With just over a month before the end of the regular season, the ISU men’s basketball team still has its eyes on an NCAA tournament berth.

The Cyclones sit at 12-6 overall and 2-5 in the Big 12, but after starting the league schedule with four losses, they have beaten Nebraska and Baylor the last two weekends, and hung with No. 11 Oklahoma State on the road until late in the game.

“We’re real confident and we honestly believe we can win the next nine games,” said Jake Sullivan after scoring 26 points in Saturday’s win over Baylor. “That’s our goal.”

Those nine games include road and home contests against Colorado and Kansas State and home games against Texas Tech and Missouri. Iowa State will also travel to Kansas on Feb. 16, to Texas A&M on Feb. 19 and to Nebraska on March 1.

While Sullivan feels a sweep is not out of the question, Eustachy said he believes the Cyclones could get in the “Big Dance” with a sixth-place or seventh-place finish in conference play.

“Certainly the sixth-place team and probably the seventh-place team should go this year,” Eustachy said during Monday’s Big 12 teleconference.

In each of the past three seasons, six teams from the Big 12 have been selected to the NCAA Tournament, which ultimately determines the national champion in major-college men’s basketball.

Missouri, last year’s sixth-place team, was 9-7 in league play and was selected as a No. 12 seed in the 2002 NCAA Tournament.

But Eustachy said the level of play in the Big 12 this season has gone up a notch.

Eustachy seemed in disbelief at Baylor’s conference record after the Cyclones held on to defeat the Bears on Saturday. Baylor is 0-6 in the Big 12 this season.

“It’s a matter of getting the best 64 teams in the tournament,” Eustachy said. “I’ve been in the Big Sky and in the Big West and I’m not knocking those conferences, but a team like Baylor would win those conferences. The format does not get the best 64 teams in the tournament because of automatic bids and what have you.”

Conference tournament champions receive automatic bids to the NCAA tournament.

To equal Missouri’s postseason-qualifying mark of one year ago, the Cyclones need to win at least seven conference games before the Big 12 Tournament on March 13.

More importantly, it’s likely that any more than two ISU losses could send them to the National Invitational Tournament or to no postseason tournament at all.