Just when it seemed like things couldn’t get any worse for the Iowa State men’s basketball team, Wednesday’s game against West Virginia took the Cyclones to a new level of misery. 

Redshirt senior guard Marial Shayok was out with a foot injury, redshirt junior forward Michael Jacobson got a technical foul for a skirmish early in the second half and the Mountaineers shot lights out from 3-point range in the first 20 minutes. 

This loss might be rock bottom for the 2018-19 Cyclones. 

A bad loss to a bad team

The Mountaineers entered Wednesday’s game with a record of 11-18 and a 3-13 record in Big 12 play. Yet, they waxed Iowa State Wednesday, taking control of the game early on and not letting the Cyclones get within 10 points until late in the second half. 

West Virginia hit 11 threes, the second-straight game that Iowa State has allowed its opponent to hit 10-plus shots from deep. The Cyclones’ defense, once considered a relative strength, has collapsed since the calendar turned to February. 

The Mountaineers also out-rebounded Iowa State 44-34 and out-shot Iowa State, shooting 47.8 percent from the floor. 

Chemistry issues spill onto court

Iowa State has looked disjointed for a while on the basketball court, especially during the team’s recent slide. The frustrations boiled over on Wednesday, with multiple instances of Cyclone players getting animated with each other in the huddle and on the court. 

In one instance, freshman guard Talen Horton-Tucker and Jacobson had to be separated after getting into a shoving and yelling match at the free throw line.

With the team seemingly in freefall on the court, this may not have been the optics the Cyclones were hoping for from Wednesday’s game. 

But it is a telling look into the team’s psyche at the moment. With the Big 12 Tournament and the NCAA Tournament fast approaching, the Cyclones are almost out of time to regroup. 

Playing out the string

So what’s next? 

Iowa State has, at the very least, three games left on its schedule. The Cyclones end the regular season at home against Texas Tech, have a guaranteed game in the Big 12 Tournament and are all but certain of an NCAA Tournament bid.

But it’s already begun to feel like the Cyclones are letting their season slip through the cracks. 

With eight days before the beginning of postseason play, the Cyclones have lost five of their last seven contests, the last two coming by 15-plus points against teams sitting below .500 in conference play — not a recipe for postseason success. 

Iowa State coach Steve Prohm has a job on his hands to change the fortunes of a now-underperforming Iowa State team. 

What a difference a month makes.