KANSAS CITY, Missouri — The senior trio of Naz Mitrou-Long, Monté Morris and Matt Thomas will forever live in Iowa State basketball lore, but they are on the verge of adding another accolade to their legacy. 

The three seniors — who are one win away from tying the winningest class in Iowa State history — will go for their third Big 12 Championship at 5 p.m. Saturday against No. 2 West Virginia (25-7, 12-6 Big 12) at the Sprint Center.

The 4-seeded Cyclones (22-10, 12-6 Big 12) won titles in 2014 and 2015, but suffered a first round loss in 2016, when Mitrou-Long sat out while recovering from a bothersome hip surgery. The last time the Cyclones were a No. 4 seed was in 2014. 

“We play the game to win,” Mitrou-Long said. “We don’t play to lose and you don’t play for personal accolades. Everybody gets more. We want this championship for our school, for our teammates.”

The senior class helped the program reach heights it hasn’t seen in over a decade. The Cyclones reached two Sweet Sixteens, won two Big 12 Championships — Saturday night pending — and coasted to four-straight 20-win seasons with the trio in Cardinal and Gold.

In the Big 12 Championship, Thomas, Morris and Mitrou-Long have won a combined eight games, a school record. 

“What they’ve done is remarkable,” coach Steve Prohm said. “Obviously, Fred [Hoiberg] played a huge part in all of this. He deserves a ton of credit for it. And these guys have done a tremendous job. I think it’s going to come down to one of the best senior classes to ever go through here.” 

The championship will be a steep feat in itself, but the potential to beat West Virginia makes it all the more interesting. 

The Mountaineers handily took care of the Cyclones in their two meetings this season, including dealing Iowa State a double-digit loss at Hilton Coliseum. And West Virginia is the only Big 12 team Prohm hasn’t beaten in his two seasons at the helm. 

“It would show a lot of resolve and character about our guys if they were able to fight through it and beat them,” Prohm said. “They’re really good. They present a lot of problems for us. We’ve got to put ourself in a position to win the game. We haven’t done that in the last two games [against the Mountaineers].”

It helps that Prohm was able to rest his regulars at the end of a blowout victory against TCU on Friday night. Morris finished with 29 minutes, just more than five minutes less than his per game average. Thomas, who has been dealing with bone spurs in his foot all season, played 25 minutes. 

But rest or no rest, the seniors would be ready to go. After all, they are on the verge of making history.

They’ve been here before. 

“It don’t mean much until we finish this deal,” Thomas said. “To win three in four years would be very special. Especially with these seniors that have been here for four years. A lot of hard work. We’ve just got to get the job done.”