After the Cyclones’ nine-game home winning streak was broken in Tuesday’s 18-point loss to Texas A&M, center Jiri Hubalek doesn’t want to waste any time in starting a new one.

“We come into every game like we want to win, especially at home – this is our home court and we’ve got to protect it,” Hubalek said.

Enter the No. 12 Texas Longhorns, who are next on the Iowa State (13-10, 3-5 Big 12) schedule when they visit Hilton Coliseum on Saturday.

The Longhorns (18-4, 5-2 Big 12), who are coming off an impressive comeback road win over Oklahoma in which they outscored the Sooners 39-25 in the second half, are currently tied with Baylor for third in the conference.

They are led by a dangerous pair of guards in D.J. Augustin and A.J. Abrams, who rank second and third, respectively, in scoring in the Big 12. Augustin enters the game averaging 19.8 points per game, while his back-court partner pours in 17.5 per game.

The scoring duo will be difficult for the Cyclone defense to contain, but coach Greg McDermott said it has to be prepared for them.

“The combination of the two makes them very difficult to stop because they’re both doing things off the dribble and they’re both shooting the 3-point shot . We have to be able to help our teammates,” McDermott said.

Guard Brian Petersen said the key was not to completely stop Augustin and Abrams, but to limit them.

“Bottom line is we’re just going to just have to step up and play some really good basketball, because they are both pretty good,” Petersen said. “They’re going to get their points and they are going to get their shots up, but we have to limit them as much as possible.”

Defending Texas’ perimeter players is not Iowa State’s only focus – the Cyclones need to score points of their own. Iowa State enters Saturday’s game having failed to hit the 60-point mark for five straight games and are shooting just 37.2 percent during that span.

Petersen said assistant coach Jeff Rutter set up a program that has members of the team shooting 300 to 500 shots before practice.

“We need to find a good shot versus a better shot. We’re getting some good looks but sometimes, if we keep passing it, maybe we can get a better look. When we’re not shooting the ball very well – that’s what we need to do,” Petersen said.

Iowa State’s leading scorer, Wesley Johnson, returned to the Cyclone lineup Tuesday after missing last Saturday’s game due to an ankle sprain.

Johnson was questionable heading into the game, but after seeing him in the gym Tuesday morning before the game, McDermott decided he was healthy enough to play.

“I was happy to see him go get a couple rebounds in traffic. I hope that’s a good sign,” McDermott said of Johnson, who had 13 points and six rebounds in 31 minutes against Texas A&M. “It’s good to have him back on the floor.”