How Would Gonzaga Joining The Big 12 Impact Oklahoma State?

The Big 12 could onboard Gonzaga to the conference in the coming season. How could this impact Oklahoma State?

The Oklahoma State Cowboys are gearing up for what could be a huge basketball season. They have the talent to be able to potentially be a tournament team once the end of the season nears, but a combination of consistent conference play and a good start to the season will be important for that.

With the season just around the corner, Brett McMurphy is reporting that the Big 12 is "seriously considering" adding Gonzaga to the conference for the 2024 or 2025 season, which would obviously impact the Cowboys, which play in arguably the toughest basketball conference in college basketball. 

"A decision on Gonzaga could come quickly, within the next two weeks," McMurphy writes. "A key component is that Gonzaga could be willing to accept less revenue at the outset of joining the Big 12 — similar to SMU joining the ACC — before the Bulldogs would eventually receive full basketball revenue shares, a source said."

The Cowboys have already begun receiving commitments for the next couple of seasons. They project to remain a competitive team, as they continue having talent roll in. 

Having consistent recruiting classes will be much more important for Oklahoma State if Gonzaga is going to be added to the conference. The Bulldogs are consistently a tough team to battle, and they'd add another elite program into a conference that already has tough teams on a nightly basis. 

Kansas, Baylor and Houston each remain a great program on a yearly basis, and it's truly any team on any team that's capable of coming away with wins.

So far through Mike Boynton's tenure in Stillwater, gathering talent through both recruiting and the transfer portal has been no issue, but putting it together to be a serious, contending team has been a task. With time and continuing to bring in elite talents, the Cowboys have the ability to flip that narrative.

Even as a team that could under succeed, having elite talents allows for the Cowboys to compete on a nightly basis, which could soon include Gonzaga.

"The addition of Gonzaga in men’s basketball would give the Big 12 17 basketball members and strengthen what already is considered the nation’s top basketball conference," McMurphy writes. "Kansas, Baylor, Houston and future member Arizona all ranked in the top 11 of last year’s final AP Top 25 rankings."

For the Cowboys to continue to compete against some of the best talents across the country in conference play will build the team's strength and prepare them properly for an NCAA Tournament appearance if and when that time comes.

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