Iowa State couldn’t get out of its own way.

In the Cyclones’ loss to No. 13 Kansas, the Jayhawks gave them plenty of chances to get back in the game.

Kansas led by five at halftime, but even that lead came after the Jayhawks shot just 38.9 percent from the floor.

When Kansas took bigger leads — as many as 12 in the second half — the Cyclones still had chances, but couldn’t cash in.

Self-inflicted mistakes lost Iowa State the game as the Cyclones fell, 83-77.

When Iowa State was able to make it a close game in Lawrence, Kansas, last month, it was largely because of freshman guard Lindell Wigginton’s 27 points and senior guard Donovan Jackson’s 20.

This time around, Wigginton had just 12 points (3-of-12 shooting) while Jackson finished with three points (1-of-9).

Those two are Iowa State’s two leading scorers, so getting just 15 points on 4-of-21 shooting is not going to lead to many wins.

But even with those struggles, Iowa State still had a chance to win the game.

Iowa State trailed by five going into halftime. Kansas kept that lead for the entirety of the second half, but it never got to be more than 12 points.

When Kansas needed buckets, it went back to the same play over and over again. After a high screen near the top of the key, Kansas’ big man — 7-foot center Udoka Azubuike — would drift toward the rim, grab a lob from the top of the key and slam home the alley-oop for an easy two points.

“Lobs look like they’re really fancy, hard plays,” said Kansas coach Bill Self. “It’s probably the easiest pass a human being can make because you can throw it anywhere and if a guy’s big and athletic, he can go catch it. All you need is just a little space to be open.

“That’s an effective offensive play for us, and I think a lot of teams, because if you’ve got a guy as big as [Azubuike] that can jump, he’s such a big target… it worked out pretty good.”

Azubuike finished with 19 points on 9-of-10 shooting, thanks in large part to those easy dunks.

“The lobs came from — that’s just poor defense,” said coach Steve Prohm. “We guarded that play well up in Lawrence. When they set the backscreen, we had no help.

“We just had no help. That can’t happen.”

Offensively, aside from Jackson’s and Wigginton’s struggles with scoring, there were turnover issues, too.

The Cyclones committed 12 turnovers. Kansas won the battle for points off turnovers, 21-4.

“When we win, we’re around nine turnovers a game,” Prohm said. “When we lose, we’re in the 12, 13, 14 area. Turnovers lead to easy baskets for them.”

Of those 12 turnovers, 10 came from Wigginton and Cameron Lard, Iowa State’s two starting freshmen.

As Prohm alluded to, when you’re trusting two freshmen to start and lead the team, sometimes freshmen mistakes are going to happen.

“When those guys are good, we’re tough to beat,” Prohm said. “They were good in moments tonight, but we need them to be very good. That’s just part of it.”

Prohm called the plays on which the freshmen turned it over correctible, simple and easy plays.

But with only nine healthy players, Iowa State’s margin for error is razor-thin this season. That came back to bite tonight.

“Simple things,” Prohm said. “As they continue to grow and get experience, they’ll understand how important and valuable those are.

“The thing that killed us down the stretch [in the first game against Kansas] was turnovers. Turnovers led to baskets, and they led to baskets tonight, too.”