DALLAS – Throw out the records. It’s a new season. Just play one game at a time. Backs are against the wall. It’s do or die time. Win or go home. Don’t go past third base on the second date after eating at Wendy’s on a Thursday. (I made that one up – just making sure you are paying attention.)

I love cliches. Especially sports cliches. It seems like every coach and player around this time reads from the same book. They are out in full force here in Dallas.

As dumb as they are, they have a speck of truth in Iowa State’s case. Both the men and the women find themselves between a rock and a hard place. Four wins in four days to make it the big dance. It’s never been done before in the Big 12 tournament. That makes Iowa State the David and history the Goliath. (We really need a new example for that cliche. How about Iowa State is the Hampton and . oh, forget it.)

The women play eighth-seed Texas on Tuesday. Life is unfair. They beat the Cyclones by 30 a month ago. Granted, Lyndsey Medders didn’t play because of a bad wheel and, as Captain Cliche would say, “It’s never easy to beat the same team twice.”

But, 30 points is 30 points. It won’t be easy. Iowa State just has to do what they do. Play their game. Don’t worry about the past. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. (I still don’t know what that means, but it seems like a good transition.)

The men managed to snag the 10th seed in a mediocre Big 12 this year. They didn’t win back-to-back games in conference play. Now in order to save the year, the Cyclone men need to win four straight games. For a team that was ranked No. 13 by Street and Smith coming into the year, finishing with only six wins in the conference is obviously very disappointing.

Iowa State is on the ropes. They have a tough road to hoe. (How do you hoe a road? I’m lobbying to change this to, “They have to take the ho back to the corner.” It’s more contemporary.) If I was a betting man, I would say the men have a better shot to run the table. If the women get past Texas, they will face undefeated-in-conference Oklahoma. Thanks for nothing.

The men have a favorable matchup with Oklahoma State, a team that doesn’t have a dominant big-man and no reliable 3-point bomber. JamesOn Curry should change his name to JamesOff. This column is getting out of hand. When it rains, it pours.

A win would match them up with Kansas. Although Kansas put the dogs on Iowa State in two wins this year, most of the team’s young’uns have never played in a tournament atmosphere. Iowa State has the experienced backcourt that has been in this situation before. It’s one and done. The Cyclones control their own destiny. Anything can happen.

I’m all cliched out. The cliches have been mathematically eliminated. The fat lady has sung. Go Cyclones and check out my blog if I haven’t yet forced you to commit suicide. I’m off to figure out what Whataburger is.

– Brent Blum is a junior in journalism and mass communication from Urbandale.

Get Brent Blum’s thoughts on the Big 12 men’s and women’s tournament daily at his Daily blog.