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College basketball week 18: 5 important things to know

By Chris Stone

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 03: Duncan Robinson #22 of the Michigan Wolverines celebrates with his teammate Moritz Wagner #13 after scoring a basket and drawing a foul late in the game against the Michigan State Spartans during the semifinals of the Big Ten Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 3, 2018 in New York City. The Michigan Wolverines defeated the Michigan State Spartans 75-64. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 03: Duncan Robinson #22 of the Michigan Wolverines celebrates with his teammate Moritz Wagner #13 after scoring a basket and drawing a foul late in the game against the Michigan State Spartans during the semifinals of the Big Ten Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 3, 2018 in New York City. The Michigan Wolverines defeated the Michigan State Spartans 75-64. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images) /
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LUBBOCK, TX – JANUARY 23: Oklahoma State head coach Mike Boynton, Jr. gives instructions to his team during a timeout during the Texas Tech Raider’s game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys on January 23, 2018 at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, TX. (Photo by Sam Grenadier/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TX – JANUARY 23: Oklahoma State head coach Mike Boynton, Jr. gives instructions to his team during a timeout during the Texas Tech Raider’s game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys on January 23, 2018 at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, TX. (Photo by Sam Grenadier/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

3. Does Oklahoma State have an NCAA Tournament case?

On Saturday, the Cowboys completed a season sweep of a potential No. 1 seed with an 82-64 win over Kansas in Stillwater. The victory pushed Oklahoma State’s season record to 18-13 and its conference mark to 8-10, but most importantly it marked its fifth win over a Quadrant 1 opponent this season.

In case you’ve forgotten — and let’s be honest, it’s easy to given the change — Quadrant 1 wins have essentially replaced RPI top 50 wins for the Selection Committee and they represent victories over RPI top 30 teams at home, top 50 teams on a neutral court and top 75 teams on the road. That Oklahoma State has five of them is significant given the value the Committee appeared to place on such wins when it revealed top four seeds for the Bracket Preview.

Although the Cowboys don’t exactly have a typical NCAA Tournament resume, they’re deserving of a look simply on the basis of their good wins. They’ve beaten the Jayhawks twice and West Virginia, Texas Tech and Florida State once. Notably their win against the Mountaineers also came on the road.

Here’s a look at how Oklahoma State stacks up with the current projected at-large 11 and 12 seeds — effectively the last at-larges admitted — via Bracket Matrix:

The problem the Cowboys face is their overall RPI rank. It’s significantly lower than the other teams on the bubble as a result of a poor non-conference schedule. Oklahoma State played Florida State, Wichita State and a whole bunch of nothing. Given much of the RPI is based on your opponents’ win percentage, the Cowboys aren’t in good shape.

Generally speaking, teams with a resume like Oklahoma State’s don’t earn at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament, but if the Selection Committee digs a bit deeper into the quality of the Cowboys’ wins, perhaps they’ll stand a chance.