With 5.3 seconds on the clock, 81 percent free throw shooter Brian Boddicker had a chance to tie or win the game for Texas last year in Ames. He missed both free throws, and the Cyclones defeated then No. 11 Texas 78-77.

Iowa State came from 14 points behind in the second half to win that game, and Texas will have its chance for revenge on Saturday, as the Cyclones travel to Austin to face the No. 20 Longhorns. Texas is undefeated at home.

The Longhorns have a 15-5 overall record and are 4-3 in Big 12 Conference play. After dropping their first five conference games, the Cyclones (10-8, 2-5 Big 12) just recorded their second-consecutive win, defeating Baylor 77-51 on Wednesday.

“You can’t win every game. You see a lot of teams that have a good season one year, then the next, they’re down the drain. It just happens,” said sophomore Curtis Stinson. “But we’re not stopping; we’re going to keep fighting, it’s just that simple. You just have to know how to deal with it and bounce back.”

Stinson said the wins have started to give the team some drive.

“We’ve been playing good ball on the road, and none of them are blowout wins,” he said. “We’re always right there, so we have two in a row, confidence is building.”

With so many young players, coach Wayne Morgan said the team is really starting to gel.

“I think our chemistry is coming together and we’re starting to feel what we can do, what we can’t do,” Morgan said.

Stinson said, “When you hit adversity, things change. You talk about things more, you get together. We learn from things.”

Iowa State’s defense has come on strong as of late. In its last four games, Iowa State has caused 76 turnovers and has 44 steals.

“Our halfcourt defense, the zone is good. We get to people,” Morgan said. “We understand what we have to do. We’re covering the inside and getting to people on the outside. We’re challenging shots.”

“When we’re in the open floor, it’s hard to stop us,” Stinson said.

With seven players seeing significant minutes, Stinson said, it’s impressive they can press so long.

“By us having the little bit of depth like we have now, we still get up, and you know why? Because we want to win,” he said. “And when you want to win, you just leave it out there every game, and deal with it from there, go game by game.”

Stinson said a lot of teams may not be ready for an entire game of defensive pressure.

“We’re just pressing 40 minutes. They probably think that we’ll press them and then get back, but we’re trying to press 40 minutes and we’re just getting after it,” Stinson said. “That’s all we’re trying to do.”