ISU coach Steve Prohm and company are heading down to Kansas City with a tough task ahead of them starting Thursday. 

No. 21 Iowa State (21-10, 10-8 Big 12) would potentially have to go through three top-10 teams in three days to win its third straight Big 12 Tournament Championship, but the Cyclones seem undaunted by such a tall task.

“I feel like if you can really get things going the first game, you catch some momentum, and then from there on who [knows] what’s happening,” said senior Georges Niang, who is 7-1 at the Big 12 tournament in his career.

Iowa State gets No. 6 Oklahoma (24-6, 12-6 Big 12) in the quarterfinal round of the Big 12 Championship on Thursday night, after splitting the regular season series with the Sooners. The winner likely gets West Virginia, while Kansas is the favorite to advance to the championship on the other side of the bracket.

With such a tough road ahead, Iowa State is taking the usual one-day-at-a-time approach.

“All we’re trying to do right now is just beat Oklahoma Thursday night,” Prohm said. “No more than that, not even looking ahead. You can’t look ahead.”

The road to a Big 12 Championship is undeniably tough with so many high-caliber teams vying for the title, but Iowa State does have one significant advantage.

While the Sprint Center is technically a neutral site, Iowa State will bring a large fan following to Kansas City, giving the Cyclones a home-game feel and distinct advantage in a place that has been dubbed “Hilton South” by ISU fans.

“It feels like a home game,” said point guard Monté Morris. “It feels like we get three straight home games.”

Niang also knows the benefit of having so many ISU fans take over the Sprint Center and turn it into “Hilton South.”

“It’s great,” Niang said. “The amount of fans that show up in Kansas City for us is crazy, and we can’t thank them enough. It’s always a great environment, and credit to Cyclone Nation for that.”

Iowa State will also bring a ton of confidence when it comes to the Big 12 tournament. The Cyclones have won the tournament the last two years, and Morris and guard Matt Thomas have never lost in the tournament.

Doing it for a third straight time would be even more impressive.

“We plan on trying to do it three times in a row,” Morris said. “We do that [and] it would be very special.”

There isn’t a lot of pressure to win, though, because of so many top teams in the Big 12. Winning would be nice and could benefit NCAA tournament seeding, but losing really wouldn’t have a large effect on the team.

“All you can do is really gain from this opportunity,” Morris said. “[Losing] won’t really hurt you because you’re playing great competition every night.”

Stringing together a few wins would be nice for seeding purposes and would also send Iowa State into the NCAA Tournament with some confidence and momentum, but the Cyclones first have to survive game one.

“Any team we play in this league is going to be very tough,” Morris said. “I feel like this is going to be the hardest game in the Big 12 tournament — the first one.”

Oklahoma has been a top team for most of the season and is led by All-American Buddy Hield.

Teams can’t just key in on Hield because Isaiah Cousins, Jordan Woodard and Ryan Spangler all have the ability to make plays. Prohm said Iowa State and Oklahoma are similar in a lot of ways.

Both have go-to playmakers in Niang and Hield. Both have strong guard play. Both have difference-makers in the post in Jameel McKay and Spangler. 

The teams also both play up-tempo basketball, resulting in exciting, fast-paced games in their previous matchups. 

“I think both of us play so fast,” Niang said. “I think that’s what makes it so exciting.”

Now that March has officially arrived, excitement is part of the game. The NCAA Tournament is coming up, but the atmosphere and competition level of the Big 12 is a perfect lead up to the Big Dance.

“They love the atmosphere,” Prohm said. “They know what they’ve done [at the last two Big 12 championships] is a terrific accomplishment.” 

Given the toughness of the road ahead, another Big 12 title would be the most impressive accomplishment yet. 

“We want to definitely leave out mark,” Morris said.