After falling in a trap game early in the week, Iowa State has work to do on its resume.

The Cyclones (13-5, 3-2 Big 12) lost on the road Jan. 23 to one of the league’s bottom-dwellers in Texas Tech. Come tournament time, the loss will stick out to the NCAA tournament committee as Iowa State aims for a second bid in as many seasons.

The schedule, meanwhile, won’t get any easier.

“We’ve got a really tough stretch coming up,” said ISU coach Fred Hoiberg in his news conference Monday. “Our guys are excited about that; they’re excited about the challenge.”

That challenge is much bigger now, and it begins with No. 11 Kansas State (15-3, 4-1) on Jan. 26 back in Ames.

In the loss to Texas Tech on Jan. 23, the Cyclones went just 6-of-23 on 3-pointers, and the team was outrebounded 38-29. Despite an 8-0 run out of halftime, Iowa State was never able to take control of the game, and a sluggish ISU offense scored a season-low 51 points in the loss.

Against Kansas State, the Cyclones will need to start faster than they have in the last two games. Iowa State started slow against TCU on Jan. 20 and trailed at halftime on Jan. 23.

The Cyclones are now 1-3 this season when trailing at halftime.

Kansas State lost by four against No. 3 Kansas on Jan. 22, and the team is led by Rodney McGruder, who is averaging 15.4 points in nearly 32 minutes per game for the Wildcats so far this season.

A win might begin to put the Cyclones back on track.

“You try to put your resume together and try to get enough quality wins to where you’re in the NCAA tournament discussion,” Hoiberg said.

No matter what happens Jan. 26, the upcoming schedule won’t be much easier. The Cyclones will return to the road for Oklahoma State next Jan. 30 before two home games against Baylor and Oklahoma — the other two 4-1 teams in the Big 12 — after that.

The stretch begins against the Wildcats at Hilton Coliseum on Saturday, Jan. 26. Tipoff is scheduled for 12:45 p.m.