Throughout the course of the season, Iowa State coach Steve Prohm has been looking for a win to prove to the NCAA Tournament committee that his team is worthy of a spot in the “Big Dance.”

While the Cyclones did upset No. 3 Kansas on Feb. 4 — their first win over a ranked opponent all season and one of the best road wins in program history — Prohm could use a little more.

Now, it seems, he has that chance.

Iowa State (15-9, 7-5 Big 12) heads to Manhattan, Kansas, on Wednesday to take on Kansas State (16-9, 5-7 Big 12). After the Cyclones’ 16-point win against Oklahoma on Saturday, Wednesday night could prove a chance for Iowa State to garner its first two-game winning streak since mid-January.

And with the Big 12 Championship just three weeks away, a winning streak could help solidify favorable seeding for the Cyclones.

“Our backs are against the wall. It’s not any different just because we got a win last game against Oklahoma,” Iowa State guard Naz Mitrou-Long said. “We have to get these wins, man. There as big as any games we’ve played this year. For the Big 12 seeding, you know how important the seeding is.

“[If] you get put in the right situation on the right side of the bracket you can do anything. You don’t want to play four games in a row. You want to [just play] three, and just roll from there.”

Kansas State is currently sixth in the Big 12 standings, and is currently on a two-game losing skid. But coach Bruce Webber has a very talented team — one that shouldn’t be overlooked.

The Wildcats have picked up wins this season against No. 4 Baylor, No. 9 West Virginia and fell twice to Kansas by just a combined five points. They have spent time in the AP Top 25 and are a team that ESPN’s Joe Lunardi is projecting will make the NCAA Tournament.

And when Iowa State hosted Kansas State earlier this season, the Cyclones escaped with just a five-point win.

“I think [Kansas State is] really good,” Prohm said. “They’re tough defensively. They can make shots. They’re so much more balanced than last year. Last year was, you kind of give them shots and let them shoot. We zoned them a ton. But this year, they put a lot of guys out there that can make shots… We know we’ll get a great test from them.”

A win at Bramlage Coliseum — often referred to as the “Octagon of Doom” — won’t be an easy task, either. The coliseum is a place Mitrou-Long looks at as one of the tougher places to play in the league.

“You have to tune out the distractions as far as the support that they have behind them, because it’s real awesome over there,” Mitrou-Long said. “I’d say they’re a top-three home court advantage in this conference. Its just tough because they get real loud in there, the team really feeds off of the vibes that’s given off from the crowd. And it’s like dark and gloomy a little bit in there.

“But it’s a nice arena. I really like it myself, but it’s tough to get a win in that place.”

Regardless of any conference tournament or national tournament implications this game, or the next several games, may have for the Cyclones, Mitrou-Long said he isn’t looking on the national scale. If he doesn’t take it one game at a time, he said, then Iowa State’s NCAA dreams could come to a screeching halt.

“I don’t [pay attention], not to NCAA Bracketology, because I’m focused on just the rest of what we have to do now,” Mitrou-Long said. “If I look too far ahead and we’re dropping games now, that thought is going to be erased and we’re not even going to get there.

“So I’m just focused on the now, more so the Big 12 tournament. I look at that standings, then as soon as that’s done, all my knowledge and attention will be focused on the NCAA Bracketology.”