Fennelly not taking berth in NCAAs for granted

Chances are good - very good - Iowa State already has locked up a fifth-straight NCAA appearance before it even takes the floor today at the Big 12 Conference tournament.

Still, Coach Bill Fennelly doesn't take anything for granted.

The fifth-seeded Cyclones (21-9, 9-7) begin postseason play at 1:35 p.m. this afternoon at Municipal Auditorium against No. 12 Nebraska (13-17, 3-13). Selection Monday is less than a week away.

“Unless you win the conference tournament and you know you are in, I don't feel comfortable until I see our name come up on television,” Fennelly said.

The Big 12 figures to get six, maybe seven, teams in the NCAA tournament. Regular season champion Baylor (28-2, 15-1) is a likely No. 1 seed.

Fennelly has had March 14 - the day the bracket is revealed - on his daily practice card for weeks now.

“To me, it's the most important thing we do,” said Fennelly, who has taken his team to the NCAAs in 11 of his 15 seasons as Iowa State's head coach.

Mock pairings done by ESPN.com bracketologists have the Cyclones a No. 7 seed.

That could improve with success this week, starting with a Nebraska team that has lost three straight and nine of its last 10 games.

The winner of today's game gets No. 4 seed Kansas State in the quarterfinals, a team ISU has beaten in both its meetings this season.

Despite an ugly 49-48 loss at Missouri Saturday in the regular-season finale, Fennelly sees a group that's capable of a big finish if it can put everything together.

“This team can get better,” he said. “I've had teams here that you can't get better at the end of the year and just want to maintain and stay healthy. There's another level for us, and I think (the players) feel it and sense it.”

Outside of senior Kelsey Bolte, who earned first-team all-conference honors Monday, it's been a challenge with nine of its 10 regulars in their first or second year in the program.

Some - like guards Chassidy Cole and Jessica Schroll - are finally figuring out their roles.

“Sometimes it takes a little longer to know what you are good at and what you aren't,” Fennelly said. “And sometimes it takes the coach longer to figure that out, too.”