Oklahoma State Cowboys basketball — program history
Oklahoma State has a proud basketball history, winning back-to-back NCAA Championships in 1945 and 1946 under coach Henry Iba. The Cowboys compete in the Big 12 and have produced legends including Bob Kurland, the first player to regularly dunk, and have reached the Final Four six times overall.
The name
The Cowboys nickname reflects Oklahoma's ranching and frontier heritage, honoring the cowboy culture that defined the state's identity in the American West.
Signature moment
Winning back-to-back NCAA Championships in 1945 and 1946 under Henry Iba, featuring Bob Kurland, who is credited with pioneering the dunk and the goaltending rule.
Bob Kurland of Oklahoma State is credited as the first player to regularly dunk the basketball, and his dominance led directly to the NCAA adopting the goaltending rule.
The Oklahoma State Cowboys compete in the Big 12 and hold an all-time record of 1783–1283 (.582 winning percentage) across 117 recorded seasons dating back to 1907-08. The program has won 2 NCAA national championships (1945, 1946) and reached 6 Final Fours.
National championships
1945, 1946
Season-by-season results
* Season vacated by the NCAA — absent from the official season table; record computed from the game log and not counted in official totals or rankings.
More Big 12 programs
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