For ISU coach Bill Fennelly and the rest of his squad, it is officially go time.

After a promising start to the season and some early upsets in conference play, Iowa State was receiving votes to be in the top 25 nationally. Just more than a month later, the team sits at 16-10 and 7-8 in the Big 12 after losing six of its last eight games.

ESPN’s most recent Bracketology prediction, updated Feb. 17, listed the Cyclones as one of the first four teams out of the NCAA tournament.

But all is not said and done just yet. The Cyclones have three more regular season opportunities to prove themselves worthy of an NCAA tournament bid as well as the Big 12 tournament.

The team was showing flashes of brilliance earlier in the season with two top-10 wins against Texas, and even during its recent rough patch by beating Oklahoma. The key now is to find a way to get back to that.

“Our team has lacked any kind of consistency and we are who we are and we’re going to have those moments, there’s no way around it,” Fennelly said. “But when we do the things we need to do, we got a chance to be in every game.”

When those things do not happen, and they mostly have not for the last month, the team struggles.

Fennelly’s frustration has been visible and completely justifiable throughout his team’s rough stretch in the past eight games.

He has sounded like a broken record recently as he runs down his team’s list of struggles that have continued to plague the Cyclones for weeks.

Missed shots. Inefficient offensively. Inability to rebound.

But when it comes down to it, the Cyclones have been in games. Its not as if they have been so crippled by their flaws that it has been insurmountable.

Of the team’s last six losses, four have been by single digits.

“I have 10 to 12 emails about ‘you guys can’t win close games, you guys cant win close games,’” Fennelly said. “Well what happened against Oklahoma? We won in overtime.”

With the proven ability to pull out tight wins, it’s only a matter of finding a way to do so on a more consistent basis.

The Cyclones’ next opponent, Texas Tech, may have handed them one of their worst losses in the team’s recent stretches, as Fennelly said it might have been the worst half of basketball his team has played all year.

Now, as they battle for conference positioning and an NCAA tournament bid, the Cyclones will need a way to find some consistency against a team that allowed none in their first matchup.

Fennelly hopes his Cyclones find that consistency, which seems to be the missing link, quickly.

“The [regular] season is over in a week,” Fennelly said. “This isn’t October or November, so we better get better quick.”