Oklahoma State basketball: Cowboys ranked No. 23 in preseason poll
By John Scimeca
The Oklahoma State basketball team received a No. 23 ranking for the 2021-2022 season conducted by a FanSided Busting Brackets preseason poll. The team was also ranked No. 23 by ESPN’s Jeff Borzello recently, although his updated rankings as of Oct. 12 do not include the Cowboys in the Top 25.
The Cowboys continue to generate buzz after a busy offseason that saw several talented additions to the squad after Cade Cunningham became the program’s first-ever No. 1 overall selection in July’s NBA Draft. The freshman from Arlington, Tex. also became the second player in school history to earn first-team All-America honors. He also won the Big 12 Player of the Year, becoming only the fourth freshman to do so.
OSU men’s hoops finished the 2020-2021 season with a 21-9 (11-7) record overall and a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Though the Cowboys won significant games against the likes of eventual national champion Baylor, Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, and Wichita State, the team finished with a disappointing second-round loss to No. 13 seed Oregon State in the Big Dance.
Oklahoma State basketball continues to receive modest preseason accolades for the 2021-22 season, including the No. 23 spot by FanSided’s Busting Brackets.
To reload for this upcoming season, head coach Mike Boynton has added several talented transfers to the roster. After some intense and lengthy speculation, OSU landed former five-star high school recruit and Booker T. Washington (Tulsa) graduate Bryce Thompson after one year at Kansas. Woody Newton, an athletic forward from Syracuse, also joined the Cowboys. Moussa Cisse, a high-profile center, then transferred to Stillwater after the former five-star recruit spent one year at Memphis.
Pairing this incoming talent with seasoned returners such as Isaac Likelele and the Boone twins, in addition to an emerging star in Avery Anderson, gives the Cowboys perhaps even better depth than last year.
Last year’s team finished with an 11-7 mark in the Big 12, widely regarded as one of the nation’s best and deepest basketball leagues. It was OSU’s best performance in conference play in eight seasons.
For the 2021-2022 season, Boynton and the Cowboys have their sights set even higher than last year’s success: the program’s first Sweet 16 appearance since 2005.
Kansas (No. 2), Texas (No. 4), Baylor (No. 9), and Texas Tech (No. 25) were the other Big 12 schools that were ranked in this year’s FanSided preseason poll.