Cowboys Need Some Help To Get Tournament Bye

Friday, March 1st 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) _ The Oklahoma State basketball team closes out the regular season Saturday and needs a little help in order to finish as one of the top four seeds in the Big 12 tournament.

No. 12 Oklahoma State (22-7 overall) is 9-6 in the conference, tied for third place with Texas Tech, Missouri and Texas. They're all fighting for a top-four seeding, which results in a first-round bye in the conference tournament.

The Cowboys would finish as the No. 3 seed if they beat Texas A&M on Saturday and the other three lose; if they and Texas win but Missouri and Tech lose; or if they and Tech win but Texas and Missouri lose.

The Cowboys would finish fourth if they win along with Tech and Texas; if they win along with Tech and Missouri, or if they win along with Texas and Missouri. They also would finish fourth if they beat A&M, Missouri wins, and Tech and Texas lose.

If OSU, Texas, Missouri and Texas Tech all win, then the Cowboys would be seeded fifth.

Texas plays at Iowa State, Texas Tech plays at Baylor and Missouri plays host to Kansas. Nothing will be settled until the Missouri-Kansas game on Sunday.

It's a weekend made for watching other games on TV, although coach Eddie Sutton said he will be busy with the family members who are in town to celebrate his mother's 92nd birthday.

Plus, Sutton, said, ``I don't think I can help any of those teams that I would like to see help us out a little bit. There's no use burning a bunch of energy over something you can't control.''

What the Cowboys can control is how they play against A&M (9-20, 3-12). Oklahoma State is coming off a 72-69 loss to Missouri on Monday night in which the Cowboys played good defense but got outrebounded 42-32. Missouri's 22 offensive rebounds led to several costly second-chance baskets.

The game Saturday night will be the last home game for Oklahoma State's three seniors _ Fredrik Jonzen, Maurice Baker and Antoine Broxsie. Jonzen has been with the Cowboys four years; Baker and Broxsie have played two years after transferring.

``All of a sudden you realize this is the last time these young men will ever have the opportunity to come out and play in Gallagher-Iba Arena,'' Sutton said. ``It's always been a situation where you appreciate what the seniors have done in continuing to carry on the tradition of OSU basketball.''

Fifth-ranked Oklahoma had its senior night Tuesday and beat Iowa State 89-75. The Sooners (23-4, 12-3), who are the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, finish the regular season Saturday afternoon at Colorado.