Bracketology: Palm, Lunardi Have Cowboys in ‘First Four’ Entering the Weekend

The Cowboys enter Saturday’s tilt against the Wildcats as one of the “First Four” teams, according to the two most widely regarded bracketologists, meaning — for now — they are narrowly projected into the 68-team field as one of the last teams in slated to play in Dayton.

CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm has the Cowboys as the third team in that category, while ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has the Oklahoma State just a spot from his “Last Four Byes.” For now, both project the Cowboys playing in Dayton for a chance at the 64-team field. A win against Kansas State, a game that tips at 1 p.m. Saturday in Gallagher-Iba Arena, would go a long way in getting the Cowboys out of such a treacherous position.

Palm has the Cowboys playing Penn State (17-11, 8-9 Big Ten) in Dayton for a spot in the East Region, where Creighton (18-10, 12-5 Big East) would await the winner. Palm has that region headed by Purdue. Big 12 foe Baylor is the 3 seed.

Lunardi has the Pokes in the Midwest Region, where if they could get past USC (20-8, 12-5 Pac-12) in Dayton, OSU would play Northwestern (20-8, 11-6 Big Ten) in the First Round. Lunardi has Houston heading that region of the bracket, and Texas as the 2 seed. He also projects Oral Roberts in the Midwest as a 12 seed.

With how the past two games have gone for the Pokes, some would count getting in under any circumstance as a success, but the Cowboys have chances over the coming weeks to move up the seeding ladder.

Kansas State is a 2 seed, according to Lunardi and Palm. Baylor, a team OSU plays Monday in Stillwater, is a 3 seed, according to both. And Texas Tech, a team OSU plays March 4 in Lubbock, has battled all the way to the top of Lunardi’s “Next Four Out.” And that’s not even to mention the opportunity the Big 12 Tournament could bring.