The second time around, the Cyclones had the game circled.

Iowa State lost to Texas Tech when the teams played in Lubbock, Texas, in January prior to taking on a ranked Kansas State. The second time around, the Cyclones avoided a trap game prior to taking on No. 9 Kansas on Monday by beating the Red Raiders 86-66.

“I don’t think this could have been a trap game for us,” said ISU forward Melvin Ejim. “This was a team that we went down there and they beat us. We circled this on our calendar and we knew this was a game that we really wanted to go out and play hard and beat these guys.”

Despite a slow start in the first 15 minutes — the teams were tied 26-26 with just less than five minutes remaining in the first half — Iowa State (19-8, 9-5 Big 12) was able to win with ease.

The Cyclones turned the ball over seven times in the first half Feb. 23, but had no turnovers in the final 4:36 of the first half when it went on the 10-3 run to take control of the game against the Red Raiders (9-16, 2-12). Chris Babb hit two 3-pointers during that run and went 5-of-9 overall beyond the arc.

“I thought the end of the first half was definitely key for us,” said ISU coach Fred Hoiberg. “We got out in transition, Babb hit a couple 3s there to end the half. Finally we got a little pace in the game and that definitely played to our favor.”

The run included a rare five-point possession for the Cyclones when Babb hit a 3-pointer as Ejim was fouled under the basket, sending the junior to the line for two free throws.

“We were pretty sluggish up until that point,” Babb said of the team’s first-half run. “We just got a couple of shots to fall and that kind of sparked our transition.”

In the team’s last eight games, Babb has now gone 25-of-47 from beyond the arc. That includes two games against Baylor where the redshirt senior went a combined 1-of-8 on 3-pointers.

The strong 3-point shooting from Babb has helped the Cyclones as they’ve made at least 10 3s in six consecutive games and eight of their last nine games overall. Confidence was again reiterated as a reason following the win.

“Babb’s big thing is confidence,” Hoiberg said. “When he’s out there playing with confidence and playing with a swagger, he’s pretty darn good. He lost it a little bit, I thought, at Baylor [on Wednesday], but then he bounced back with a great day of practice yesterday and stepped up and knocked down shots today.”

That helped Iowa State avoid a trap and move on to a big test Monday against Kansas, which will likely move up from No. 9 by tipoff at Hilton Coliseum on Monday night.

And yes, the Cyclones have that game circled, too.

“We have to play a great game to get this win,” Babb said. “This is probably one of our biggest games of the year to keep in that hunt for the NCAA tournament and the Big 12.”