Oklahoma State’s 2026-27 Schedule Provides Plenty of Chances to Build NCAA Tournament Résumé

STILLWATER — If Oklahoma State is going to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021, the Cowboys will have plenty of opportunities to prove they belong.

The Big 12 released its complete 2026-27 conference schedule Thursday, putting the finishing touches on a schedule loaded with potential résumé-building games for Steve Lutz's third season in Stillwater.

OSU opens Big 12 play Jan. 2 against Colorado at Gallagher-Iba Arena and concludes the regular season March 6 at home against Arizona State.

In between, the Cowboys will play 10 conference games against teams that reached last season's NCAA Tournament and seven against programs that finished inside the top 25 of the final 2026 NCAA NET rankings.

That's on top of a nonconference schedule that already gives Oklahoma State several opportunities to prove itself before Big 12 play even begins. And those opportunities could be especially important this season.

The NCAA Tournament will expand from 68 to 76 teams beginning in 2027, adding eight more opportunities to reach March Madness.

Several national outlets already have Oklahoma State hovering around that expanded field months before the season begins.

CBS Sports included the Cowboys in its early 76-team bracket projection as one of the last four teams in the field. On3 also placed OSU directly around the cut line in its early bracketology.

Of course, preseason projections won't determine anything once games begin. But they illustrate where expectations have moved entering Lutz's third season.

OSU won 20 games last year and reached the postseason for the second consecutive season. The Cowboys then added a transfer class ranked No. 1 in the Big 12 by On3 along with a consensus top-10 high school signing class. Now comes the opportunity to build a tournament résumé on the court.

Oklahoma State will play home-and-home series against Iowa State, TCU and Utah while facing every other Big 12 program once.

After opening against Colorado, the Cowboys immediately hit the road for games at West Virginia on Jan. 5 and Iowa State on Jan. 9.

Utah visits Stillwater on Jan. 12 before OSU travels to Baylor on Jan. 16. Later in January, TCU and Texas Tech come to Gallagher-Iba Arena before the Cowboys close the month at Kansas.

February doesn't get any easier. OSU hosts Iowa State on Feb. 10 and Final Four participant Arizona on Feb. 16 before traveling to Houston on Feb. 21.

The Cowboys' final road swing includes Utah on Feb. 27 and BYU on March 2 before Arizona State comes to Stillwater for the regular-season finale.

For a team hoping to hear its name called on Selection Sunday, there should be no shortage of opportunities to collect quality wins.

The résumé-building opportunities begin well before January.

Oklahoma State travels to Texas A&M on Nov. 12 after the Aggies advanced to the second round of last season's NCAA Tournament.

The Cowboys will also play twice at the Charleston Classic, where the six-team field includes Dayton, Minnesota, Northwestern, Utah and Virginia Tech.

Grand Canyon visits Gallagher-Iba Arena on Dec. 2, followed three days later by Saint Mary's. Bedlam returns Dec. 12 when Oklahoma State faces Oklahoma at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.

The Cowboys then head to Tulsa on Dec. 20 to face Northwestern at the BOK Center. Even the preseason includes tests against New Mexico, Tulsa and Wisconsin before the games begin counting.

By the time Oklahoma State reaches Big 12 play, there should already be a good indication of whether the Cowboys are capable of turning preseason NCAA Tournament projections into something real.

Oklahoma State hasn't played in the NCAA Tournament since Cade Cunningham led the Cowboys there in 2021. Lutz has moved the program closer.

After going 17-18 in his first season, OSU improved to 20 wins in Year 2 and earned a No. 2 seed in the NIT.

Under the newly expanded 76-team format, a team in that neighborhood could find itself on the other side of the postseason bubble. But Oklahoma State won't have to rely simply on expansion to get there.

Between a challenging nonconference slate and an 18-game Big 12 schedule filled with NCAA Tournament-caliber opponents, the Cowboys will have repeated chances to build the type of résumé that leaves little doubt.

The early projections have Oklahoma State in the conversation. Now the schedule gives Lutz and the Cowboys the opportunity to prove they belong there.