KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Iowa State has started a trend, and it’s not a good one.

In the team’s last four games, the Cyclones have trailed by at least 10 points at some point in the game. In the semifinal round of the Big 12 tournament against Oklahoma, the Cyclones trailed by 11 points early in the first half.

It’s a trend that ISU coach Fred Hoiberg wants to end, but there is another trend that is working against it: winning.

On Thursday against Texas, it was a Monte Morris fadeaway jumper as time expired that lifted the Cyclones to victory. On Friday, it was a missed lay-in by Oklahoma’s Ryan Spangler in the closing seconds that gave the Cyclones a two-point victory. But in the Big 12 tournament, it’s not how you win — it’s if you win, and for an ISU team that plays their best in the final minutes of the game, that’s all that matters.

“The comeback kids strike again?” joked Georges Niang after the game. “We believe in each other and have the will and the fight to keep fighting until the clock hits zero.”

Of course, Niang doesn’t condone getting down double-digits, saying it’s an aspect of the game the team needs to get in check. But with recent results, it may just be the team’s mojo.

They have made double-digit comebacks in four-straight games to help them to a 24-8 overall record and advances them to the Big 12 Championship final against 1-seed Kansas at 5 p.m. on Saturday. Hoiberg says the fight from his players in the last few games has been encouraging, but against the Jayhawks, it may not be enough.

“Now our next step is not getting down double-digits,” Hoiberg said. “The next step is coming out and us getting up double-digits and trying to get off to a great start and, again, if we want to have a chance to win it [Saturday] night, that’s going to have to happen.”

The Cyclones scored a total of 98 first-half points in the last four games, shooting far below their season average each time. In the second half, it’s a different ballgame.

The Cyclones have scored a blistering 204 second-half points during the same stretch, more than doubling their first-half output. However, in their first three games of the stretch, it was Georges Niang and Monte Morris providing the second half run. Against Oklahoma, it was Jameel McKay.

The big man scored 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting and pulled down nine rebounds for the Cyclones, adding two blocked shots in the final minutes to help propel the team past the Sooners for their 5th-straight Big 12 tournament win.

But to get their sixth, they have to go through Kansas — winners of 11-straight Big 12 regular season championships. As the two most well-traveled fan bases in the conference, the 2-seed Cyclones and 1-seed Jayhawks are exactly what the Big 12 planned for.

However, this time Iowa State hopes there will be no double-digit comeback involved.

“Sorry to the fans that we keep doing that to them, but thankful the we came up with a win, and that was huge,” said Naz Long.