In front of 19,000 fans at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo., Fred Hoiberg and the ISU men’s basketball team stood on a platform hoisting the Big 12 tournament champions trophy above their heads. For the second time in school history, the Cyclones were Big 12 tournament champions after one of the best seasons in school history.

After a school record 14-0 start, including three ranked wins and a Diamond Head Classic championship trophy, the Cyclones faced a tough Big 12 schedule that dropped the team to 15-4 before finishing the season 26-7 with a Big 12 tournament title, landing as a 3-seed in the NCAA tournament.

The Cyclones defeated 14-seed North Carolina Central in the first round at the expense of star sophomore Georges Niang’s foot. Niang was forced to sit out for the remainder of the season with a broken foot after playing some of his best basketball in his final five games of the season.

The team went on to gut out a win against 6-seed North Carolina after trailing by eight points with less than four minutes remaining. Big 3-pointers by Naz Long and Monte Morris kept the Cyclones in the game before DeAndre Kane made the go-ahead layup with two seconds remaining to win it.

The season ended in the Sweet 16 with a five-point loss to 7-seed University of Connecticut, who would go on to win the NCAA Tournament over Kentucky in the national championship game. With a 28-8 record, Sweet 16 appearance and Big 12 tournament title, the 2013-14 season was one of the most successful in school history.

Hoiberg has built a program that is gaining national attention after three NCAA tournament appearances in just four seasons. “Hilton Magic” is alive in Ames, as Hoiberg’s teams have gone 47-4 at home in the past three seasons.

This year’s team will be without last season’s Big 12 Player of the Year and Scholar Athlete of the Year Melvin Ejim as well as star transfer DeAndre Kane, but the team returns much of the core lineup, including Niang, Morris and Dustin Hogue.

Hoiberg’s reputation of picking up high-profile transfers continues this season as former UNLV star Bryce Dejean-Jones joins the team and is immediately eligible for one year as a graduate transfer. Other notable transfers Abdel Nader from Northern Illinois, Jameel McKay from Marquette and Georgios Tsalmpouris from Greece also become eligible this season and are expected to see immediate playing time.