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STILLWATER — Last year, the NIT was set up for Oklahoma State to succeed. The uninspired Cowboys lost in the first round at home.

This year, the setup isn't nearly so Cowboy-friendly. Seeded fith, the Cowboys will hit the road — quickly, as in today — and head to Carbondale, Ill., for a first-round matchup with Southern Illinois on Tuesday. If they win, it is likely that they will be on the road again, playing at Arizona State.

Coach Sean Sutton called OSU's draw tough — "Southern Illinois has been really one of the most successful programs in college basketball the last four or five years,” he said — but surprisingly, he didn't sound heartbroken about having to go on the road.

"From my standpoint, you always like to play at home, but I'm not sure that would have been the best thing for this team this season,” Sutton said. "The students are away (on spring break). Our fans are used to seeing us in the NCAA Tournament every year, and we've got to get it back to being that way. But I think in some ways our players look at it as more of a challenge to go on the road with a young team. I think it's beneficial to play in another tough environment.”

It's certainly an opportunity to show it's a different group than the OSU squad that lost in the first round to Marist. SIU plays bruising defense — the Salukis are 12th nationally in scoring defense — and made the Sweet 16 a year ago, giving Kansas a run for its money in that game.

The Cowboys have even heard of their opponent — unlike last year, when OSU's response to its draw was to ask: "Where is Marist?”

"I sensed that there was great respect for the name Southern Illinois,” Sutton said. "There's no question when their name popped up there was instant respect.”

Now the question is, how much self respect do the Cowboys have? Can they muster up the enthusiasm to go win on the road?

The dejected Cowboys have said the right things publicly about the NIT, but privately, several players expressed disinterest in playing in the poor man's postseason.

"It's not the NCAA,” Byron Eaton said candidly in the locker room after OSU's loss to Texas. "It's a tournament teams don't want to go to. But I'm happy to keep playing.”