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FEDNESDAY FEB8HARY 21, 2007
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>> BIG 12 BASKETBALL COMMENTARY
Oklahoma State on bubble Loss puts Cowboys'tournament prospects in jeopardy
LM Otero/ASSOCIATED PRESS
OSU coach Sean Sutton and his Cowboys appear to be on the NCAA Tournament bubble after losing four of their last five games. The Cowboys can help their postseason chances Wednesday when they take on Texas A&M at Gallagher-Iarena B arena.
BY CARSON CUNNINGHAM
DAILY O'COLLEGIAN
STILLWATER, Okla. — The Cowboy basketball team better untie its dancing shoes, because its invitation to the Big Dance may not arrive.
Saturday's 75-64 loss to Missouri now puts Oklahoma State on the outside looking in at the NCAA Tournament.
In other words, OSU is in a place no team wants to be - on the bubble.
The Missouri loss was another setback for a Cowboy team that is in complete disarray.
OSU has lost four of its past five and on Saturday it had no answer for Missouri's full-court pressure.
"We let (Missouri's) pressure dictate the pace of the game," a visibly frustrated Sean Sutton said. "We emphasized (handling the press) over, and over, and over. And that's frustrating - when the message doesn't get across (to the players)."
The loss was as damaging to OSU's tourney hopes as much as it was disheartening for Cowboy fans.
The 11,624 fans in attendance witnessed a dreadful performance by a team that didn't seem to care.
"We did not play with great pas-
on Selection Sunday.
pion," Sutton said. "We did not play with a sense of urgency like our season is on the line, and Missouri." did"
A month ago, the thought of OSU as a bubble team was unimaginable. OSU was ranked in the top 10 and was a
"I don't think we were ever a lock."
Sutton said. "I've told (the team)
tual lock for the Big Dance.
"We did not play with great passion. We did not play with a sense of urgency like our season is on the line and Missouri did."
Now, with five games left in the regular season, Suttons men are left with two choices: win or be left out
SEAN SUTTON Oklahoma State coach
you've got to win nine or 10 games in the conference to put ourselves in a great position (for the tournament).
"You can't assume you're in because everyone says you're in. That's one of
the things I tried to guard against."
the things to game against.
In order to reach nine conference
wins, a total that would likely mean a
tournament bid, OSU must win four of
its next five games.
Three wins would put OSU's record at an even 8-8 and put the Cowbows directly on the bubble.
Less than three wins would likely mean a second straight trip to the NIT.
Right now, as disappointing as it sounds, the Cowboys appear to be headed back to the dreaded NIT. Three of their final five games are on the road, where OSU is still winless in the Big 12.
The latest turn of events leave us with one baffling question: How did OSU go from the top 10 to not even making the NCAA tournament?
The lone positive the Cowboys can take from the situation is that they control their own destiny. Thus, OSU's path to the NCAA tournament is pretty simple.
Win and you're in.
>> WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Big 12 programs investing in future
BY ZACH LEMING
DAILY NEBRASKAN
LINCOLN, Neb. — Things are beginning to look all too familiar to Gary Blair. Blair coached at Arkansas for 10 seasons and is the school's all-time winning coach.
His tenure in Little Rock, Ark., came during a time when the Southeastern Conference stood above all the other leagues in women's basketball.
Now in his fourth season at Texas A&M, Blair is witnessing a growth spurt in the big 12 Conference.
"This conference is going to get better and better," Blair said, "and it's starting to remind me of the SEC in the late '90s when the SEC was by far the best conference in women's basketball."
The reason behind Blair's comment is because of the emphasis from Big 12 administrations to develop and sustain competitive women's basketball teams.
"I think what (the administrators) are doing is they're seeing that women's basketball can also become a revenue-making sport," Blair said, "not just a sport that's
given scholarships and using a huge recruiting budget and travel budget. They're making money off women's "basketball."
In seven seasons as the coach at Purdue, Kristy Curry estab
Every one of her teams made it to at least the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and the 2000-01 squad finished runner-up to national champion Notre Dame.
But something was missing.
So when Curry was offered the job at Texas Tech before this season, the Olla, La., native jumped at
lished herself as one of the top coaches in the country.
"These are power conference schools that they're being hired away from, and now they're coaching in our league."
the opportunity to come closer to home.
But there was another reason she decided to come to Lubbock, Texas.
It was her first stint as a head coach, but Curry guided the Boilermakers to three Big Ten Conference Tournament titles and two regular-season championships.
"We left an incredibly special place, and it took a special place to draw us
Curry's story is becoming commonplace in the Big 12 as programs throughout the league have
away," Curry said. "It just come down to the commitment Texas Tech is willing to make (and) the support of the community. Don't get me wrong, we had good support at Purdue, but the support here is just unparalleled."
"They're making money off women's basketball."
to attempt a similar feat at Kansas before the 2004-05 season.
record and three straight NCAA Tournament appearances, to come rebuild Oklahoma State.
brought in successful coaches from some of the better teams and conferences in the country.
After orchestrating the biggest turnaround in school history at Virginia Tech — which led to seven consecutive postseason appearances — Bonnie Hendrickson decided
Before. the 2005-06 season.
Kurt Budke left traditional power Louisiana Tech, where he compiled an 80-16
Blair came to College Station. Texas, following a season in which his Razorbacks finished ranked No. 24 in the country.
GARY BLAIR Texas A&M coach
"These are power conference schools that they are being hired away from, and now they're"
coaching in our league," said Nebraska coach Connie Yori. "The bottom line is that means the administration is making a commitment to that sport, other wise those coaches
wouldn't leave where they were and where they've been successful and already have a lot of things in place."
The Big 12's commitment to improving its women's basketball teams doesn't stop at hiring elite coaches.
Facility renovations have become routine throughout the league, particularly for the Big 12's southern teams, and women's basketball has reaped the benefits.
In the last 10 years, Baylor,
Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas
and Texas Tech have all made some
kind of upgrade to their basketball
facilities.
A&M will break ground on a $21.5 million renovation in less than a month.
While Missouri has been the only northern Big 12 school to upgrade, Blair expects that to change.
"That's where the arms race is, to stay up facility-wise," Blair said. "I wouldn't be surprised in the next few years that all those places (in the north) look at adding more space."
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