Rahshon Clark called it “one of the best feelings ever.”

After starting the 2004-05 conference season 0-5, the Cyclones won six straight games heading into a Feb. 19 date at Kansas.

The Jayhawks, meanwhile, entered that game with a 20-2 record, including 10-1 in conference play, and a No.2 ranking.

Folowing Curtis Stinson’s 29-point performance and a game-winning shot, Iowa State celebrated a 63-61 victory in Allen Fieldhouse.

“That was one of the best feelings I ever had,” Clark said. “That was a tough game. They gave us everything they had – we gave them everything we had. It was fun.”

Iowa State enters Wednesday’s game at Kansas after losing in its past four meetings with the mighty Jayhawks, including an overtime battle in Ames last season followed by Kansas’ domination in Lawrence.

“We had great energy when we played them, and our guys executed extremely well,” coach Greg McDermott said of the 68-64 overtime loss in Hilton Coliseum. “We got the ball where we needed to on offense, and we were able to keep them in front of us defensively.”

The downside – Kansas never let the Cyclones into the game in Lawrence. The then-No. 6 Jayhawks jumped out to a seemingly insurmountable 20-4 lead in the first ten minutes en route to a 89-52 victory.

“The fact that we played them so closely probably didn’t help us in Lawrence because they had an extra little bounce in their step and took us out of that game early, and we were never able to recover,” McDermott said.

If Iowa State wants to have a chance to pull off an upset over this year’s version of the undefeated No. 2 Jayhawks, they will have to prevent a run like that, McDermott said.

“If it turns into a track meet, with the advantage they have on their home floor and the energy they get from that building, then we are asking for trouble – and that’s what happened last year,” McDermott said. “They got on a roll early we couldn’t stop – then it’s too late.”

Super Sophomore:

Wesley Johnson was named Big 12 player of the week after averaging 22 points and 7.5 rebounds in wins over Missouri and Oklahoma State last week.

Johnson has battled a bone bruise in his foot to start the season, and spent most of it trying to completely regain his strength.

“He’s not 100 percent yet. That makes [the honor] better because he’s not totally in shape – his timing’s not totally back,” McDermott said. “We’re seeing a few more things every game that we haven’t seen before, and we’re seeing them on a daily basis in practice.”

In addition to his scoring output, Clark said it was Johnson’s defensive effort that made him stand out.

“He’s starting to see that people are singling him out because he can’t play defense, and that’s not the way he feels,” Clark said. “I think he’s trying to get better at that so that can be part of his game as well.”

Bulldog State?

For the first time since the 1974-75 season, the red-hot Drake Bulldogs (17-1, 8-0 Missouri Valley Conference) are in the top 25.

Drake is No. 22 in the Associated Press poll and No. 23 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll. The Bulldogs handed Iowa State their worst loss of the season on Dec. 5 in the Knapp Center.

“They’ve done it the right way there,” McDermott said. “They’ve got a group of young guys that really seem to enjoy playing the game of basketball, and they play without fear.”

McDermott, who played and coached at Northern Iowa before coming to Iowa State, took pride in the success of a fellow state team.

“It’s something that’s special and it’s something that team is always going to be able to remember for as long as they live, and they can tell stories forever,” McDermott said. “It’s good for basketball in the state of Iowa when any of the four teams are doing well.”

The Bulldogs continued their hot streak Tuesday night, defeating the Creighton Bluejays in Omaha, winning 68-60 in overtime.