It was 371 days ago that ISU players, including Georges Niang, Naz Long and Melvin Ejim, walked off of the floor at Carver Hawkeye Arena after an 80-71 loss.

Since then, they’ve been counting down the days until another shot to face their in-state rival came around.

“Just thinking back to last year, the emotions I had walking off Carver Hawkeye and how aggravated I was with the game,” Niang said. “I’ve waited a whole year for this to come around again, for them to come to our place and to feel our hostile crowd and our environment. So I’ve been counting the days down for this game.”

It is the first time since 1987 both teams in the game are ranked with Iowa State sitting at No. 17 and Iowa at No. 23 in the latest Associated Press college basketball poll, but it is bigger than that. Both teams rank high statistically coming into Friday night’s game.

Iowa State is currently ranked No. 1 in the country in points scored per game at 91.7, while the Hawkeyes are No. 5 with 89.5 points per game.

Defensively, Iowa State is ranked No. 6 in the nation in points allowed per 100 possessions at 86.8, ahead of where it was last year, while Iowa is only 0.1 point behind at No. 7 with 86.9.

“The thing they’re great at is transition offense; they really get out and run,” said ISU coach Fred Hoiberg. “They’re great on the glass as well. Those are going to be two huge keys for us is getting back in transition and trying to slow them down and trying to limit them to one shot, which is easier said than done because of their speed and their length.”

Even Hoiberg was recalling his memories in interviews with the media of playing in the Cy-Hawk series from the 1991-92 season to the 1994-95 one.

From his first game against Iowa at Hilton Coliseum when he dunked on Acie Earl, to winning on the road his senior year, he’s had just as much fun coaching as playing in it.

“I sprained my ankle earlier in the week, and I didn’t practice leading into that first game, maybe had my most memorable play when I jumped and kept going and dunked one on Acie Earl [at the 3:30 mark]; that was a pretty cool moment,” Hoiberg said. “Then to go out as a senior and have a winning record in that series was awesome.”

Naz Long didn’t play a minute in the loss 371 days ago, but he still understood the gravity of the game Iowa State had just lost.

He remembers the raucous crowd and he remembers how much it hurt to walk off the court like they did.

“It hurt,” Long said. “Sometimes, I’ll catch myself in the gym just thinking I can’t wait for the Cy-Hawk game. It’s going to be crazy in Hilton just like the anticipation we had for the Michigan game, I’ve been waiting for this game for a whole year.

“Everything with the emotions we felt when we walked out of there with that loss, it’s not forgotten.”