The past two meetings in Lawrence, Kan., have not gone exactly according to plan for the Cyclones.

Last year, the Cyclones lost in a double-overtime thriller at the Allen Fieldhouse. The year before that, a one-point overtime stunner sent the Cyclones back to Ames with a loss.

This year, ISU coach Bill Fennelly’s company will keep in mind the kind of team they’re facing on the road: A team similar to what they’ve faced before.

“A team that has their whole team back, including Carolyn Davis,” Fennelly said. “A team we’ve had great games with. We’re playing in a historic place and against a … very experienced team.”

Davis had made her debut this season after emerging from an ACL tear last year, which ended her season.

Bouncing back with resilience, Davis is leading the Jayhawks (12-6, 3-4 Big 12) in nearly every category this year, including points with 270 and points per game with 15.

Even though Fennelly said this is a team that has most of the same people back, there is something more unique about the Kansas Jayhawks squad than years past, presenting new challenges with familiar problems.

“Unlike some of the teams we’ve played, probably since Texas, [have] they [had] two really good, long, athletic post players,” Fennelly said. “We’ve run into teams that have one big guy, [but] they have two.”

Davis and sophomore Chelsea Gardner are both 6-foot-3-inch forwards that make defending difficult for opponents. Davis’ lethality comes from being able to score so quickly from the post position.

Getting a second-straight road win can be huge for the Cyclones come tournament time, players said.

Senior Anna Prins said the thoughts of the NCAA tournament are starting to creep up.

“Always in the back of our minds is the NCAA tournament,” Prins said.

“The short term, just focusing on the season one game at a time. But shoot, fighting for the best seed is definitely key and it does feel a lot better where we’re at now than where we were at last year.”

Freshman Nicole “Kidd” Blaskowski said after their come-from-behind win at West Virgina, road victories will help propel the Cyclones into the NCAA tournament for the seventh consecutive season.

“We need finish out [the month] like coach has been telling us,” Blaskowski said. “That win was very meaningful for us because it was our step back into what we needed to get done and definitely helps us get into the tournament.”

The Cyclones tip off against the Jayhawks at Phog Allen Fieldhouse on Jan. 30 at 7 p.m.