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Oklahoma State Basketball Bracketology

Taking a look at the bracket projections for the 2015 NCAA Basketball Tournament

Travis Ford and the Cowboys look to improve their resume before March Madness
Travis Ford and the Cowboys look to improve their resume before March Madness
Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

February has arrived, which means it's time to start keeping tabs on where this Oklahoma State team is projected in this year's NCAA Basketball Tournament. Each week we will examine where some of the top bracketology sites have the Pokes seeded, as well as look ahead to games that could have the biggest impact on both reaching the tournament and improving their seed come March.

OKLAHOMA STATE RESUME

14-7 Overall | 4-5 Big 12 (5th)

Home

Away

Neutral

SOS

SOS Rank

RPI

RPI Rank

9-2 2-5 2-0 0.5753 32 0.5891 42
Key Wins (Teams Ranked 1-50 in the RPI)

Rank

Date

Site

Opponent

Score

16 1/27 Home Baylor 64-53
32 1/10 Home Texas 69=58
44 1/26 Neutral Tulsa 73-58
Bad Losses (Teams Ranked 100+ in the RPI)

Rank

Date

Site

Opponent

Score

116 12/6 Away South Carolina 49-75

*RPI and SOS stats courtesy CBS.com

OSU took a hit in the RPI rankings after losing to OU on Saturday, falling 9 spots from 33 to 42. The Pokes are in fairly good shape though with wins over three top 50 opponents in the RPI. However, the resume is lacking a quality win on the road, and getting one would go a long way in solidifying their place in the tournament. The loss to South Carolina remains the only major blemish on the resume, and the Pokes need to take care of business against Texas Tech and TCU later in the year to keep it that way.

Here's a quick look at where the Cowboys are currently slotted in some of he latest bracket projections:

Bracket Projections

Site
Seed
Region
Opponent
Site
SBN 11 East Northern Iowa Louisville
ESPN 10 South Stanford Omaha
CBS 8 Midwest Ohio State Louisville
SI 12 East Xavier Dayton

*All Projections as of 2/1

The Cowboys are still considered by most to be safely in the field, but they are probably one or two bad loses away from being squarely on the bubble. If the Cowboys can go 9-9 or even 8-10 in conference play and maybe win a game or two in the Big 12 Tournament, they should have nothing to worry about given the strength of the Big 12.

BracketMatrix.com is a site dedicated to ranking the field based on the average of 76 bracket projections as a effort to paint an overall picture of where each team stands. Here is a snippet of where the Cowboys stand in that ranking, along with the teams around them.

Seed
Team
Conference
Average Seed
# of Brackets
8 Ohio State Big Ten 7.89 76
8 San Diego State Mountain West 7.95 76
8 Stanford Pacific-12 8.14 77
8 Georgia SEC 8.43 76
9 Dayton Atlantic 10 8.48 75
9 LSU SEC 8.85 75
9 Oklahoma State Big 12 9.28 74
9 Xavier Big East 9.42 76
10 Seton Hall Big East 9.44 72
10 Miami (FLA.) ACC 9.47 74
10 Colorado State Mountain West 9.64 75
10 Michigan State Big Ten 9.73 70

*Last Updated 2/1 at 10:47

While being in the 8-10 seed range is a good sign, it certainly doesn't bode well for their chances to get out of the first round. There is still plenty of time for OSU to improve their seed, with several key games remaining on the schedule.

Key Upcoming Games

2/4 Oklahoma State @ #19 Texas

OSU already picked up a big win over Texas at home, but their road woes have been pretty consistent this season. Getting a win in Austin and sweeping the series will have an immediate impact on the RPI.

2/7 Oklahoma State vs. #9 Kansas

The Pokes lost a very sloppy but close game in Lawrence, and OSU has had success against KU at home in recent years.

2/7 Oklahoma State @ #20 Baylor

Beating Baylor at home was a great boost to the RPI, but beating a win in Waco would carry more weight.

2/18 Oklahoma State vs. #15 Iowa State

For whatever reason, these two teams seem to always play each other tight. Other than the remaining road games against top 50 opponents, beating ISU at home would go a long way come selection time.

Check back each week to see where the Pokes stand as we get closer to March Madness.