Goal still same: Win Big 12 tourney
But if Cowboys don't, they appear to have a solid spot in NIT
Cowboys' goal still same: Win Big 12 tourney

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By Andrea Cohen

Published: March 12, 2008

Over the last two months, Oklahoma State's postseason prospects went from possibly watching games from the couch to the NCAA Tournament bubble. On the eve of the Big 12 Tournament, the Cowboys appear likely to have a spot in the NIT.

When OSU was on a five-game winning streak a week ago, a number of college basketball analysts, including ESPN.com "Bracketologist” Joe Lunardi, had the Cowboys on the NCAA Tournament bubble as an at-large bid, and OSU was labeled "the hottest team in the Big 12” by a number of coaches and media members.

But with a loss to Oklahoma, OSU's chance for an at-large bid virtually disappeared.

"We know we have to win the Big 12 Tournament to get where we want to be,” Sutton said last week — and that was before the loss at Texas.

Sutton declined to comment about postseason options other than the NCAA Tournament, saying that the Cowboys' goal is still to win the Big 12 Tournament and receive and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

But without pulling off that historic feat, OSU looks like it has a solid spot in the NIT. With a Top 100 RPI, a 7-9 record in one of the country's top conferences and wins in five of its last seven regular-season games, on Tuesday NIT forecasting site NITology.com projected OSU as one of four No. 4 seeds in the 32-team tournament.

Of course, OSU's NIT chances — and seeding — would be improved by winning at least one game in the Big 12 Tournament, and could be damaged if several more regular-season conference champions fail to win their conference tournaments and claim NCAA Tournament bids. The NIT gives automatic bids to any regular-season conference champions that do not receive NCAA berths.

NITology.com also projects OSU's first-round Big 12 Tournament opponent Texas Tech as a No. 4 seed in the NIT. Both teams are presently 15-14 (OSU's January win over non-DI Rogers State does not count), but the NIT does not require a .500 record.

Last year OU failed to make the NIT with a .500 record, but the Sooners had a 6-10 conference record in a year where the Big 12 wasn't as strong, an RPI of 102 and they lost seven of their last eight games.

OSU went to the NIT the last two seasons, in 2006 as a No. 6 seed and in 2007 as a No. 2 seed. The Cowboys lost their first game of the tournament both years.

This season a third postseason tournament option exists beyond the NCAA Tournament and the NIT. The CBI, a 16-team tournament, is being run by the Gazelle Group, which works with Coaches vs. Cancer. Tournament officials said they intend to compete with the NIT for participants, but it remains to be seen if the CBI will be able to lure teams from the NCAA-owned NIT.

Related Topics: Basketball, Sports, College Basketball, College Athletics, NCAA Basketball Tournament