As the Cyclones come off their 28-point victory over Colorado on Wednesday, breaking a six-game conference losing streak, the schedule refuses to relent, as the team heads to Stillwater to take on Oklahoma State.

Iowa State’s big home win over Colorado won’t mean anything to the Cowboys, who haven’t lost to the Cyclones in Stillwater since 1988.

Iowa State is also looking to end its 12-game conference road losing skid, which will be easier said than done against the contrasting style that Oklahoma State brings to the game.

“They’re a lot like some of the teams you end up playing in non-conference, in that they really play with one post player and four guards, and these four guards are really talented guards,” Iowa State coach Greg McDermott said.

That off-balanced lineup has led to high scoring basketball games for Oklahoma State, something the current Cyclone squad isn’t well-known for. The Cowboys are second in the Big 12 in points per game, at 82.8 per contest, well above Iowa State’s 65 points per game, good for eleventh in the conference.

“We just need to come to practice, how we prepared for Colorado, and just stay with the effort, just stay with our game plan,” ISU scoring and rebounding leader Craig Brackins said.

“Just worry about the game, play-by-play, don’t worry about the score, don’t worry about what’s ahead, and just stay calm.”

It isn’t all roses for the Cowboys though, as a high-powered offense has been plagued by a poor defense that is allowing 76 points per game, and a league-worst rebound defense. Iowa State has kept a tight lock on the basketball, high in the rankings for fewest turnovers and assist-to-turnover ratio.

All Oklahoma State guards are averaging more than 14 points per game, something the Cyclone defense will need to work hard to guard against, and a very different style from what the team is used to seeing in the Big 12.

“It just is a totally different challenge defensively from defending a system in the Princeton offense [Wednesday] to defending a wide-open, try to drive it down your throat, pitch to the three-point-line type of offense… I think our guys will go in there with a nice bounce in their step,” McDermott said.

Iowa State is coming off a 28 point win, and Oklahoma State is following a 25 point loss to Texas. With the discrepancies in scoring totals and contrasting styles of basketball, Saturday’s match-up promises to be filled with three-point shots and students bouncing in orange.

OSU’s Gallagher-Iba Arena hasn’t been kind to the Cyclones, during their 14 game losing streak at the site, and the low court-side student section has been known to cause distractions.

“I heard it’s one of the toughest arenas in the conference, but I’m not worried about that,” Brackins said.

No current Cyclone player has set foot on the court in Stillwater.

The Cowboys beat common non-conference opponent Mercer 104-74, two weeks before the Iowa State beat Mercer 67-49.