Jiri Hubalek has some unfinished business.

The senior center hopes to take care of it when the Cyclones (14-13, 4-8 Big 12) host No. 6 Kansas (23-3, 9-3) at Hilton Coliseum over a year after taking the Jayhawks to overtime before eventually losing.

“That was our game, and we gave it away,” Hubalek said of the Cyclones’ 68-64 loss.

Iowa State gave most of it away at the free-throw line, from where the Cyclones shot just 42 percent (8-19), making just one in the final 14 minutes of regulation.

Hubalek, who made three of six from the line in that game, focused on that aspect of his game during the off-season. This season, he’s shooting 72 percent from the line.

“It’s a huge motivation because we knew from last year we were right there with a lot of good teams and came up a little short,” Hubalek said. “So I just wanted to make sure – in the off-season – to take care of every single one of those problems to make me a better player.”

Last year wasn’t the only time the Cyclones have come up short against ranked opponents. Iowa State let a 13-point second-half lead evaporate before falling 71-65 to No.12 Texas on Feb. 5., and four days earlier dropped a 69-51 contest to No. 18 Texas A&M. The Cyclones have lost their last nine games against ranked teams.

“There have been signs of good things,” said ISU head coach Greg McDermott. “We’ve had a lot of opportunities to beat good teams, but we haven’t found a way to knock one off.”

The reason the Jayhawks are ranked? Kansas ranks second in the nation in field goal shooting percentage at 50.5 percent, and assists with 18.6. Leading the scoring parade is forward Darrell Arthur, who is averaging 13.5 points per game. Four of the five Jayhawks’ starters are averaging over 10 points per game.

“They’re just so balanced,” McDermott said. “As you prepare for them, there’s no easy way to put together a defensive game plan because they can beat you in so many ways.”

And they have. The Jayhawks held the Cyclones to a season-low 31.1 percent in their 83-59 loss at Allen Fieldhouse on Jan. 23.

They hope to avenge both that loss and last season’s Wednesday with Hubalek and Haluska playing perhaps their best basketball of the year. Against Texas Tech on Saturday, Hubalek tied a career high with 15 rebounds, while Haluska added a career-high 15 points.

“When you’re shooting the ball with confidence and play well, it adds to your game a little more,” Haluska said.

He hopes the game becomes the biggest sports story of the day and perhaps turns the season around.

“If you think about it, a win against Kansas could propel us to, who knows, winning out the rest of the season and going to the Big 12 tournament with some major confidence,” Haluska said.