Hilton Coliseum has been good to ISU coach Bill Fennelly and his Cyclone basketball team, and it is well documented. His 246-40 record at home is one of the best marks in college basketball history, and Hilton is sure to be rocking Thursday when Iowa State takes on Iowa.

Interestingly, Iowa State may benefit from “Hilton Magic” against Iowa perhaps more than any other opponent. Under Fennelly, the Cyclones are a perfect 8-0 against the Hawkeyes within the confines of Hilton.

However, Fennelly said it has been a long time coming and the Cyclones have struggled to beat the Hawkeyes away from home. As the No. 17 Cyclones take on the No. 21 Hawkeyes on Thursday, Fennelly has seen the rivalry come a long way.

“Well, it’s grown a little bit because we were so bad my first year that we didn’t even play Iowa,” Fennelly said. “At least we are good enough to play them. Both teams are historically pretty good and the fans are in the game. … We are honored to be a part of it.”

For the Cyclone seniors, it will be an opportunity to even the score with the Hawkeyes. With two losses at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, the seniors have a chance to defeat the Hawkeyes at Hilton Coliseum one last time.

Last season, the Cyclones were ranked No. 22 before the Hawkeyes kept them to 42 points in a 50-42 loss, dropping the Cyclones out of the polls. It was Iowa State’s first loss of the season, and Fennelly hopes this year will be different.

“To me, if you play any game, especially a game like this, and you lose and you do not take it hard, you don’t deserve to wear an Iowa State uniform,” Fennelly said. “It’s not really hard to get them ready to practice and play for Thursday. They understand it. … Hopefully we will talk about a great effort [after the game] and not one that disappointed our fan base.”

The matchup will feature two ranked squads, the first since the 2010-11 season in which the No. 16 Cyclones fell to the No. 19 Hawkeyes in Iowa City. It will be the first time in Fennelly’s tenure that both teams will be ranked playing at Hilton.

With the biggest game of the year to date being played Thursday, and with the two ranked Iowa State and Iowa’s men’s teams coming to town to follow up the women on Friday, the atmosphere around campus and in Hilton should be as good as it has ever been.

“It’s an exciting week for our kids,” Fennelly said. “I told them, the last thing I said was [that] finals are next week, but you’ve got a big final starting on Thursday night, so we will see how we do Thursday night.”