The ball floated off the hand of Kansas guard Ben McLemore into the air in the waning seconds of regulation play last January. Weeks later, forward Georges Niang went to the ground at Hilton Coliseum, taking an apparent charge.

Both times Kansas snuck past Iowa State for overtime victories.

“Two of three games we basically lost but won it on the scoreboard,” Kansas coach Bill Self told reporters Jan. 11, after the No. 18 Jayhawks (11-4, 2-0 Big 12) pushed past No. 25 Kansas State.

No. 9 Iowa State (14-1, 2-1) lost a third meeting against Kansas in the Big 12 tournament last March. The Cyclones meet the Jayhawks tonight at Hilton in an important conference matchup after losing their first game of the 2013-14 season Jan. 11 to Oklahoma.

“All three of those games last year definitely have stuck with me,” said Georges Niang. “It’s a big rivalry between us and them, so we’re going to be ready to go for this game on Monday.”

The Cyclones lost in Norman, Okla. on Saturday after allowing the Sooners to make 13 3-pointers while being outscored on second chance points 22-2. A bigger loss than the game may be senior guard DeAndre Kane.

In the final seconds Saturday, Kane went to the ground after twisting his left ankle. He will receive treatment up until tipoff Monday, before being a game time decision.

“If I can go, I’m going to play,” said Kane, who was without crutches Jan. 12.

Iowa State has other things to worry about in Kansas. The Jayhawks defeated Oklahoma last week before defeating Kansas State by 26 points Saturday.

After playing one of the nation’s top nonconference schedules, Kansas is off to another hot start in Big 12 play.

“They’re playing with a ton of confidence right now, and when you have that collection of talent that’s playing with that type of confidence, that makes them a very dangerous team,” said ISU coach Fred Hoiberg. “I’d say they’re playing as well as any team in the country right now. We’re going to have to be at our best if we’re going to have a chance to win.”

Kane remembers seeing highlights from Iowa State’s home loss against Kansas last season, and one thing stood out.

“I saw a couple charge calls that weren’t called or things like that,” Kane joked. “Kansas is a good team. They’re well-coached, they’re young, they’re athletic.”

The Cyclones return to the spotlight at 8 p.m. in a nationally televised game, with the hope of quickly erasing thoughts from their first loss of the season.

“Coming off a loss, it kind of hurt. But we have to get by it,” said sophomore guard Naz Long. “It’s in the past now, so playing Kansas is a great opportunity to make a good statement. It’s a good way to jumpstart moving on and getting a great, big win.”