The good news is that the ISU men’s basketball team has been in this situation earlier this year.

The bad news is that the situation is playing without the leading scorer.

In a flashback to the start of the season, the Cyclones will be without guard Wesley Johnson and his 16.3 points per game in Big 12 play. Johnson went out midway through the first half of Tuesday’s win over Colorado and is out indefinitely.

Johnson injured his ankle – the same one that caused him to miss the first four games of the season with a bone bruise.

“It’s in the same area as before,” coach Greg McDermott said after the game Tuesday. “I think he came down on somebody’s foot.”

In the four games without Johnson, Iowa State averaged just under 60 points per game. With Johnson in the lineup, the Cyclones were putting up more than 67 points per contest. While some of those early-season troubles can be attributed to the many new players on the team, things clearly run more smoothly with Johnson in the game.

“[I’m] concerned because of Wes’ importance on the offensive end and on the backboards,” McDermott said. “We’ll find a way to stay in games, and as long as we keep working at it and believe in each other, we’ll see what happens.”

The injury bug is a cockroach

It is still uncertain how long Johnson will be out, but Saturday will be the fifth game he has missed this season.

While no other Cyclones have missed regular-season games because of injury, Johnson isn’t the only player to spend some time in the training room.

Senior Jiri Hubalek missed both of Iowa State’s exhibition games with a broken foot and spent much of the non-conference schedule working to get back into shape and getting comfortable with the fresh faces on the court.

Senior Rahshon Clark has been playing through a nagging knee injury practically the whole season. While it hasn’t caused Clark to miss any game time, he has occasionally sat out of practice as a precaution.

Sophomore Cameron Lee has been suffering from an unusual set of circumstances, somehow spraining both of his ankles.

“I’ve been working with the trainers a lot, trying to get my ankles back strong,” Lee said. “My right ankle is still a little bit swollen, but I can play on it.”

Better than a sweater

Tuesday was a great day for junior Sean Haluska.

Not only did the guard put up a career-high nine points helping to fill in for Johnson off the bench, but it was his 21st birthday as well.

Not a bad present to yourself.

“This is pretty good. It’s a pretty good feeling today to get a win on my birthday and play pretty well,” Haluska said after the game.

Haluska hit his first three-pointer at home this season in the second half Tuesday.

After starting the season 0-for-26 from beyond the arc, he hit his first trey of the season against Kansas State before going 2-for-3 against Colorado.