Revisiting Phillip’s 2020 Oklahoma State athletics predictions

2020 is officially in the rear view which means it’s time to hold myself accountable. So before I make predictions for Oklahoma State athletics in 2021, it’s time to look back at the predictions I made for last year to see how right — or wrong — I was.

Oklahoma State men’s basketball makes the NCAA Tournament - WRONG

When I made this prediction, the team was 9-3. They ended up going 9-11 the rest of the season to finish 18-14. There was no NCAA tournament due to COVID-19, but it’s safe to say that outside of winning the Big 12 tournament, Oklahoma State was going to be on the outside looking in.

OSU Women’s Soccer wins the Big 12 again - WRONG

It’s hard to know what would have happened if 2020 had been a normal year, but with a conference only schedule, the Cowgirls fell short. They went 6-2-1 finishing third in the Big 12 behind conference champ TCU and runner-up West Virginia.

It’s disappointing considering how loaded the Cowgirl squad was, but it was still a solid season that ended with a Bedlam victory.

Baseball returns to Omaha - N/A

The Cowboys were 13-5 — and just a little more than a week away from debuting the new stadium — before the season came to an abrupt end due to COVID-19.

Here’s hoping they can make it happen in 2021.

Football has a Top 3 defense in the Big 12 - WRONG

Man. Oklahoma State had arguably one of their best defenses of the Mike Gundy era. But it still wasn’t enough to finish top-three in the conference.

• Total defense: 5th
• Scoring defense: 4th
• SP+: 5th

Oklahoma State did finish with the 3rd-best passing defense in the Big 12, so I guess that’s a nice consolation prize.

Men’s Golf misses the NCAA Championship - N/A

Like baseball, the season was canceled early due to COVID-19.

Tylan wins the Biletnikoff - WRONG

Tylan didn’t even finish as a finalist for the award, in part likely because he missed a few games due to injuries. Despite that, he still led the Big 12 in receiving yards and receiving yards per game.

Chuba takes over the NFL - WRONG

Chuba decided to come back for one final season at Oklahoma State, so not even close.

So if we’re adding it all up, I went 0-5-2.

Not great. Here’s hoping I do better in 2021.