Oklahoma State Basketball Picked 14th in Big 12 Preseason Coaches Poll

Big 12 basketball is as tough as it comes, and with Oklahoma State being a program in transition, it isn’t hard to see why the Cowboys aren’t picked among the league’s best.

The conference on Thursday released the Big 12 preseason coaches poll, where Oklahoma State was tabbed as the 14th-best team in the conference, only ahead of newcomers Colorado and Utah. This poll and the awards that follow were voted on by the conference’s 16 coaches, and coaches couldn’t vote for their own team or players. Here is the full poll:

1. Kansas (9) — 215
2. Houston (5) — 211
3. Iowa State (1) — 194
4. Baylor — 185
5. Arizona (1) — 179
6. Cincinnati — 140
7. Texas Tech — 135
8. Kansas State — 133
9. BYU — 116
10. TCU — 90
11. UCF — 83
12. Arizona State — 64
13. West Virginia — 62
14. Oklahoma State — 46
15. Colorado — 37
16. Utah — 30

It’s the 20th time in 28 seasons the Jayhawks are on top of the preseason poll. Houston, the reigning Big 12 regular-season champs, aren’t far behind Kansas, though, coming in just four points behind the Jayhawks despite having four fewer first-place votes.

Arizona is the reigning Pac-12 champ, and the Wildcats have won six regular-season conference titles and five league tournament titles since the 2013-14 season. But in its first year in the Big 12, Arizona enters as the league’s presumed fifth-best team. That shows just how deep this conference is expected to be.

OSU plays six games this season against the top five teams in the preseason poll — three at home and three on the road. Meanwhile, the Pokes play five games against teams that join them in the bottom five of this poll — three at home and two on the road.

The conference also announced its preseason awards, but no Cowboy was present.

Preseason All-Big 12 First Team

Caleb Love, Arizona
LJ Cryer, Houston
J’Wan Roberts, Houston
Tamin Lipsey, Iowa State
Hunter Dickinson, Kansas (unanimous)

Preseason All-Big 12 Second Team

Norchard Omier, Baylor
Jeremy Roach, Baylor
Keshon Gilbert, Iowa State
Dajuan Harris Jr., Kansas
Coleman Hawkins, Kansas State

Preseason All-Big 12 Awards

Preseason Player of the Year: Hunter Dickinson, Kansas
Preseason Co-Newcomer of the Year: Jeremy Roach, Baylor
Preseason Co-Newcomer of the Year: Coleman Hawkins, K-State
Preseason Freshman of the Year: VJ Edgecombe, Baylor

Under new coach Steve Lutz, Oklahoma State opens its season on Nov. 4 against Green Bay but has a few scrimmages in place beforehand. The Cowboys have 10 new scholarship players on the roster with Bryce Thompson, Jamyron Keller and Connor Dow being the only returners from last season’s squad. The Pokes open Big 12 play on Dec. 30 when they host Houston in Gallagher-Iba Arena.