Despite Recent Downturn, Ceiling For Oklahoma State Hoops Remains High

What a weekend.

On Friday afternoon, Oklahoma State lost a heartbreaking first round NCAA Tournament game to Michigan, 92-91. The Wolverines caught fire from three, hitting 11-of-15 three-pointers in the second half and evoking memories of NBA Jam in the process.

About 27 hours later, Brad Underwood was standing next to Illinois Athletic Director Josh Whitman wearing the wrong shade of orange, stunning Oklahoma State officials, members of the basketball program, and fans alike.

Welcome Coach Brad Underwood! #WeWillWin #ILLINI pic.twitter.com/9yqLI0Ce1x

— Josh Whitman (@IlliniAD) March 18, 2017

It’s been a whirlwind since then, but at the end of the day, it’s time for the Cowboy basketball to move on and replace Brad Underwood. And time is of the essence.

Players will likely be making decisions on their NBA futures (Jawun Evans) and other teams and their coaches lurking for potential transfers. As far as candidates, there’s obviously quite a bit of steam building for one name in particular — heck, he even came onto our own PFB podcast to discuss it.

Whether it’s Doug Gottlieb taking over as the new head coach or someone else, the question begs asking: What is the expectation for Cowboy basketball at this point? How good of a job is this, really? Is it still an elite job in the Big 12, or are we kidding ourselves?

Mike Holder apparently told Brad Underwood that OSU is toiling away with the Iowa States and Kansas States of the world (which technically is true right now … again, that’s an insult to Iowa State).

If not, the dagger came a few minutes later. When discussing the value of OSU basketball on campus, the source said, Holder told Underwood he was asking for Final Four-type money and that the Cowboys currently are on a level of Iowa State, Texas Tech and Kansas State in the Big 12. [NewsOK]

But what about since the Big 12 started? Is this historically true?

We thought it would be fun to look at success for each team since 1996 when the Big 12 began. Since the formation of the Big 12, Oklahoma State ranks in the top half of the Big 12 in winning percentage — here’s a quick look at every Big 12 member (past and present) and their winning percentage as a Big 12 member.

Oklahoma State is fourth in the conference in winning percentage which is a solid ranking, obviously. However, since 2008-2009, in eight years of Travis Ford and a year of Brad Underwood, Oklahoma State has taken a step down.

Since 2008-2009, Oklahoma State has made six NCAA Tournaments, but has yet to win a tourney game since 2009. OSU has finished in the top five of the Big 12 only three times, with a winning percentage of 58 percent. That number would rank them ninth on the list above.

As far as expectations going forward, like Gottlieb referenced on the podcast, he wants to bring the program back to the heights that Eddie Sutton lead it to during his tenure. He wants to make the NCAA Tournament every year, and he wants to challenge for the Big 12 title every few years.

In case anyone forgot how great Eddie was, he went an astounding 368-151 (71 percent), as well as 153-90 (63 percent) in the Big 8 and Big 12. He made the Sweet 16 six times, the Final Four twice, and won a pair of conference titles.

As long as we aren’t asking Michael Jordan, I think the reasonable ceiling for Cowboys hoops, with Gottlieb or anyone, is Eddie Sutton-era basketball in Stillwater.

Recruiting to Stillwater, like in football, is difficult. But if you can get guys, you have one of the best built-in home court advantages in the nation. You have great facilities and, as we saw this year, a supportive fan base for a winner.

Going toe-to-toe with Bill Self and Kansas every season is probably too much to ask of almost any program, but there’s no reason Cowboy hoops can’t duke it out with the West Virginias, Oklahomas, Baylors, and Iowa States just behind in challenging KU for the conference crown.