The Iowa State men open play in the Big 12 Tournament today (Thursday) as the number eight seed. The Cyclones face ninth-seeded Kansas State, a team they split with during the regular season. Each team won the home game in the series, and Cyclone coach Wayne Morgan says timing was a reason for the split. He says K-State played hard at home and his team played poorly, and at home his team played well. Morgan says senior Jackson Vroman has been a key to his team late in the season. He says Vroman is “incredible” and should be first team all Big 12. Iowa State enters the tournament with 16-11 overall record after finishing 7-9 in the conference. The Cyclones need to win the tournament to get an NCAA Tournament bid.