Just two weeks ago everything seemed to be looking up for ISU men’s basketball. They’d played then-No. 3 Kansas to a five-point game at home and had thoroughly outplayed Baylor.

Four games and an extended trip later, the Cyclones are starting to circle the drain.

Iowa State has lost four-straight Big 12 games since beating Baylor on Jan. 15, and in only one of those four could the Cyclones say they weren’t in the game with a legitimate chance to win.

But with the lack of experience closing out games or a dominant, go-to scorer that can take over a game, these Cyclones have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory as of late.

“I’ve played on struggling teams, I’ve been a part of struggling teams, and struggling teams find ways to lose on different nights,” said ISU coach Fred Hoiberg. “It’s different things that contribute to it. Good teams find a way to close teams out. That’s what we’re looking for.”

Hoiberg went on to say that confidence can play a large role in adding to the struggles. He said that keeping confidence up is key because going onto the floor with low confidence can have you beat before you start.

The first-year coach is dead-on. The Cyclones don’t know how to win a close game yet, because they haven’t done it yet. 

“When you find a way to win a close game, it makes the next one easier, instead of hanging your head,” Hoiberg said.

So how are the players dealing with these tough losses? Diante Garrett and Jamie Vanderbeken have expressed frustration after the games, Vanderbeken tweeting simply, “I’m sorry,” after the loss to Oklahoma on Saturday.

“We’re doing fine,” Garrett said. “Every team would be sad losing these close games that we’ve almost had, and we’re just going to build from where we’ve been playing.”

This group simply  — or not-so simply — needs to learn how to win. But that task is an extremely tall one given the circumstances surrounding the team right now. 

Over the next few weeks the Cyclones will face No. 6 Kansas, No. 11 Texas A&M and No. 8 Texas — probably the hottest team in the nation — all on the road, and No. 13 Missouri at home. That’s a tough stretch for any team to endure, let alone one that is coming off four disheartening losses in a row.

Iowa State will have to take on this tough slate of opponents with an even more depleted roster than they already have. Calvin Godfrey will miss games against Colorado, Kansas State and the matchup in Lawrence against Kansas. Jordan Railey is facing potentially bigger problems for his New Year’s Eve car accident that may involve an OWI charge. 

Even the guys who are able to hit the court are struggling. A team that survived its non-conference season on shooting 3-pointers has hit only 26 percent of its 3-point shots over the four-game losing streak. If the Cyclones hope to win any of the remaining games on their schedule, that will obviously have to improve.

The list of negatives this team is facing continues to grow. They get knocked down and slowly get back up to take another hit, like an aging prize fighter full of pride.

It’s now up to the leaders of this team — Garrett and Vanderbeken — to find their inner Rocky Balboas and keep fighting until they hear the bell.

The tough part is that the next few rounds could very well knock them out for good.