Iowa State had its last on-the-road Big 12 win against Kansas State — maybe Wednesday it will have its first of the season.

The last time the Cyclone men’s basketball team won in the conference on the road was a 62-51 victory over the Wildcats on Feb. 21, 2001. A win would snap a 27-game conference road losing streak.

But even more important than winning on the road is just winning.

The Cyclones are currently 0-4 in Big 12 Conference play for the second time, and are coming off a 54-52 overtime loss to Colorado at home Saturday.

Head coach Wayne Morgan said the team still has work to do.

“We have had a lot of close calls. We had some games, like the Missouri game, where we should have gotten a victory,” Morgan said. “There are little things we need to refine to get us over the hump and we really need to improve our rebounding.”

In Saturday’s loss, Iowa State was out-rebounded 54-35, giving up 22 offensive rebounds to Colorado.

Morgan said the team is working its way to get back on track.

“We come in every day and work hard, and that includes everybody,” he said. “We point out the mistakes we made in our last games and try to correct them. When you play well, they pat you on the back.

“And there will always be criticism when you are struggling.”

Kansas State is entering Wednesday night’s game with an 11-4 overall record and 1-3 in conference action. The Wildcats defeated Missouri 74-54 on Jan. 15, and lost their last game 65-51 at Texas A&M on Saturday.

Iowa State split with Kansas State last season, losing 90-59 at Manhattan and winning 75-69 at home.

“Kansas State has excellent post players with guys like [forward Jeremiah] Massey, [forward Cartier] Martin, [guard Lance] Harris and [forward Justin] Williams,” Morgan said. “We will have to play tough to defend them. The last time we were there it was our worst loss of the year.

“We need to forget about that and focus on this year and go down there with determination.”

The Wildcats pose many threats to the Cyclones. Sophomore guard Fred Peete is averaging 13.2 points per game, and was named Big 12 Rookie of the Week on Dec. 13.

But Kansas State’s biggest threat is Massey. He averages 16.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game to lead the Wildcats. Massey was named Big 12 Player of the Week on Dec. 27. He lit up the Cyclones for 20 points and 12 rebounds in last year’s game in Manhattan.

“Massey is a great player and one of the best big men in this league, there is no question about it,” Morgan said.