KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A year ago, the ISU men’s basketball team had three conference wins heading into the Big 12 tournament. Morale was not the highest, and postseason aspirations were nonexistent.

Fast forward to this year, the Cyclones come to Kansas City, Mo., winners of four of their last five and a confidence level that is through the roof. Even still, this ISU squad knows why it is here and what needs to be done.

“It’s a business trip,” said guard Chris Babb. “We’re not here to have fun, we’re here to win games.”

To that end, coach Fred Hoiberg can see Babb’s sentiment existing throughout his team. 

The 2011-12 conference season taught the Cyclones a lot about themselves, namely how to handle adversity — something they struggled with early in the season — and Hoiberg said the change in the vibe of the team from 2011 to 2012 is evident.

And though the morale improvement is important to Hoiberg and his players, what is more important, he said, is keeping a sharp mind in a hectic conference tournament environment.

“You have to be, at this time of the year, the mentally tougher team if you’re going to make a run,” Hoiberg said. “And that’s what we’re trying to get these guys to believe.”

On Wednesday, the team got to have approximately an hour to do a walk-through/shootaround session inside the Sprint Center, where the tournament is located, to familiarize themselves with their surroundings.

During that session, teammates seemed focused but not uptight. Forward Royce White said a practice of that type can have a positive impact on a team, in terms of that mindset Hoiberg talked about.

“First, stay focused,” White said when asked what the team’s mindset was during the shootaround. “But even more so, come together and have a sense of togetherness. That’s probably the biggest piece that we know is going to make us be successful.

“When we have great practices before a big game, and we’re really together out there and our camaraderie is highest, that’s when we play well.”

Keeping that focus and togetherness can be hard when a team is out of its normal routine. 

Hoiberg said the team has to readjust in the tournament atmosphere in order to be properly prepared. Having a regular practice, film sessions and other things to keep the players’ focus from straying from the task at hand is something the coaching staff will pay particular attention to throughout the postseason.

“It’s a long day, when you play at 8:30 [p.m.],” Hoiberg said about the day of the Cyclones’ opening game against Texas. “You’ve got to try to fill the day for these guys. We’ll try to keep them occupied so they’re not laying in bed all day. 

“It’s important to get these guys on a similar schedule to how you have them when you play a normal game.”

For the players, the day of the game specifically, can be a mix of focusing on the game and trying to not over-think things.

White said it’s a delicate balance of keeping sharp, but also staying loose. 

“It’s a little bit of both,” White said. “You always want to keep in mind what your goal is, and the choices you’re making before the game. But as far as over-thinking about in-game situations, I don’t like to do that. I like to just wait right up until game time.”

As for the game itself, the Cyclones enter having split the season series with the Longhorns, most recently a 62-55 loss in Austin, Texas. 

While Hoiberg and players discussed the usual Xs and Os of what it will take to win — getting back in transition, crash the boards, stop J’Covan Brown, etc. — they also know they’ll be able to rely on one anchor who will guide the Cyclones defensively.

Babb’s “lockdown” defense throughout the Big 12 season was noticed in Ames, but not enough by the Big 12 coaches to merit an award. The lack of recognition, Babb said, fuels his desire to work even harder.

For the Cyclones, the timing of that feeling couldn’t be better.

“A lot of politics go into [awards]. It doesn’t matter to me, not really at all. I didn’t watch all the other games, maybe they played better defense than me, who knows? Maybe,” Babb said with a smirk.

“I know I play defense, I don’t need them to tell me that.”