AMES, Iowa (AP) – A month ago, Iowa State looked like a team on the verge of falling out of NCAA Tournament contention. The Cyclones have played like one of the best teams in the country ever since.  Surging Iowa State is 23-and-10 and has won nine of its last 10 games, including an 80-74 win over West Virginia on Saturday in the Big 12 Tournament title game. Only Villanova, Kentucky, UCLA and Arizona have made similar 9-1 runs among power five and Big East schools.

The fifth-seeded Cyclones face No. 12 seed Nevada – now 28-and-6 – in Milwaukee on Thursday. “We’re playing well,” second-year Cyclones coach Steve Prohm said. “If we can continue to maintain our defensive effort and the toughness … continue to share the ball, we can do good things.”