Joe Lunardi Says NCAA Made a ‘Mistake’ Putting OSU as a 4 Seed

What was supposed to be a highly celebrated night in Oklahoma State’s basketball history quickly turned controversial.

The Cowboys entered Selection Sunday being predicted as a 2 or 3 seed after a stretch of winning six of eight ranked games since Feb. 22. But when the bracket came out, OSU was a 4 seed in the Midwest region, the same region where West Virginia was a 3 seed. The Pokes beat West Virginia twice in the week leading up to Selection Sunday.

The Pokes’ placement has been one of the hottest topics among bracket experts in the fallout of the announcement. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi called OSU’s seeding “a mistake” on the committee’s part.

Lundari pointed to the NET as a reasoning why OSU would’ve been lower than West Virginia. The Cowboys entered the selection show ranked 29th in the NET, five spots behind West Virginia.

Mitch Barnhart, the committee head and Kentucky athletic director, was asked about OSU’s placement and cited the Cowboys’ two Quadrant 3 losses, aka the Pokes’ losses to TCU.

Lunardi wasn’t the only person who questioned OSU’s seeding.

Don’t think you can justify West Virginia being a 3 and Oklahoma State being a 4. I gotta look into it more, but that seems like a screw-up. OSU has the second-most Quad 1 wins.

— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) March 14, 2021

Bill Self: "I was surprised Oklahoma State wasn't on the 3-line, I was surprised Texas wasn't one the 2-line."

Cuonzo Martin also mentioned about #okstate "They're playing Liberty ..ooo that's tough."

— Harold R. Kuntz (@HaroldRKuntz3) March 14, 2021

ESPN’s Jay Bilas also said the Cowboys got the worst draw with an opening game against a tough Liberty team followed by a good Tennessee squad.

Let the NCAA vs. OSU conspiracy theories continue.