“On the bubble.”

As the end of the regular season winds down, teams hear that phrase quite a bit. And recently, Iowa State (18-10, 9-8 Big 12) has been one of them.

Teetering on the brink of another NCAA tournament bid, the Cyclones have fallen in and out of ESPN’s mock tournament bracket, leaving their postseason hopes up in the air.

They may have punched their ticket to the “Big Dance” with their win on Feb. 28, however, when they upset then-No. 3 Baylor 76-71.

ISU coach Bill Fennelly, who generally doesn’t pay too much attention to the postseason projections, even notes how crucial the win against Baylor was.

“Our job is to go out and play and the people on the committee will make their decision,” Fennelly said. “But certainly when people look at what we’ve done all year … who knows. It’s certainly one of those things that I think will get some people’s attention in that room and hopefully that’s the case.”

But even though Fennelly may not keep an eye on the postseason, some of his players do. Senior Brynn Williamson, who pays pretty good attention to where teams stand in regards to the NCAA tournament, said that the win against Baylor not only puts the team in a good place to earn a bid, but also really boosts its confidence.

“There were some days I remember walking into practice and I was like, I really don’t know if we’re going to make [the tournament],” Williamson said. “But we did it and it’s a good thing for everyone else to see.”

But the regular season isn’t quite over yet. The Cyclones will take on the Kansas Jayhawks (14-16, 5-12 Big 12) on March 3 in Lawrence, Kan., giving them one last chance to impress the NCAA selection committee before they head to the Big 12 Championship this weekend.

From the outside looking in, the Cyclones are sitting in a pretty good position. But in reality, that may not be the case.

Kansas is currently sitting in last place in the Big 12 and has only won four conference games this season. One of those wins, however, came against Iowa State on Jan. 28.

And to give the Jayhawks credit, they’re coming off of a road win against Oklahoma — a team that hasn’t lost at home all season.

So what’s the biggest thing the Cyclones need to do to leave Lawrence victorious Monday night? Well, according to Williamson, it’s simple.

“Rest,” Williamson said after the win against Baylor on Feb. 28. “We just need to rest a little bit and come to practice tomorrow. Enjoy [the win] tonight, but tomorrow we’ve got to go right back to work.”