2 minute read
Six-game win streak boosts
by The O'Colly
Cowgirls’ confidence
Gina Foster Staff Reporter
The Cowgirls came to play their best and stay competitive in an intense matchup.
The continued teamwork and agility the Cowgirls possess contributed to the 73-68 win against No. 20 Iowa State in Gallagher-Iba Arena on Wednesday.
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OSU at Kansas. Tipoff: 2 p.m. at Lawrence, ESPN+
OSU at Kansas. Tipoff: Sunday at 2 p.m. in Lawrence on ESPN+
OSU at West Virginia. Tipoff: Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Morgantown on ESPN+
Locked in: Win out in the regular season, advance to the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament and not get blown out
For the Cowboys to secure a spot in March Madness, they will likely have to defeat No. 14 Kansas State on Saturday, No. 9 Baylor on Monday and at Texas Tech on March 4 — a team on a four game win streak with two against ranked opponents.
If OSU does this and ends the season as the No. 7 seed in the Big 12 tournament, it should also win the first round matchup and advance to the quarterfinals. At this point, the Cowboys will likely face either Kansas or Texas, and as long as they don’t get blown out in this round, they should feel safe on Selection Sunday with their resume.
Stay out of the First Four: Win three more games OSU sits at No. 42 in the NET rankings with more than two weeks before Selection Sunday. If the Cowboys can get to 19 wins, no matter who the wins are against because the Big 12 is so competitive, OSU could avoid a trip to Dayton for the First Four games. Bubble anxiety: Add two wins or sweat out tournament hopes Selection Sunday will be an antsy one if OSU can’t find at least two more wins.
OSU’s final three conference games – No. 9 Baylor, No. 14 Kansas State and Texas Tech – would all be Quadrant-1 wins, which go a long way toward making the tournament. Win two and the Cowboys are likely safe. If they don’t, the Big 12 Tournament will become more important.
As of now, the Cowboys would have to play in the 7 vs 10 first-round game of the Big 12 Tournament against OU. A win would give OSU some breathing room, but a loss would have the Cowboys sweating their fate.
How OSU misses the tournament
Simple. Lose the final three conference games.
Seven wins in eight games skyrocketed the Cowboys from the bubble to the 8/9-seed range, but three straight losses quickly put OSU back on the hot seat. Lose the next three and the Cowboys are on the wrong side of the cutoff line. sports.ed@ocolly.com
Games against two top-15 teams and a fellow bubble team present the opportunity for quality wins. But those wins will be hard to come by.
Lose all three and that leaves OSU with a 7-11 conference record. The NCAA Tournament threshold has typically been an 8-10 or 9-9 conference record. If the Cowboys lose all three, they will need to make a deep run in the Big 12 Tournament or they won’t make the Big Dance.
