Iowa State”s lack of depth finally caught up with it.

Foul trouble in the second half kept the Cyclones from making a run Sunday as they fell to Nebraska 76-69.

Damion Staple, Rahshon Clark and Curtis Stinson all had four fouls midway through the second half, while Jared Homan had three.

Stinson and Clark eventually fouled out, while all seven Cyclones who played ended the game with at least two fouls.

The Cyclones” foul trouble prevented them from fouling to stop the clock, and the team”s seven-man rotation left no one on the bench to spell the starters.

The loss also does little to help Iowa State”s NCAA tournament hopes. Although the Cyclones hold quality wins over four ranked Big 12 opponents, they have a 7-7 Big 12 record, tying them for sixth in the conference with Texas A&M.

The Cyclones” 15-10 overall record is good enough for an NIT bid, but may cause the selection committee to think twice about Iowa State”s postseason merits.

‘Obviously we”re pissed off, upset,’ Homan said. ‘I don”t think our focus was there, for whatever reason. Now we have to step up to the occasion. We”ve dug ourselves a hole.’

One week ago the Cyclones reached the apex of their conference season with a win at then-No. 2 Kansas.

The victory over the Jayhawks gave them seven conference wins in a row, pulling them toward the top of the Big 12 standings.

Since then, Iowa State has lost two in a row, following a poor performance at Texas A&M last Tuesday.

With two games remaining in the regular season, the Cyclones must win every time they step on the court to earn a date to the Big Dance.

‘We”ve been in this position before,’ Homan said. ‘We have to go back and regroup. It”s us against the world again.’

The Cyclones were outrebounded 51-37 by Nebraska and were never able to get their transition game going.

Iowa State had just eight fastbreak points. Its eight steals were two below its conference average.

‘I never thought there was a time we had a consistent rhythm,’ said ISU coach Wayne Morgan. ‘I never thought there was a time we were able to put together five or six really good minutes. I think if we had been able to do that, we would have won the game.’

Nebraska had 16 offensive rebounds in the first half alone — the Cyclones had 13 total boards at the break. The Huskers ended the game with 23 offensive rebounds and 18 second-chance points.

‘That tells a lot about the story of the game,’ Morgan said. ‘In the first half they had 16 offensive rebounds. Obviously you have to rebound the ball a lot better then that to be successful.’

Homan led Iowa State with 20 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots. Will Blalock had 15 points and four assists.

Jason Dourisseau scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half, and Aleks Maric had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds to lead Nebraska.

Iowa State returns to action Wednesday when it hosts Missouri in its final home game of the season.

• Curtis Stinson, Will Blalock and Jared Homan played all 20 minutes of the first half. Nebraska”s Aleks Maric played the most Husker minutes in the first with 16.

• Blalock and Homan played all 40 minutes of the game, while Joe McCray and Wes Wilkinson led Nebraska with 28 minutes each.

• Iowa State went 3:56 in the first half without scoring.

• Iowa State went 22 of 31 from the free throw line after going 28 of 33 at Texas A&M last Tuesday.

• Nebraska had 28 first half rebounds to Iowa State”s 13. Sixteen of those Husker rebounds were on the offensive end.

• Nebraska received its eighth foul of the second half with 16:38 remaining. It committed its ninth with 9:06 to play.

• Nebraska”s John Turek fouled out in nine minutes of play.

• Damion Staple has finished with four fouls in six consecutive games.

— Diana Homan