OSU Basketball: Can Steve Lutz Get the Cowboys Back Into the Top 25?
Oklahoma State has struggled over the past few seasons, but a new coach could take the Cowboys back to the national stage.
After a 12-20 season, OSU fired Mike Boynton, who had coached the Cowboys for the past seven seasons. His departure left the Cowboys’ roster in shambles as a slew of important players entered the transfer portal, including star freshman Brandon Garrison and leading scorer Javon Small.
Despite those losses, OSU has recovered well throughout the offseason, and new coach Steve Liutz has built a team that is filled with potential impact transfers. With the likes of Arturo Dean and Davonte Davis, OSU will look to be competitive in the Big 12 next season. As the conference moves to 20 games, OSU will look to have a winning record in the conference for only the second time in the past decade.
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If the Cowboys can pull that off, they will have a good opportunity of making the NCAA Tournament. However, Lutz and the Cowboys have goals far beyond just making the cut in a 68-team field. Throughout his introduction as OSU’s coach, Lutz referenced the teams Eddie Sutton coached throughout his time in Stillwater.
Sutton helped OSU advance to two Final Fours and made the NCAA Tournament 13 times. Sutton’s teams also found their way into the top 25 in 12 seasons. Since Sutton retired nearly two decades ago, OSU has had only five seasons in which it has cracked the AP Top 25. Boynton only accomplished the feat in one of his seven seasons, thanks to No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham leading the way.
Any coach coming into OSU will struggle to get the team back to the era of Sutton. Yet, Lutz seems confident in his ability to not only get OSU back into the tournament but compete for national championships.
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IVAN WHITE
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.