Two weeks ago the ISU men’s basketball team was self-destructing. I’m talking a Ryan Leaf-like self-destruction. Anything that could go wrong did.

Reggie George was dismissed from the team, Robert Faulkner had academic troubles and was later dismissed, Anthony Davis’ shoulder became as unreliable as Tony Yelk’s hip, Curtis Stinson was contemplating surgery on his mangled left hand and John Neal wasn’t being John Neal — he had hit only two threes in over a month.

Oh, did I mention the Cyclones had lost six straight games and started 0-5 in the Big 12 Conference, seemingly ruining any chance of a postseason berth? Two of the losses were to Colorado, who won in Hilton for the first time since 1991, and Kansas State, which extended its conference road losing streak to 28 games. Cyclone fans began jumping ship “Titanic”-style. Not even Leonardo DiCaprio could save the Cyclones’ season.

Then things began to change. Oklahoma, the hottest team in the Big 12, came to town looking to put Iowa State out of its misery. However, this team would have none of that. Inspired by a near sellout crowd and a couple freshmen, Iowa State sent the Sooners back to Norman with their first loss in the Big 12. Slowly, the sinking ship was treading water.

The men quickly dispatched Baylor, scoring more than 75 points for the first time in nearly two months. This team had life again. It was as if they realized, “Oh, crap, we can actually do some damage in this league.”

Then came the match with Texas in Austin. Tasheed Carr scored 13 points in overtime, and the Cyclones were two points shy of setting the record for most points in NCAA overtime history with 24 as they won 92-80.

It snapped the four-year road losing streak. In other terms, the last time ISU had won a road conference game, Britney Spears was still “innocent.”

The Cyclones turned around three days later and defeated the Huskers in Lincoln. Stinson took over the game. It was the “blue collar” we’ve been waiting to see all year: 25 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 steals. That line would make LeBron James jealous.

Two straight conference road wins. Four straight wins in Big 12 play. I would say the ship is back on course.

In fact, the only teams in major conferences with a four- or more-game conference winning streak, as of Tuesday, are North Carolina, Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma State, Kentucky and Iowa State. Read that again and find the team not in the top 10. No, I didn’t make that up.

Iowa State still has a long way to go, but give these guys credit. — to reel off four straight wins in conference is extremely impressive. Iowa State will more than likely have to win at least five of seven remaining games to have a far-fetched shot at the Big Dance. Heck, 16 more wins and the Cyclones win the NCAA championship.

On second thought, let’s just worry about Texas Tech.