Iowa State has been proven to be a team not willing to be satisfied after a big win.

If that trend continues, the Cyclones should be ready to claim itself sole owners of the Big 12 Championship after their game with Baylor Saturday.

Iowa State is coming off an 87-79 win over Texas Tech that allowed the team to clinch a tie for first place in the conference.

Along with their head-to-head wins over Oklahoma State and Texas, the Cyclones also clinched the first seed in the Big 12 Tournament.

“It’s quite a story. It might not be matched again this decade. I didn’t think we were quite there yet, but we’ve fought through a lot of adversity this year, and here we are,” ISU coach Larry Eustachy said.

The Cyclones were once again led by Marcus Fizer, who is establishing himself as one of the top players in the country of late.

After averaging over 26 points in the month of February, Fizer kicked off March in style with 35 points, which tied his career-high.

Fizer is now averaging over 32 points per game in the last four contests.

“Teams are really throwing everything they have at him lately. He’s seen a box-in-one, double teams, Oklahoma State threw a zone at him. He just handles it all,” Eustachy said.

Despite winning a share of their first conference title in school history, the Cyclones weren’t overcome with joy following the contest against the Red Raiders.

“We’ve been there before. We went to Kansas and won there, we won on Missouri’s floor. We’ve experienced all that, so we don’t need to be doing cartwheels,” Eustachy said.

The Cyclones once again played with a limited bench, employing Brandon Hawkins, Richard Evans and Martin Rancik for a total of 21 minutes.

Rancik played in four minutes, his first time on the floor for more than seven seconds in a Big 12 game this season.

“I thought Martin played the best out of all of them, considering the circumstances,” Eustachy said. “They’ve all got a tough role on this team. They all lack confidence to a certain degree, but they’re going to have to help us out these last couple of games.”

The Cyclones will be without the services of Paul Shirley for at least another game.

Shirley, who broke a bone in his foot in last Tuesday’s game against Texas, says he will be ready by the NCAA Tournament.

His coach isn’t as sure, however.

“I think that he’ll be able to get on the floor by the NCAA Tournament, but the question is can he be effective. We remember the Drake game where he really struggled because he had missed all the practice time. So it’s not only a question of playing with pain, but also of being effective,” Eustachy said.

For the first time, Eustachy broached the topic of the NCAA Tournament. The coach was asked if he would like to be placed in Minneapolis, which is one of the eight cities that is hosting a regional.

“I think it would be great. It would give our fans a chance to see us play in person, which would be great for them. It’s been kind of a dry spell for a couple of years here, and it would be nice for them and us,” Eustachy said.

However, the tournament is still two weeks away, something Eustachy is well aware of.

“I don’t really give it too much thought,” Eustachy said. “I don’t have any control over anything but making this team better, so that’s what I’m concentrating on.”

A joint celebration will be held this weekend to honor the ISU men’s and women’s basketball teams, since both have clinched Big 12 championships with their recent wins over Texas Tech and Texas, respectively.

The celebration will be held at Hilton Coliseum Sunday, with the doors opening at 12:15 p.m. The women’s basketball team will be recognized at 1 p.m., and the men will be lauded at 2:15 p.m.

The event is free and open to the public.