Iowa State’s last meeting with Colorado wasn’t one of the Cyclones’ better games.

The Cyclones, then 2-1 in the Big 12 and coming off a tough overtime loss at home to Kansas, met the Buffaloes, who were winless in conference play at that time.

Iowa State went to Colorado and lost 74-65. Now Colorado comes to the Cyclones’ home court, and the home team is looking for a little payback.

In the two teams’ first meeting, Iowa State struggled offensively for prolonged stretches, stalling momentum and allowing the Buffaloes to distance themselves.

“They really put it to us on a couple occasions,” said ISU coach Greg McDermott. “They jumped us to start the game.

“And the second half was much the same. There was a seven- or eight-minute period in there where we got sloppy with the ball, which led to some baskets on their end and they got away from us again and we didn’t have enough time to catch up.”

Things haven’t changed much for Colorado since then, as the Buffaloes have just two Big 12 wins, the other a huge upset over then-No. 12 Oklahoma State.

For the Cyclones, their up-and-down season has continued.

Both sides of the team were on full display last week.

“Last week was a microcosm of our season, in the sense that in neither game we were able to put together 40 minutes of good basketball,” McDermott said.

Iowa State opened the week with a win over Oklahoma but closed with a loss at Kansas State on Saturday. Neither game, McDermott said, was exactly what he was looking for.

“Fortunately, we probably played our best 20 minutes of basketball against Oklahoma in the first half that allowed us to get that 15-point lead,” McDermott said. “And we started the second half in a fashion that we were able to build on the first five minutes and we had just enough left in our tank to hold on at the end, but did not play well in the last 15 minutes of the game on either end of the floor.”

Still, the Cyclones were able to come out with a 58-51 win, but they weren’t so lucky against Kansas State.

“Defensively, we didn’t play very well,” McDermott said. “Offensively, we turned the ball over far too many times that first half. We were up 14-8 and had five straight possessions where we had a chance to build on that lead where they did not score, so the game could’ve had a much different look at halftime, had we took advantage of some situations we had in that first half, but it wasn’t meant to be and we really got outhustled the second half as well.”

For Iowa State to play well against Colorado, it needs the Wesley Johnson that started the season to show up.

Johnson has struggled his last two games, scoring just two points against Oklahoma and netting eight – all in the second half – against the Wildcats.

With Mike Taylor and Jiri Hubalek shouldering the scoring load, Iowa State needs a healthy Wesley Johnson to beat Colorado.

“I don’t think he was feeling well against K-State, he was sick all day [Sunday],” McDermott said. “He’s still moving pretty slow [Monday].

“I think reboundingwise, teams are doing a better job at making sure he doesn’t get a free run at the rim, and Wes has to be a little more creative in finding ways to get to spots so that he can get some rebounds but really, Wesley is the least of my concerns.”