As the ISU men’s basketball team welcomes Texas Tech on Wednesday, the Cyclones see the Red Raiders as just one more step on the road to the postseason.

At media day, guard Scott Christopherson warned against the high expectations heaped on the team by people outside the program. He warned that, at the time, the Cyclones had yet to win anything, and a lot of work was left to be done.

“You want your fans to be excited, and they should be excited,” Christopherson said. “All I really meant [then] was that we hadn’t won any games yet, we hadn’t won anything. 

“I just really knew that if this team would stay focused on the things that mattered that we could be successful.”

That success has manifested itself in the Cyclones’ 19-8 overall record — the most wins for the team since the 2004-05 campaign when Iowa State lost to North Carolina in the second round of the NCAA tournament — and a 9-5 record in conference, which is more wins in Big 12 play this season than in the previous two seasons combined (seven total).

Christopherson said more than the success the team has seen this season, he’s simply happy Iowa State is relevant on the national stage again. Coach Fred Hoiberg has seen that in the senior guard, as well as how much fun he’s having and how much he’s grown.

“I’m having a ton of fun,” Christopherson said. “This is the first time that it’s been Feb. 20 since I’ve been here and Iowa State has been relevant in college basketball. This is what you dreamed of as a kid, to have a chance to be part of a team that goes to the NCAA tournament.”

That relevancy has surprised some, who may have questioned Hoiberg’s strategy of bringing in transfers with murky pasts but a lot of talent. In just his second year coaching at any level, few expected the Cyclones to be where they’re at at this point in the season.

Hoiberg, though, expected it all along.

“I did think this team had potential to be a top-half Big 12 team,” Hoiberg said. “They’ve shown me with the passion they brought in here last year when they played with the scout team, some of those transfers.

“They’ve bought into everything we’re doing right now. I did think we’d have a chance to finish in the top half, and hopefully we finish out strong.”

Despite the in-house confidence, before the season started, coaches across the league picked Iowa State to finish eighth out of 10 in the Big 12. With the strong finish Hoiberg said he’s hoping for, the Cyclones have a chance to finish third in the conference.

Hoiberg said the low expectations from his coaching counterparts were based mostly on the amount of unknowns surrounding the team. What the predictions did do, however, was provide the players with motivation in Big 12 play.

“There were so many unknowns about this team, so I didn’t really think a lot of it,” Hoiberg said. “I tried to use it as motivation for our players, just that, ‘This is what people think about you guys.’

“You go out there and you try to do all you can to get them prepared, and [say], ‘Guys, we’re facing another team that picked you at the bottom.’ You try to get them motivated that way.”

Though the Cyclones are relevant on the national stage now, the coaches and players know nothing is guaranteed with four games remaining.

Getting a win against the Red Raiders, though, brings them — if even just a little bit — closer to their first postseason berth since the 2004-05 season.

“We understand that we haven’t qualified for it yet and that won’t happen for a few weeks,” Christopherson said. “We have a lot of work before then we have to get done if we want to be in the NCAA tournament.”

Iowa State and Texas Tech tip off at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Hilton Coliseum.