After squandering leads in the second halves of losses to No. 5 Missouri and No. 7 Kansas, the ISU men’s basketball team was by no means satisfied with its 0-2 showing last week.

Both coaches and players reiterated following Saturday’s loss at Kansas that neither game was a “moral victory,” but the team — who was picked to finish near the bottom of the Big 12 Conference — now believes it can go toe-to-toe with the conference’s top squads.

“I think one thing that we learned is that we can definitely play with anybody,” said associate head coach T.J. Otzelberger on Monday. “I think the other thing that we learned is in order to beat a good team, you have to have the resolve and be persistent in those times when they go on those runs, you have to be able to bounce back and fight back.

“I think in both games we showed through the course of the game that we’re able to compete with teams like that, but it’s a big difference to come out and get the win.”

On Saturday, the Jayhawks went on a 17-2 run beginning with 11:50 remaining in Saturday’s game and ending with an ISU timeout at the 8:21 mark, as the Cyclones (12-5, 2-2 Big 12) saw their 59-53 lead flip to a 70-61 KU advantage.

“[Kansas] is a team that it’s tough to even be in a game with, especially when you’re over there, and we were controlling the game and played well for three quarters of that game,” said sophomore forward Melvin Ejim. “It just shows that we can play with anyone in the country, but we’ve got to do it every game. It can’t just be against the Kansases.”

Otzelberger said that a defensive lapse while trying to “corral the dribble” of Kansas senior guard Tyshawn Taylor led to many of Iowa State’s mishaps and Kansas’ successes during the second half as Taylor poured in 22 of his game-high 28 points in the second stanza.

“I think for us moving forward, we need to be able just to execute, keep our focus defensively in those situations and then also on the offensive end come down and get the possessions that we want and not feel like we have to rush and get it all back in one play,” Otzelberger said.

Senior guard Scott Christopherson pointed out that the team’s effort has been vastly improved during its 2-2 start in conference play versus the nonconference schedule, and that for the team to now win close games, it’ll need to maintain focus in the latter parts of games.

“I think that the biggest thing is that these last two games, we did not execute on either end of the floor coming down the stretch and it wasn’t because we weren’t playing hard,” Christopherson said. “I think that right now it’s a neck-up thing and I think everybody is doing their best and obviously nobody is trying to have mental breakdowns, and it’s not just one guy, it’s every guy that’s in there. We’ve just got to be sharper.”

Neither of Iowa State’s opponents this week — Oklahoma State at home on Wednesday and Texas Tech on the road on Saturday — are near the top 25, but as the Cyclones nearly proved last week, any team ranked or unranked in the Big 12 this season can walk off the floor victorious in conference play.

“As we’ve seen in this league in years past, anybody can beat anybody, and I think our guys have that awareness,” Otzelberger said. “And I think they have the understanding that it doesn’t matter who it is any night in this league. If you’re not ready to play, someone is going to come in and get you.”

The Cyclones and Cowboys (9-8, 2-2) will tip off at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Hilton Coliseum.