With the Cyclones’ heartbreaking 62-59 loss to Missouri fresh in his mind, Curtis Stinson knows he was on the receiving end of a valuable lesson, courtesy of the Tigers.

“You just learn that the game isn’t over until all the zeroes are on the clock and you’re walking off the court,” Stinson said.

The Cyclones (8-4, 0-1 Big 12) were winning by 12 with 4:35 to play when Missouri came storming back. The Tigers outscored Iowa State 17-2 the rest of the way, stretching the Cyclones’ conference road losing streak to 26 games.

Though their troubles on the road are well known, the Cyclones have looked almost invincible in the friendly confines of Hilton Coliseum. Iowa State is 25-1 at home under Wayne Morgan, with its only loss coming at the hands of then-No. 13 Oklahoma State last season.

The ante on their home record will be upped Wednesday as No. 2 Kansas makes its way into Ames.

The Jayhawks completed an impressive win over No. 9 Kentucky on Sunday. However, the win may have been a costly one, as they lost two starters and a have regular in questionable condition for their game against Iowa State.

Keith Langford, Christian Moody and Russell Robinson are all nursing injuries suffered against Kentucky. Add to that the absence of preseason All-American Wayne Simien who has been sidelined after surgery on his thumb, and Kansas could be shorthanded.

“This will be a great challenge for us,” Stinson said. “Those guys are great, they’re a great basketball team playing well without Wayne Simien. We just have to come out and give it our all and they’re going to try to come and take it from us.”

Simien was averaging 17 points and 12 rebounds in the seven games before his injury. It isn’t clear when the senior will return, though the Cyclones are preparing for the possibility that he may return on Wednesday.

“Their inside game is so strong with him because he causes so much attention, people doubleteam him,” Stinson said. “When he’s in there, he’s a double-double every night.”

Iowa State will be without sophomore Reggie George, who has been suspended indefinitely. ISU head coach Wayne Morgan would not release specifics in George’s situation, but did say that disciplinary action will be taken within the next week. Junior Anthony Davis is listed as day-to-day after reaggravating the shoulder injury he suffered earlier in the season.

Meanwhile, the Cyclones continue their search for a consistent scorer. Stinson, Jared Homan and Will Blalock are all averaging at least 13 points per game. Iowa State’s next highest scorer is Davis, who was pitching in 5.6 points per contest before his injury.

The Cyclones are also looking for an outside threat. They are hitting 30 percent of their 3-point shots, and Blalock leads the team with 12 shots made.

“We all know we can hit the shots because we shoot a lot in practice,” freshman Rahshon Clark said. “We have to take what we do in practice and bring it to the court.”

Even with Kansas’ impressive pedigree, the Cyclones aren’t afraid of their second-ranked foe.

“We expect to win,” Clark said. “We don’t hope to win, we expect to win. It’s going to be a big game and we’re just going to go out and have fun. They’re good, but I feel we can beat them.”