The Sooners have lost two of five games that will serve to underscore Oklahoma’s fate when tournament time arrives in mid-March. Among their foes in what is the most brutal stretch of their schedule are three top-10 teams and five likely NCAA tournament invitees.

Losses to No. 6 Baylor and No. 8 Kansas are tolerable if not acceptable. A win versus then-No.22 Kansas State at Bramlage Coliseum was heartening.

A loss at home against unranked Iowa State (16-6, 6-3) will not be. At 5 p.m. Saturday in Lloyd Noble Center, the Sooners (13-8, 3-6) will seek to match last year’s win total against the Cyclones.

Six-foot-eight 270-pound Royce White will have to be at the top of Oklahoma’s Most Guarded List. The sophomore is one of the Big 12’s best newcomers, averaging 14.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game.

“He’s the main guy,” junior two-guard Steven Pledger said. “Basically, contain him, and we’ll be fine.”

Pledger averages 17.8 points per game — which is good enough for second best in the Big 12 — and he is shooting 44.5 percent from beyond the arc. The Sooners will need every point Pledger can muster against an Iowa State team averaging 74.1 points per game.

One of the men charged with defending White is junior forward Romero Osby. He scored a career-high 19 points in the Sooners 84-62 loss to No. 8 Kansas on Wednesday night.

“The plan is to kind of switch it up on him like we always do,” Osby said. “He plays (center) for them and they got (Melvin) Ejim playing (forward), and he’s kind of mobile.”

Osby has become a huge contributor for the Sooners after sitting out the 2010-11 season due to NCAA transfer rules. He’s averages 12.3 points and eight rebounds per game.

“He’s growing in his role in terms of productivity all the time,” Coach Lon Kruger said of Osby. “Ro’s doing fantastic.”

Osby said he feels good about what the team has accomplished so far, but he’s not shy about saying he wants more.

“I think we’ll be all right,” he said. “I think if we continue to grind and continue to work hard and continue to stay together, we’ll be fine. We’ll have a chance to make a run at this thing.”

Kruger isn’t panicking with one month of basketball left to play. He believes his team is steadily improving with every game.

“This last week we’ve played our best basketball in three of the four halves,” he said. “We didn’t like the second half (Wednesday) night. But we’ve got to keep doing that.”

A win would not only improve Oklahoma’s chances of being invited to the big dance but give it momentum heading into its home game against No. 4 Missouri Monday night.

Oklahoma needs to win eight of its last nine home games to insure Kruger records his 500th career victory during his first season as the Sooners’ coach.

Pledger said there is only one way for that to happen.

“We have to work hard and stick with the game plan,” he said. “We do what we need to do and find ways to win.”