Coming off consecutive 20-point-plus losses, the ISU men’s basketball team finds itself in a situation similar to the one it was in following a Dec. 5 35-point loss to Drake – kind of.

Although both are unquestionably low points of the season, that is where the similarities seem to end. Then, the Cyclones were struggling to get healthy and play as a team. This time they just ran into two talented squads.

“From a health standpoint and from having guys practicing together and moving forward as a team, we are in a much different place now than we were then,” said coach Greg McDermott. “We played two very good basketball teams [last] week and two teams that played very well, besides being good to start with.”

After their loss to Drake, Iowa State came back with an impressive win over Iowa. Creating more similarities this time wouldn’t be a bad thing. Coming back from another blow like the Kansas trip with a win Tuesday at home against Colorado would be a big step, if the Cyclones want to make some noise in the Big 12.

“To win on the road in this league you have to be able to take a punch in the nose and be able to fight back,” McDermott said. “Being able to execute when the chips are down – that determines whether you are tough or not.”

In recent years, Colorado has been somewhat of a doormat in league play, but things look different this season. The Buffaloes (9-10, 1-4) still find themselves at the bottom of the standings, but they haven’t gone down without a fight. Then-No. 19 Texas escaped with a two-point win at home against Colorado, and Missouri only won by four in Boulder, Colo.

Colorado returns basically the same team that split the season series with Iowa State last year, with each team winning at home. That, plus the return of guard Marcus Hall, who scored 20 points in the first half against Missouri, has caught the Cyclones’ attention.

“Colorado is a very scary team,” McDermott said. “They have five guys that can really shoot the basketball from the three-point line, so you have to guard that and by doing that you become susceptible to the drive.”

Some good news for Iowa State is that the team has already faced a similar Princeton-style offense when it defeated North Dakota, 77-51, earlier in the season. In that game, the Cyclones blocked four shots and sent the Bison to the stripe 23 times.

Having that experience and level of familiarity with the system should help the team prepare in such a short time span, with just two days of practice since the last game.

Senior guard Richard Roby leads Colorado on offense, with 16.7 points and is also the leading rebounder, pulling down 6.6 per game. He has scored in double figures in 17 of 19 games so far, and also has four double-doubles on the season.

Senior Rahshon Clark has now squared off against him for four years and has seen enough to appreciate Roby’s skill.

“He is an all-around player; he’s a tough person to guard,” Clark said. “He loves the game of basketball, just like me. He doesn’t like to lose, just like me.”