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Bubble Banter: Oklahoma State controls destiny with a tough road ahead

Marcus Smart

Oklahoma State guard Marcus Smart sits by the bench with four fouls during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Kansas State in Manhattan, Kan., Saturday, Jan. 4, 2014. Kansas State defeated Oklahoma State 74-71. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

AP

There are 23 days left until Selection Sunday. Every morning from now until the bracket comes out, we’ll help you get caught up on the happenings with impact on the bubble from the night before.

You can see NBCSports.com’s latest bracket here.

Oklahoma State (RPI: 49, KenPom: 27) may have left Marcus Smart’s jersey in Stillwater, but the Pokes left TCU with a win on Monday night.

Now, beating the Horned Frogs isn’t necessarily a cause for celebrating. They are one of the worst power conference teams in the country and could very likely finish the season without a Division I victory.

That said, the Pokes haven’t exactly been winning that much themselves of late, snapping a seven-game losing streak on Saturday when Marcus Smart returned from his three-game suspension. It’s the second straight win for Travis Ford’s club, and it puts them in a position where they can play their way in to or out of the NCAA tournament.

This is what their schedule looks like in the final three games: Kansas, Kansas State, at Iowa State. The Cowboys are one of the first five out of the bracket in Dave Ommen’s latest posting this morning, and that likely isn’t going to change after tonight. But winning two of the next three would certainly get the Cowboys over the hump.

That means they need to beat Kansas at home or Iowa State on the road. Neither are promising propositions, but when you lose seven straight games, having the chance to control your own destiny is a good thing.

THE REST OF THURSDAY’S BUBBLE ACTION

Maryland (RPI: 71, KenPom: 48) pretty much killed their chance of getting an at-large bid with a loss to Syracuse at home on Monday night. We went more in depth here.