OSU: Bracket Breakdown
By John Helsley
The O-Club erupted as soon as Oklahoma State entered the bracket, with a bonus of being a No. 7 seed.
And it didn’t take long into the Selection Sunday program for the Cowboys to rejoice. Indeed, a good day for the Pokes, who have returned normalcy to the program with back-to-back tournament bids.
After breathing and taking the bracket in, however, this much is clear: the Cowboys have much work to do in order to surpass last year’s accomplishment — winning a first-round game.
The Midwest Regional is a monster.
You’d think with No. 1 overall seed Kansas in the region, there’d be some soft spots in the 16-team quadrant. Not so.
And the Cowboys certainly didn’t find any favors, drawing Georgia Tech in their opener with Big Ten champ Ohio State waiting in Round 2. That’s two hot squads staring down OSU in Milwaukee.
The Yellow Jackets could be a bracket sleeper after surging to the ACC Tournament finals, where they gave Duke — another No. 1 seed — all it wanted. Tech, a team with Final Four and NBA talent, likely underachieved during the regular season, but may have found itself just in time.
The Cowboys have one major chip on their side, James Anderson, and his impact should never be underestimated, especially now that he’s outside the suffocating familiarity of the Big 12.
But the Jackets have superb freshman Derrick Favors in the middle of a strong frontline and even more talent surrounding him, including Gani Lawal, who along with Favors projects as a first round NBA draft pick. It’s been mostly untapped talent at Tech, until last weekend.
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