This year’s women’s basketball team has been playing with only six players for over a third of the season and, to head coach Bill Fennelly’s surprise, there are still very meaningful games ahead.

Fennelly willingly accepts the pleasant situation.

“I don’t think there’s many teams playing in a league that we’re playing in that would’ve lost the players that we lost and have 16 wins and be where we are – I really don’t,” Fennelly said. “It’s nice to know that there’s two weeks left in the season and we’re playing some pretty important games – that’s fun, that’s why you do what you do.”

Charlie Creme compiles a mock NCAA bracket called “Bracketology” each week for ESPN.com. As of Feb. 11, he still had the Cyclones in it, and their stock was rising. That was when they were 15-7 overall and 4-5 in the Big 12.

Since then, the Cyclones were barely beaten by a hot Kansas State team, and they defeated a very good Oklahoma State team on the road. By NCAA tournament committee standards, those are two quality games.

However, the season isn’t over yet, and with at least six games remaining, junior guard Heather Ezell realizes there is still plenty of work to be done before an NCAA berth celebration can take place.

“We know the NCAA is still a possibility. We’ve got to get more wins to be able to get there, though,” Ezell said. “But especially since it’s at Wells Fargo and we’re hosting it, that’s going to be used as motivation. We want to be playing down there – we don’t want to be sitting and watching.”

Ezell realizes the importance of getting the attention of the people responsible for selecting the NCAA tournament teams. It’s not all black and white – there are gray areas. For instance, home games versus away games, quality of competition and how hot a team is all factor into tournament selection.

“We need to play teams close,” Ezell said. “Even if not getting a win, at least playing them close and putting us in a situation to win at the end. And then in the Big 12 Tournament and getting past the first round should also help us get in.”

The Cyclones are currently in the middle of a very difficult four-game stretch in which all their opponents are ranked in the top 20. So far, they’re 1-1, with a close loss to Kansas State. Coming up next is No. 19 Texas A&M, the lowest ranked team in the stretch, which won the Big 12 Championship last season. After them is No. 8 Baylor, who won the national championship two seasons ago.

“It’s going to be tough these next two games,” Ezell said. “There’s no doubt that it’s going to be tough. These will be two of the toughest games we’ll play.”

The next two will determine a great deal of this team’s immediate future.

Are they a team of destiny, or just a team beset by disappointments?

But for now, they’re happy.

“We have five games left, so we still have a chance to go to the NCAA,” said sophomore guard Denae Stuckey. “We’re all pretty excited, and we all feel like we have a pretty good shot.”

The Cyclones play Texas A&M in College Station, Texas, on Wednesday night. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.