Larry Eustachy, was that really you? During his Thursday press conference at Hilton Coliseum Iowa State’s basketball coach, monikered “Dr. Doom” by some who have been witness to his proclamations of despair for this team, had some nice things to say.

When asked how he thought the 22-3 Cyclones stacked up nationally, the coach responded with a gleam in his eye and a small smile across his face: “Hell, I think we’re going to win the national title, to be honest with you.”

While the coach may have been exaggerating a bit about his team’s chances, he did give some compliments without tongue firmly implanted in cheek.

“This team is tough. I mean they’ll fight each other in practice, they’re very competitive. But first of all, they’re a very close team. That’s important, and they have a great leader in Marcus Fizer, who went from a follower to a leader. It’s a team with great character,” Eustachy said.

The Cyclones exhibited all of those traits when they came back from a nine-point deficit with four minutes to play to defeat Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence.

Fizer, who’s turnaround 18-foot jumper clinched the win with :06 left, called the shot the biggest of his life.

Eustachy was in no position to disagree.

“If he said it was, then I’m sure it was. It was such a flurry of unbelievable basketball. I think jaws just dropped to the ground, people were stunned. It all happened so fast,” Eustachy said.

Eustachy said that one thing was for sure: The Cyclones proved they could play in a hostile environment.

“That was Kansas’ A+ game. And we struggled for so much of the game, it was such a great game to win. That was the loudest crowd since Roy Williams had been there, according to him, and we came out with the win,” Eustachy said.

The play of Jamaal Tinsley, who has mastered the art of being consistently inconsistent, was once again a topic of discussion.

The junior point guard from Brooklyn, N.Y., had eight turnovers in the game, but also came up with two huge steals and subsequent lay-ups to pull the Cyclones back into the game.

“I’ve said it before, and it’s true. He’s such a slow starter. I’d hate to see him get out of bed in the morning. When he eats, he probably eats slow, and by the time he’s to the main course he’s up to speed. But he always finishes well, that’s for sure,” Eustachy said.

The unfamiliarity of the environment led to some of the early struggles for Tinsley, according to his coach.

“Something like that is so new to him. I mean, when has Jamaal Tinsley ever seen something like that? Or had to step up and shoot free throws with the crowd the way it was? In junior college basketball in California, there’s the cheerleaders and the coaches and that’s it. His eyes were wide open all the time,” Eustachy said.

Both Fizer and Tinsley had trouble at times before being the difference-makers at the end.

“They were both sitting late in the game because they were struggling all night. But I looked at Leonard Perry (assistant coach) and said ‘we have to have those guys in the game to give us a chance.’ We gave them one more chance and they came through,” Eustachy said.

The Cyclones now will travel to Colorado with one tangible goal in mind: The Big 12 Conference title.

“To be honest with you, last night was the first time I really thought of that. Looking at it, we have to win our home games, and then win one on the road. But we have five very tough games left, and we’re going to have to be at our best,” Eustachy said.

Iowa State crushed the Buffs’ earlier this season in Ames 86-72, a final score that was not indicative of the way the game was played.

After that, Iowa State returns home for games against Texas and Oklahoma State, both of whom stand one game behind Iowa State in the conference standings at 9-2.

“Those will be the two best teams we face this year, so it’s definitely going to be a challenge,” Eustachy said.

Meanwhile, the women will try to regroup following a shocking upset at home to Kansas, the ISU women will try to turn around their season before it’s too late.

The opposition Saturday night at Hilton Coliseum will be the Missouri Tigers, who enter the contest with a mark of 16-7 overall and 6-6 in the Big 12.

These two teams have already met once, as Iowa State beat the Tigers 79-67 in Columbia on Jan. 5.

The Cyclones currently stand at 18-5 overall and 9-3 in conference play, but they’re riding a two-game losing streak. In fact, Iowa State is just 3-3 in its last six games in the Big 12.

They are coming off a 79-71 loss to Kansas, the first home loss in conference play in three years. Although the Cyclones were able to shoot 54 percent from the field, they got off a season-low 43 attempts.

Twenty-seven turnovers eventually led to the demise of the Cyclones, as they struggled with the strong, physical play of the Jayhawks defense.

Point guard Stacy Frese has been struggling lately. The normally sharpshooting Frese has made only four out of 29 shots and scored just 20 points in the last three games.

Not surprisingly, Iowa State is 1-2 in that time. However, they are still very much alive in the Big 12 Conference race.

The Cyclones currently stand just one game back of conference-leading Oklahoma, thanks in part to the Sooners being upset at home by fifth-place Texas.

With only four games left in the season, Iowa State is tied with Kansas for second place. However, the Cyclones would win the tiebreaker with the Sooners, while the Jayhawks would lose it.

Missouri, meanwhile, are still harboring hope that with a strong finish they could end up in the NCAA tournament.

The Tigers, who fashioned a great start to the year at 10-1, had their four-game winning streak snapped with a 66-55 loss at Texas A&M Wednesday night.

They are led in scoring by Amanda Lassiter, who puts in an average of 13.6 points per game. Also scoring well for Missouri is Julie Helm at 11.6 and Marlena Williams at 11.3.

The final Tiger in double figures is Amy Monsees at 10.4 points per game.

The last time these two teams met, Frese led the Cyclones with 22 points, while three other players reached double digits.