On Senior Night in Colorado, it will be an underclassman the ISU men’s basketball team keys on.

Sophomore guard Richard Roby is the focal point of the Colorado offense, leading the team by averaging 17.5 points per game.

Roby hits on nearly 40 percent of his 3-point shots, and the Buffaloes shoot 36 percent from outside as a team.

“We just really have to focus in on Roby,” said ISU guard Will Blalock. “We know that every play is designed for him and that he’s a really good shooter.”

The Cyclones held Roby in check earlier this season, one of the reasons they were able to blow out the Buffaloes, winning by a 96-79 final in Hilton Coliseum.

Roby hit for 10 points in that meeting, making just four of his 12 shot attempts.

“We had someone locked in on him the whole time and the idea was to limit his touches and limit him from killing us,” Blalock said.

Five Cyclones scored in double figures in the two teams’ meeting earlier this season, led by guard Curtis Stinson.

Stinson had one of the best individual games ever by a Cyclone, recording the school’s third-ever triple-double, scoring 24 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and handing out 10 assists.

Although Colorado was riding a winning streak when it played Iowa State on Feb. 5, the Buffaloes have struggled as of late.

After climbing into the top 25, Colorado lost five of its next eight games. A loss to the Cyclones would put them at .500 in the Big 12 after starting 5-2 in the conference.

Iowa State, on the other hand, is looking to extend the mini-run they have going.

Wins in two of their last three games have the Cyclones up to 6-9 in the Big 12.

Beating Colorado would mark the first time this season Iowa State has won two consecutive conference games.

Some of the credit for the Cyclones recent success goes to improved defensive play.

Iowa State has implemented a new defensive set meant to keep opposing shooters off-balance, and the hybrid defense seems to be working.

“It’s close to man-to-man [defense] and it’s zone [defense],” forward Jiri Hubalek said. “It’s a zone with man-to-man principles.”

With the Big 12 tournament on the horizon, the Cyclones defense will be put to the test.

A possible four games in four days await an ISU team that is confident in its tournament chances.

“It’s really wide-open this year,” Blalock said.

“If you look at the top teams – Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas – they all can’t win. One of them is going to get knocked off early.

“Even though we underachieved this year, we can still go into the tournament hoping to at least get to the championship and have a good chance to win it.”

The topsy-turvy nature of the Big 12 this season helps Iowa State’s chances.

Cellar-dwellers Oklahoma State and Missouri handed conference co-leaders Texas and Kansas losses. Iowa State handily beat both the Cowboys and Tigers.

It’s anyone’s game.

“Anybody can lose on a given night,” Blalock said. “On a neutral court, there are not a lot of teams in this league that can play with us.”

Game time is set for 8 p.m. Saturday in Boulder.

The game ends the regular season for both Iowa State and Colorado.