You play like you practice.

It’s an old basketball cliche that gets overused at every level of the game.

But it’s true. Just ask the ISU men’s team.

“Yesterday we didn’t have a good practice at all and it carried over to the game,” ISU forward Rahshon Clark said. “We didn’t execute when we needed to and we didn’t defend like we were supposed to.”

It meant the worst home loss for the Cyclones since a 29-point loss to Kansas in 2003.

Final tally – Missouri 77, Iowa State 55.

So how does a team go from winning on Missouri’s home court to getting blown out by that same team in Ames?

“When we went down to Missouri we practiced hard,” Clark said.

This time was different.

“We weren’t focused, thinking it was going to be an easy win since we stole one down there,” forward Wesley Johnson said. “Coming into practice we weren’t focused as much as we should have been.”

That statement alone is enough to terrify ISU coach Greg McDermott.

“If we’re overconfident, then we really have problems,” McDermott said. “We’re not talented enough to ever think that we can step on the floor and just win because we’re better players.

“We have to be a better unit for us to be successful.”

The loss moves the Cyclones (12-11, 3-6 Big 12) into a tie with Missouri (14-8, 3-6 Big 12) for ninth in the conference.

Coming off a win against Baylor on Saturday, the Cyclones had a chance to build some momentum going into the season’s final stretch.

“You get yourself out of a five-game skid and come home and play pretty well on both ends of the floor against Baylor,” McDermott said. “Then you’re playing a team we’ve played already and knew what to expect, yet we weren’t sharp in our preparation and we weren’t sharp to start the game.

“It wasn’t there [Tuesday night] and the light never came on.”

Missouri shot 53 percent from the field for the game and 66 percent in the second half, using an impressive offensive performance from both inside and outside.

The Tigers hit five of their eight three-point shots in the first half to take a lead over the Cyclones into the break, then dominated down low, scoring 22 second-half points in the paint to put the game away.

“When they got the ball in the post, we didn’t have enough pressure on the ball to deflect [the ball] or to take away their vision,” Clark said.

Missouri’s pressure frustrated Iowa State at times, forcing turnovers on Iowa State’s first three possessions of the game and nine in the first half.

The Cyclones ended the game with 16 turnovers, shooting themselves in the foot, according to McDermott.

“I didn’t really feel like we turned it over against their press, we turned it over in the quarter-court just trying to make an entry pass or trying to dribble into one of our offensive sets,” McDermott said.

“We were lackluster in every phase of the game.”

Things don’t get any easier for the Cyclones – next on their plate is a road game against Texas on Saturday.