OSU Wrestling: Big 12 Championship Preview

For the Cowboys’ standards, it’s essentially been an eternity since they’ve been champions of the Big 12.

The Big 12 Wrestling Championship is Saturday and Sunday at the BOK Center in Tulsa. Session I will start at 10 a.m. Saturday.

After winning a program-record nine Big 12 titles in a row, Oklahoma State is in the midst of a two-year drought. Missouri ended OSU’s run when it returned to the conference from the MAC and has won the past two Big 12 tournaments. The Cowboys might be the favorites this year, though, after going undefeated in duals against Big 12 opponents. However, this will be OSU’s young lineup’s first tournament test since the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in early December, when the Cowboys finished ninth with a depleted lineup.

“It’s been two years, right,” OSU coach John Smith said. “That’s something that takes a lot of pride and really moves you into a lot better place when you do win it. At the beginning of the year if you looked at it, it didn’t look like much of a chance, but we’ve definitely put ourselves in position with our seeds. It’s gonna take 10 guys, though. You can’t have somebody just have a poor tournament that you were expecting big points out of. You’re not gonna win it. If you lose one of those guys you’re not gonna win it with a 13-team tournament. The national tournament, different story. But this tournament, you can’t lose someone. Everybody needs to score points. When we have an opportunity to score bonus, we gotta get bonus points.

“We could wrestle really well and come in second. Iowa State, I think is probably the team to beat. Looks really good on that second half of the season.”

Here’s everything you need to know about the Big 12 Wrestling Championship, including how to watch each session, OSU’s lineup and past results.

Broadcast Schedule

Session I (Preliminary & Quarterfinal Matches): 10 a.m. Saturday on ESPN+
Session II (Semifinal & Consolation Quarterfinal Matches): 5 p.m. Saturday on ESPN+
Session III (Consolation Semifinals and Seventh Place Matches): 12 p.m. Sunday on ESPN+
Session IV (Finals): 7:30 p.m. Sunday on ESPN2

OSU Lineup

Big 12 Wrestling Championship Results