Oklahoma State Picked 10th in Big 12 Basketball’s Preseason Poll

The Big 12 coaches predict Oklahoma State to finish 10th in the new-look league this upcoming season.

The conference announced its preseason poll on Friday, where the Kansas Jayhawks — fresh off avoiding a postseason ban — were picked to win the league. In 28 seasons of Big 12 preseason coaches polls, KU has been picked first or tied for first 20 times.

This is the first season that features 14 Big 12 teams with the additions of Houston (picked second), Cincinnati (picked 11th), BYU (picked 13th) and UCF (picked 14th). Oklahoma is the only returning Big 12 school picked below two newcomers.

The Cowboys have an average Big 12 finish of 7.1 in the league under seventh-year coach Mike Boynton. OSU’s highest placing in that time was fifth (2020-21) and its lowest was ninth (2018-19).

There has been a marginal improvement between Boynton’s first three years and his past three years in regards to conference finish. From the 2017-18 season through the 2019-20 season, OSU had an average finish of 8.3. From the 2020-21 season through the 2022-23 season, OSU had an average finish of 6.0.

The Cowboys start their season with an exhibition game against Oklahoma Baptist on Nov. 1. OSU gets things going for real Nov. 6 against Abilene Christian.