‘Let’s Not Hit the Panic Button’: Steve Lutz Still Believes Cowboys Can Make NCAA Tournament After Rough Arizona Trip

STILLWATER — The Cowboys are on the outside looking in of the NCAA Tournament bubble and now have seven games and a conference tournament to get above the cut line.

What a difference a week makes in terms of perception of the Cowboys’ tournament chances.

Last week, the Cowboys upset BYU in Gallagher-Iba Arena, leading to the students flooding the white maple hardwood. It was a Quad 1 win for the Cowboys that put them firmly back on the bubble, with some outlets even including the Cowboys in the field.

But then OSU went to Arizona, got clobbered by the No. 1 Wildcats and lost an uninspiring game to Arizona State. It felt like one step forward, two steps back. With seven games to go, Lutz said Thursday there’s still plenty to fight for over these next seven games.

“The season is not over,” Lutz said. “It’s not lost. We’ve made progress in the program. We were not in the running for going to the NCAA Tournament last year. At this point in the year, man, we were just hoping to get into the NIT or something.

“We have seven games left, that we can win a few of those games, especially  the Quad 1 games, you’re going to go to the NCAA Tournament. Prior to the game at Arizona State on Tuesday, bracketology still had us in. Let’s not hit the panic button, and let’s not lose sight of the fact that this program has continued to improve. We’re in Year 2. We’re in talks, or we’re in the hunt of going to the NCAA Tournament. That’s our job to get to the NCAA Tournament. We have seven games left. Now, in seven games if we go 0-7, you guys are gonna have a different attitude and a different feel to this press conference. But there’s no reason to think we can’t still do it.”

Entering Friday, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has the Cowboys in his “Next Four Out” section, listing the Pokes as the sixth team to miss the NCAA Tournament. OSU isn’t in CBS Sports’ updated bracketology.

The Cowboys enter this weekend’s game against TCU at No. 70 in the NET. OSU is 1-6 in Quad 1 games, 6-2 in Quad 2, and a combined 9-0 in Quads 3 and 4.

Of interest, TCU is one of the teams the Cowboys are dueling on the bubble. Lunardi lists TCU as the first team out, so a win Saturday (which would be Quad 2) could help the Cowboys’ cause while worsening the standing of another bubble team.

Things can shift around, but here’s OSU’s remaining schedule with the opponent’s NET ranking and what quadrant the game would be for the Cowboys:

vs. TCU — 47, Quad 2
at Colorado — 79, Quad 2 (would need Colorado to get into the Top 75 to be considered Quad 1)
vs. West Virginia — 62, Quad 2
at Cincinnati — 61, Quad 1
at UCF — 45, Quad 1
vs. Houston — 4, Quad 1

There are no certainties at this point, but the Cowboys would probably feel fairly decent of their chances should they finish 9-9 in Big 12 play, which would mean going 5-2 during this final stretch. But 4-3 might be enough to get the Cowboys in depending on what happens around them. Anything less than that, and OSU would really be leaving it up for chance.

So, there are opportunities. It’s more a matter of whether the OSU team that beat BYU takes the floor or the OSU team that went to Arizona rears its ugly head.

“If you want to defend and rebound and take care of the basketball for the next seven games, you’re gonna be dancing,” Lutz said. “And if you don’t, then you’re gonna have to look in the mirror and be able to own the fact that you didn’t get it done.

“We have plenty of opportunities to finish this season on a high note and go to the NCAA Tournament.”