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Five Thoughts On Oklahoma State’s NCAA Tournament Draw

Published

7 years ago

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Let’s dance!

All snark aside for a minute, how much fun is it to be excited about March again? I haven’t been this fired up since Marcus Smart’s freshman season which ended in a Nike-induced haze as Oregon (which should have been like a No. 3 seed) took it to Travis Ford and Co. in Round 1.

The No. 10-seeded Pokes take on No. 7 seed Michigan in Round 1 on Friday from Indianapolis in a rematch of the 1992 game in which Eddie Sutton’s team lost to the Fab Five.OSU (might have) gotten screwed with its seed in Round 1, but Michigan definitely did. More on this in a bit, but first on to the five thoughts.

1. It’s been a while

Oklahoma State has not won a NCAA Tournament game in:

  • 95 months or
  • 416 weeks or
  • 2,914 days or
  • Since Year 1 of the Thunder in Oklahoma City

All staggering numbers, to be sure. OSU beat Tennessee in the first round in Year 1 of the Travis Ford era but then lost consecutively to Pittsburgh, Georgia Tech, Oregon, Gonzaga and Oregon in its next five trips to March Madness. In that span of time Brad Underwood beat West Virginia and VCU in the Big Dance while he was at SFA.

In fact, since 2005, Oklahoma State only has one NCAA Tournament win. One! Since I graduated college! Brad Underwood has twice as many wins as Oklahoma State does in March Madness since 2005. Hopefully that will end this year (for OSU, not Underwood).

2. OSU-Michigan will feature all the points

Oklahoma State finished as the No. 1 scoring team in the country according to KenPom.com. Michigan? Yeah, they were No. 5 which is going to be an issue for a suddenly-lacking Oklahoma State defense.

So if you thought Kansas and Iowa State scored a lot on the Pokes — and goodness, they did — those teams were No. 9 and No. 13 respectively in adjusted offensive efficiency. Michigan at No. 5 might score 100 (hopefully OSU will score 101).

3. Big 12 disrespect

I’m a Big 12 homer, I know, but can somebody explain to me how West Virginia got a No. 4 seed and Iowa State got a No. 5 seed?! A No. 5?! What?! Iowa State lost to Gonzaga by two, Cincinnati by one and ran roughshod through the end of the Big 12, winning 10 of their last 12 including at Kansas and taking the Big 12 Tournament. And they got a No. 5 seed?!

If you haven’t seen the final seeding numbers, here they are. Kansas State was the last team in and Oklahoma State wasn’t too far in front of them (which seems crazy in retrospect).

Also, Vanderbilt lost 15 games (!) and got a higher seed than Oklahoma State. Fifteen!

4. Momentum or nah?

Michigan has won 10 of 12 including five straight and sweeping the top seeds at the Big 10 Tournament. If Michigan had an incredibly depressing graphic design era in which it tossed out a “M” logo with flames coming off of it, this would be a good way to describe how it is playing basketball right now. Oklahoma State on the other hand has lost three in a row.

HOWEVER, there is hope.

As OKC Dave pointed out here from our @OSUStats feed (which you should follow), the reset button gets hit once the ball is tipped on Thursday morning. That’s good news for Poke fans, especially given the number of smart people who think this is a good matchup for them.

5. Who got screwed?

Most of my Twitter timeline was filled up with folks saying Oklahoma State got jobbed with its seed. I actually think the opposite is true. Michigan has to feel a little 2013 Oklahoma State-y, right?

We won our conference tournament, bumped ourselves up to a No. 7 seed and … wait, we get the No. 1 offense in the country and Jawun Evans in Round 1 … and if we win that we get Louisville in Indianapolis in Round 2. WHY DOES THE NCAA HATE JIM HARBAUGH?

There is no way to measure this, but I would imagine no team had more to lose or gain over the final two weeks of regular season play than Oklahoma State. Beat Iowa State twice or Kansas and Iowa State and all of a sudden you might be looking at a No. 7 or No. 6 seed. Lose all three (like they did) and fall to a No. 10.

The reality though is that they would have been playing in the same type of game No. 7 vs. No. 10, just potentially against a weaker team. Either way, you would have seen a No. 2 seed in Round 2.

It’s not a terrible draw for OSU. The good news is that you stayed away from all the No. 1 seeds and if you win the first round you’ll feel like you’re playing with house money (just like 2009).

The bad news? As it has been for most of the last fortnight … you’re going to have to get stops against a terrific offensive team to do so.

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