The Cyclones will have a chance at a revenge game against Kansas State in a do-or-die matchup as the two face off in the Big 12 Tournament on Thursday.
Iowa State has had a bad taste in its mouth since its last meeting with Kansas State, as a trip to Manhattan, Kansas, ended with the Wildcats pulling out the regular season finale win.
Now that the Big 12 Tournament has arrived, Iowa State is planning to put the past loss in the rearview mirror and take on the postseason with intent.
“The way we’re looking at it, the postseason is a whole new season for us,” Tre King said. “A whole new opportunity to prove people wrong.”
Given the unexpected nature of the tournament season, the Cyclones will not be sure who they play until possibly less than a day before the matchup. That was the case with Kansas State, as they had to wait patiently to see if their rival could topple Texas in its last season in the Big 12.
With the matchups being up in the air, the team is locking in and focusing on themselves rather than worrying about their opponents. That mentality has helped them take down teams throughout the season, especially when it came to conference play.
“For us, we’re still more 90-10. It’s 90% of what we do and how we do it and believing in if we play well and do what we do, we’ll be at our best,” Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger said.
Having that mentality of focusing on what they can do is what will fuel the Cyclones throughout the Big 12 Tournament. They noted that when they were at their best was when they were focusing on themselves rather than who was in front of them.
“It’s not really about what they do, it’s about what we do,” King said. “I have no doubt that we can beat anybody in the country.”
With the Texas and Kansas State game set to be finished less than 24 hours before the Cyclones would have to play the winner, they were prepared for either outcome.
The Cyclones have experience beating both Kansas State and Texas, but they also have experience struggling against both teams.
That was even more true with Kansas State, with the Wildcats handing the Cyclones their most recent loss.
“We’ve had success against both, and there’s been things they’ve done that’s worked against us,” Otzelberger said.
Before the game, Curtis Jones was asked who he would rather play.
On one hand, Texas is a team that the Cyclones have success against and former Cyclone Tyrese Hunter adds another level of motivation to pulling out a win. On the other hand, the team still wants revenge against Kansas State. So it was pretty easy for Jones to pick which team he’d rather face.
“Kansas State. That was so recent, so you got a bad taste in your mouth about that one,” Jones said. “I feel like we just didn’t play our best on the road, so hopefully, we get them.”
With Kansas State taking down Texas in a tight matchup, Jones got his wish.
Now, the Cyclones are ready for the challenge in front of them. The Wildcats are a hot team right now and will be hard to stop.
However, after two games, the Cyclones know what to expect. Although Kansas State is hungry for a tournament spot, and the Cyclones have one already locked up, Iowa State is not ready to lose focus again.
“Focusing on what’s in front of us right now. Not looking too far ahead,” King said.
Iowa State is set to start its tournament off with Kansas State at 6 p.m. Thursday at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri. The game will also be aired live on ESPN2.
