Iowa State men’s basketball focused on itself

AMES — Do the math.

It can be either an uplifting or dispiriting proposition for Iowa State men’s basketball fans — depending on one’s natural disposition — but one thing remains clear for the resurgent yet now-unranked Cyclones: A path to the NCAA tournament still exists.

And it’s not necessarily a narrow one for ISU (16-7 overall), despite a 3-7 start to Big 12 play that has it mired in a tie for eighth place in the conference standings.

“There’s a lot we’re playing for,” said Cyclones head coach T.J. Otzelberger, whose team plays 6 p.m. Tuesday (ESPN+) at last-place West Virginia (13-9, 2-7). “So you’ve got that motivational factor. You’ve got our habits, you’ve got our guys’ want-to, their character.”

Otzelberger stressed he doesn’t talk to his team about the NCAA tournament. He’s a firm believer those habits hewn from rugged practices will ensure results take care of themselves — even as wins have been hard to come by through the first 10 Big 12 games of the season.

“We've tried to keep focused on what's next,” Otzelberger said. “As a coach, you're always trying to gauge your team. Where are they at mentally? What do they need? What's gonna make us play our best?

“So at this point, it's not something we've talked about. Doesn’t mean we wouldn't at some point in time, but right now we're focused on, you know, let's try to be the team that we know we need to be in Morgantown (Tuesday) night, and let's come out with a win, and then go from there.”

Historically, the Mountaineers are extremely tough to beat at home. Bob Huggins’ always-gritty group is 2-3 in Morgantown this season, but nearly knocked off No. 10 Baylor last week on the road before falling, 81-77.

All of which means West Virginia, like Iowa State and at least four other teams, remains in a pitched battle to finish anywhere from fifth through 10th in the standings.

“Both teams are needing a win,” said Otzelberger, who did not make players available in advance of Tuesday’s game. “We need to be the team that’s more desperate and urgent to do that. … We know full-well that especially at their place, their physicality, regardless of what numbers say, they’re a very physical team and they play a lot of guys. Coach Huggins demands that physicality in a lot of different aspects, so we’ve got to be ready for that.”

That, of course, is what Otzelberger’s players rely upon to succeed, as well, so that “desperate” mentality must merge with near-perfect execution if the Cyclones are to get back on track after losing three of their past four conference games.

As of Monday, though, ISU remains on the No. 7 seed line or better in most major NCAA tournament projections — and a win Tuesday would help firm up its chances of playing in the postseason for the first time since the 2018-19 season.

“This is the best league in the country,” Otzelberger said. “You’re going to have some of those nights and we’ve had some. We just need to continue to embrace our mentality, our mindset and who we can be because we don’t have any other choice.

“There’s not another team we can be. There’s not an adjustment. There’s not a different way to do it. It’s be better at what we do.”

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