Lutz Stresses Importance of Making the NCAA Tournament at Big 12 Media Days

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Steve Lutz knows the Cowboys need to go dancing in 2027, and he thinks he has the team to do it.

That was consistently the third-year coach’s message while he was on the stage at Big 12 Media Days on Wednesday in Kansas City.

“I was hired in April two years ago to take us to the NCAA tournament,” Lutz said. “We hadn’t been there since 2021. That’s got to be the goal. That’s always been the goal.

“Now it’s time to realize that goal. I think that we’ve got a team that can certainly do that.”

Lutz is 37-33 entering his third season leading Oklahoma State’s program. The Cowboys haven’t made the NCAA Tournament since the Cade Cunningham year of 2021 — Year 4 of the Mike Boynton Era.

OSU has had a couple of close shaves since then, so close that they would’ve been in under the new format. The Big Dance is getting even bigger, moving to 76 teams.

But Lutz said he’s not necessarily looking to scrape by into one of those newly opened spots.

“Had we expanded the field last year, we would have been in the NCAA Tournament,” Lutz said. “I look at this as we needed to schedule and we need to win as if there is no tournament expansion. I think that our nonconference schedule will allow us to do that, as long as we’re able to win those games.

“Ultimately when you get into the Big 12 — because the league is so strong — you’ve got to win games within the Big 12. That’s where we’ve fallen short. That’s where we’ve got to make sure we make a strong push.”

The Cowboys went 7-13 in Big 12 play in Lutz’s first season, good for a 12th-place finish. Then OSU turned around and went 6-12 last season — finishing 14th.

A big reason Lutz thinks the Cowboys will be better this season is they are better-funded. He got more into that in a sit-down with CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish. That’s led to an overall better roster that features 10 new players.

The first step back to national relevancy for Cowboy basketball is consistent NCAA Tournament appearances. Since Eddie Sutton’s exit in 2006, the Cowboys have been to the NCAA Tournament just seven times — a brutal reality.

Now in his third year of trying to turn OSU’s fortunes, Lutz knows the mission.

“An NCAA tournament participant,” said Lutz when asked what he hopes his team’s identity is at the end of the year. “At the end of the day it’s Year 3; that’s what we’ve got to finish with. We’ve got to finish on a high note. We have to get to the tournament and make a run.

“In terms of just identity, we have to embrace the defensive end of the floor. I think we’ve got enough talent on the offensive end, and it fits well with the way that we play, but it’s got to be on both ends of the floor. That’s where we fell short last year. If we can do that, we’ll have a smile on our face come Selection Sunday.”