After flailing out of the gate in the past few games, Iowa State is in search of a remedy heading into the stretch run of the 2016-17 season.

Iowa State’s early-game woes against Texas on Tuesday night came to a pinnacle. The team started 2-for-17 from the field and trailed by 17 points. While the Cyclones almost mounted a comeback, they fell just short.

But now, in the last month of the season, time is running out to find a solution. 

The stretch run starts at 5 p.m. Saturday against Oklahoma (8-15, 2-9 Big 12) at Hilton Coliseum, kicking off a three-game stretch against Oklahoma, Kansas State and TCU, three teams tied with or below Iowa State (14-9, 6-5 Big 12) in the Big 12. 

The Cyclones realize the situation could quickly become dire if they run into the same troubles they did Tuesday night.

“It it frustrating, but we’ve got to continue to grow,” coach Steve Prohm said. “We are in a big stretch of our season right now, where we can do some good things. There can be some better things on the horizon.”  

Iowa State’s last game against Oklahoma can serve as a microcosm of that frustration. 

Iowa State’s struggles to start the game were starkly evident in Norman, Oklahoma, on Jan. 21. Iowa State fell into a 20-5 deficit early on but quickly rallied back to win in overtime. 

The Cyclones have no problem coming from behind to pull in close, it just comes down to avoiding a situation to come back at all.

“When your backs are against the wall, you’re scratching and fighting to get out,” forward Deonte Burton said. “You don’t want to be against the wall. So I guess we get too comfortable, too fast.”

Continuing its success at home will be key for Iowa State. The Cyclones have four more games at Hilton Coliseum to cap off the season. A win in each one would give the team 10 wins in the Big 12, a comfortable number for an NCAA Tournament bid. 

The biggest test will come in a couple of weeks, when No. 6 Baylor comes to Ames. The Bears have won three straight games against Iowa State and won in Waco, Texas, earlier this season. 

“It’s about getting it done,” guard Naz Mitrou-Long said. “We’re supposed to be playing our best basketball in February or March. Before that, the months count, but these are the most important months. There’s nothing else to be said. You’ve just got to get it done. It doesn’t matter what happened before.”

The Cyclones are tied with TCU for fourth in the Big 12 — fifth considering the Horned Frogs own the tiebreaker — so while some fans think the team has struggled this season in comparison to recent years, it sits in a good spot. 

Now it just has to finish it out. 

“If we can finish it out — we’re fourth in the Big 12 right now — if we can win Saturday, most likely going into the last few weeks, we’re fourth place in the best league in the country,” Prohm said. “Not all is lost. That’s pretty good …. But we have some opportunities to get some big wins down the stretch and we plan on doing it.”