Oklahoma State basketball: The Cowboys' NCAA Tournament resume

* ESPN's Joe Lunardi: East Region, No. 4 seed against No. 13 Bucknell in San Jose.

* Yahoo! Sports: No. 4 seed (no bracketology).

* CBSSports.com's Jerry Palm: South Region, No. 5 seed against a First Four survivor in Kansas City.

* SI.com: West Region, No. 5 seed against No. 12 Cincinnati, in Austin.

* Sporting News: No. 4 seed (no bracketology)

Note: If you're wondering about the crowd the Cowboys are running with, the other teams generally considered for the No. 4 and 5 seeds are Syracuse, Kansas State, Wisconsin, Marquette, Illinois, Ohio State, Butler and Louisville, among others.

Mission Statement

“Right now, we're focusing on trying to win this Big 12 championship. We'll let the bracketology take care of itself. I haven't experienced it yet. NIT my first season, we got bounced. We didn't have any postseason play last year. This is real exciting, to be here with the guys I struggled with as far as winning. I feel like my guys deserve it.” – OSU redshirt sophomore Brian Williams

Education

* Nov. 18, North Carolina State: 76-56 win over the then-No. 6 Wolfpack was the Cowboys' coming out event.

* Dec. 31, Gonzaga: 69-68 loss to the No. 10 Zags was a tough lesson in late-game management.

* Jan. 12, Oklahoma: 77-68 loss on the road has been pinned as the get-tough turning point in the season.

* Jan. 30, Iowa State: 78-76 win at home was the Cowboys' first over-the-hump moment in a clutch situation.

* Feb. 2, Kansas: 85-80 win in Lawrence served as a road breakthrough and a signature moment to the season.

* Feb. 6, Baylor: 69-67 overtime win revealed OSU's never-say-die attitude in repeated rallies.

* Feb. 16, Oklahoma: 84-79 overtime win at home added another layer to OSU's clutch toughness.

* Feb. 20, Kansas: 68-67 double-overtime loss was a bitter pill, yet not lingering, as the Cowboys won three days later on the road at West Virginia.

Work Experience

Since before Game 1's opening tip, this season has proved to be a journey for the Cowboys. They lost Jéan-Paul Olukemi, a former starter, for the season to a knee injury in the second game against Akron. They lost starter Brian Williams for 2 1/2 months to a fractured wrist that required surgery in the preseason. They lost starter Michael Cobbins for the season's first month with a fractured toe. Still, OSU won some big games and lost some others, but developed along the way, putting in the time to eventually grow into a team that has already won 20 games overall and posted the program's first double-digit conference win total since 2005.