (@franfraschilla) January 15, 2024
What makes OSU so difficult to assess is its tough schedule. Of course, travel issues have added to that equation in the past two contests.
After narrowly losing an overtime thriller against Baylor at home to open conference play, OSU has not played a competitive game on the road. Against Texas Tech, OSU held a solid first-half lead before a complete collapse.
In a trip to Ames that featured a delayed tip-off, the Cowboys had a similar fate. Against the Cyclones, the Cowboys scored only 42 points.
That was a new low in what has been OSU’s worst season in at least a half-decade. Looking to snap a three-game losing streak, OSU faces No. 3 Kansas in Stillwater.
A loss, which seems likely, will send the Cowboys to 0-4 to start their Big 12 schedule for the first time since 2020. That season, OSU lost its first eight conference games.
While the Cowboys rebounded to finish 7-11 in Big 12 play, that looks like a near-impossible result this season. According to ESPN’s analytics, the Cowboys have only two games left with at least a 50% chance of winning.
Finishing with a 2-16 conference record will likely not happen. With their near upset against Baylor, OSU looks poised to pull off an upset or two at some point.
Still, with so many early struggles, OSU’s hopes of an NCAA Tournament appearance probably depend on winning the Big 12 Tournament.
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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.