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The Pokes entered the week reeling after a bad loss against TCU and needing a win or two to get back on track. Unfortunately, the Cowboys suffered two tough losses at home, causing them to slide down the RPI rankings.
OKLAHOMA STATE RESUME |
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17-10 Overall | 7-8 Big 12 (6th) |
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|
Home |
Away |
Neutral |
SOS |
SOS Rank |
RPI |
RPI Rank |
| 10-4 | 4-6 | 3-0 | 0.5955 | 7 | 0.5939 | 30 |
Key Wins (Teams Ranked 1-50 in the RPI) |
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|
Rank |
Date |
Site |
Opponent |
Score |
||
| 1 | 2/7 | Home | Kansas | 67-62 | ||
| 14 | 1/27 | Home | Baylor | 64-53 | ||
| 14 | 2/15 | Road | Baylor | 74-65 | ||
| 41 | 1/10 | Home | Texas | 69-58 | ||
| 41 | 2/4 | Road | Texas | 65-63 (OT) | ||
| 50 | 1/26 | Neutral | Tulsa | 73-58 | ||
Bad Losses (Teams Ranked 100+ in the RPI) |
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|
Rank |
Date |
Site |
Opponent |
Score |
||
| 100 | 1/24 | Away | Kansas State | 53-63 | ||
| 105 | 12/6 | Away | South Carolina | 49-75 | ||
| 129 | 2/15 | Away | TCU | 55-70 | ||
*RPI and SOS stats courtesy CBS.com
OSU entered last week ranked 25th in the RPI, falling from a season high 20th prior to the TCU loss. However, the Cowboys still looked to be in good shape with several key games left on the schedule including back to back games against ranked opponents at home. The back to back losses dropped the Pokes five spots, which isn't horrible, but they certainly missed a great opportunity to improve their resume with only a few weeks left. The one aspect of the resume the Cowboys have going for them is strength of schedule, as it continues to climb due to the overall talent in the league.
Here is the latest bracket projections for the Cowboys:
Bracket Projections |
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Site |
Seed |
Region |
Opponent |
Site |
| SBN | 7 | East | Illinois | Midwest |
| ESPN | 7 | West | Iowa | Portland |
| CBS | 7 | East | Illinois | Columbus |
*All Projections as of 2/20
All three of these projections were last updated before the West Virginia loss, so odds are the Pokes will be in the 8 or 9 seed in these brackets this week when the updates are released. OSU has taken quite a fall in just two weeks, after they were projected as a 4 or 5 seed in almost every bracket out there following the Baylor win.
The latest seeding on BracketMatrix.com paints a little better picture where they Cowboys stand
Seed |
Team |
Conference |
Average Seed |
# of Brackets |
| 6 | Virginia Commonwealth | Atlantic 10 | 5.52 | 94 |
| 6 | Georgetown | Big East | 6.09 | 94 |
| 6 | West Virginia | Big 12 | 6.17 | 94 |
| 6 | Southern Methodist | American | 6.29 | 94 |
| 7 | Providence | Big East | 6.43 | 94 |
| 7 | Oklahoma State | Big 12 | 6.72 | 94 |
| 7 | San Diego State | Mountain West | 7.33 | 94 |
| 7 | Ohio State | Big Ten | 7.35 | 94 |
| 8 | Indiana | Big Ten | 7.55 | 94 |
| 8 | Michigan State | Big Ten | 8.44 | 93 |
| 8 | Texas | Big 12 | 8.46 | 94 |
| 8 | Dayton | Atlantic 10 | 8.57 | 87 |
*Last Updated 2/22 at 10:25 AM
20 of the 94 brackets included in the matrix have been updated with results from Saturday, and most of those brackets have the Cowboys as a 7 or 8 seed. With only 1 game against a team in the top 50 of the RPI remaining, it will be tough for OSU to climb much in the rankings before the end of the regular season. The Pokes will need to take care of business this week against TCU and Tech, and then pick up a win at West Virginia or knock off one of the top teams in conference during the Big 12 Tournament to see their seeding improve.