Will the Cowgirls Get Back Into Top 25 This Season?
Oklahoma State was one of the hottest teams in the country, but its latest loss is a major setback.
On Tuesday, No. 24 OSU went into Houston looking to win in its first game as a ranked team in seven years. Instead, it lost to what had been the worst team in the Big 12 and lost handily.
OSU trailed by as much as 26 in the contest before eventually battling back to get within three points, and Stailee Heard even had a potential game-tying shot but couldn’t convert. If she made the shot and OSU went on to win in overtime, the discussion around the team might be far different, but the Cowgirls are now in dangerous territory.
A loss like that can derail a season. Of course, it is only January, and most of the Big 12 slate is still in front of the Cowgirls. However, that loss did erase all the momentum the program had built up over the past few weeks.
OSU jumped into the top 25 after beating No. 17 West Virginia on Saturday and showed it could compete with the Big 12’s best. The good news for the Cowgirls is that going 1-1 against a top 20 team and the worst team in the conference counts the same regardless of which game the win and loss occur.
OSU’s win over West Virginia helps it in the standings as a potential tiebreaker, and there is virtually no chance the Houston loss will hurt the Cowgirls in any tiebreak. However, the Houston loss could keep the Cowgirls away from the top 25 for the rest of the season.
Even if OSU proves it can compete with the best in the Big 12 again, voters have already seen how low the team’s floor is when things go poorly.
OSU will drop out of the polls next week, and its inclusion or exclusion in the receiving votes section could loom large in its chances to scrape back into the top 25. The Cowgirls will stay on the road and look to bounce back against UCF on Saturday.
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