Published: March 14, 2008 07:35 pm            

O-State, Texas A&M looking for championship

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The stakes don’t get much higher than this.

Oklahoma State and Texas A&M are both looking to win the Big 12 Tournament championship for the first time, and the incentive doesn’t stop there. For the third-seeded and 18th-ranked Cowgirls, a victory Saturday night could also place them in the Oklahoma City Regional.

“We can’t control the meetings that are going on about that, but I think we’ve earned the Ford Center,” said OSU coach Kurt Budke. “I think we’ve done enough to have that right. Three weeks ago, I wasn’t sure we deserved it. I think we deserve it now. If we go out and win a championship (Saturday night), I think we can still increase our seed another notch, too.”

In ESPN.com’s bracketology updated Thursday, the Cowgirls are projected as a No. 4 seed in the OKC Regional, playing their first-round NCAA game in West Lafayette, Ind.

Budke believes his club could move up to a No. 3 seed with a win Saturday, while A&M coach Gary Blair said the Big 12’s tourney champion should receive a No. 2 seed.

“Even though our RPI is better, they’re not going to give me a two if I lose (Saturday),” Blair said. “Whoever wins the game I think is playing for a two, which would be better for the league. If I got a two and I lose, I’d feel a little bad because we hadn’t earned it.”

If there’s one aspect keeping the Cowgirls from clinching a No. 2 seed in the NCAAs, it would likely be their non-conference schedule. They played only three non-conference foes that are currently in the RPI’s top 150 — Texas Christian (49), Arkansas State (103) and Fresno State (108).

Still, OSU has an RPI of 18 and a strength of schedule ranking of 41. Next season, the Cowgirls will take the first step toward upgrading the schedule — they open the 2008-09 campaign at Duke, which finished 32-2 last season with a Sweet 16 appearance and is ranked 10th in the nation.

“You don’t have to have a crazy non-conference schedule when your conference is crazy,” Budke said. “You got to be careful — I’ve seen teams that don’t have the best talent in the world go out and play a great non-conference schedule, and they don’t build any confidence whatsoever. If you don’t have confidence when you come into the Big 12, you’re in trouble. I think we’ve been very smart about our scheduling.”

If the past four meetings between OSU (25-6) and the Aggies are any indication of what’s to come in Saturday night’s Big 12 title game, fans at Municipal Auditorium could be in for a classic.

During the 2006-07 season, A&M (25-7) won both outings — a 64-63 win in College Station and a 62-20 victory in Gallagher-Iba Arena — by a combined 0.6 seconds. On Jan. 19, the Cowgirls escaped with a 61-58 win at A&M when sophomore Andrea Riley hit the game-winning 3-pointer from beyond NBA range with 6.6 seconds left.

In Stillwater on Feb. 27, the Aggies retaliated with a 63-57 victory.

“I think it’s the perfect championship game and we’re going to show up,” Budke said. “We know we’re playing probably the most talented team in this league. We’ve got our work cut out for us.”

During Friday’s press conference, Budke referred to A&M several times as a legitimate Final Four contender. Could the Cowgirls be considered a Final Four threat as well?

“We honestly never look ahead — I didn’t even know what time practice was (Friday),” Budke said. “We just don’t look past what’s at hand. This team can get hot, and when we have four, maybe five people in double figures, we can feel like we can play with a lot of people in this nation.”

Riley added, “I think we’re proving that we’re one of the top teams in the country and we’re not going to stop. We’re going to try to get a Big 12 championship, and if that doesn’t happen, then we’ll try to go for a NCAA championship.”

OSU will meet the fourth-seeded and 11th-ranked Aggies at 6 p.m. CDT in a contest that will be televised on Fox Sports Net.



Physical game

During Friday’s press conference, Budke was asked about Thursday’s 75-72 semifinal win against Texas, particularly regarding a play where Riley allegedly hit a UT player in the head intentionally.

“I can’t comment on something I haven’t seen,” Budke said. “I know it was a very physical game — there was a lot of pushing and shoving and a lot of emotion running. The Big 12 has not said anything to me.

“Oklahoma State plays by the rules in every sport, so whatever the commissioner decides, we’ll live with.”



Say that again?

When Blair was informed of Budke’s comments regarding A&M being a legitimate Final Four team, he gave a memorable response.

“Final Four team? He really said that? Gosh almighty, I guess I’m going to play Tiger (Woods) in the Masters, too,” Blair joked. “I’d rather play Budke on the golf course even up, but he always wants strokes.”



Ryan Steele writes for Stillwater (Okla.) NewsPress.

        

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