The college basketball season is a long, winding road with twists and turns and peaks and valleys.

Back-to-back losses are never ideal, but Iowa State (16-6, 5-4 Big 12) is mostly shrugging those losses off as learning experiences and trying to move forward as a team.

“Obviously I want to get out there and win every game,” said forward Georges Niang. “But I feel like there is a lesson we can take out of every loss we’ve had.”

Iowa State was pummeled on the boards against West Virginia, and Niang knows it. Niang had two rebounds, McKay had four rebounds and Nader had five rebounds against a team that is known for its ability to crash the boards.

Knowing what West Virginia was going to try to do and not taking it away is unacceptable, Niang said.

“You just can’t get punked on the boards for 40 minutes to a team that that’s how they score, that’s how they make their living,” Niang said. “So I think what we’re learning is to take away other team’s strengths and make sure they don’t take away ours.”

Niang understands the ebbs and flows of a college basketball season as a senior. He’s been through the peaks and the valleys and understands it’s all a part of the process.

Niang knows that his team will be just fine, despite back-to-back losses, and he’s clearly not panicking on certain issues the team faces, at least not when asked about them by media members Thursday.

He was asked about Iowa State’s rebounding woes and how the team can improve in that area.

“We bring out boxing gloves and we just fight each other; that’s how you get better at rebounding,” Niang joked.

On a more serious note, the back-to-back losses don’t seem to be weighing on Niang’s mind. 

“Basketball is basketball,” Niang said. “You lace up your shoes, you go out there and play. We did that and we got beat. Did we play to the best of our abilities? No. But there is a good amount of the season left where we can go prove what we can do and how good of a team we are.”

The Big 12 and the NCAA are both wide open with a lot of capable teams, but none that have stood above the rest. At 16-6 overall and 5-4 in the Big 12, the Cyclones feel good about where they are at in relation to where they want to be at the end of the season.

It’s not about the wins and losses in early February or late January as much as it is about lessons learned and becoming better prepared for postseason play. ISU coach Steve Prohm said he’s been trying to reiterate the big picture all season.

“I know in my heart, I believe we’ll get to where we need to be,” Prohm said. “Now, how many Big 12 regular season wins that is? I don’t know. This league is extremely tough, and the margin for error is very, very thin.”

That’s something Iowa State has learned all too well in conference play. Iowa State’s four Big 12 losses have been by an average of just more than four points.

“We’d rather not take losses, but like I said, we just got to learn from every loss we take and just take the positives and run with it,” said forward Jameel McKay. 

When you really look at it, Iowa State is only a few bad possessions away from beating West Virginia and Baylor at home. That would presumably shift the conversation away from the negatives. 

“It’s just the one or two losses that kind of stick in your gut,” Prohm said.

A few losses in a row and a few lessons learned, but Iowa State is looking forward now. The Cyclones have taken their lumps, and frankly, they know they’re going to be just fine.

“It hurts right now,” Monté Morris said. “But if we’re cutting the nets down in Houston, we aren’t going to remember this situation.”