While the debate continues on whether the Hilton Magic that has garnered national attention over past decades is dead or alive, ISU men’s basketball coach Larry Eustachy has made up his mind.

With his team roaring back from a 16-point deficit in the second half of Saturday’s game against Kansas State, Eustachy walked a few steps onto the court — as he normally does — and waved his arms up and down to a response of near-deafening crowd noise.

“We haven’t given the crowd much to get into this year,” Eustachy said Saturday. “That was the Hilton Magic that we know. The crowd made the difference. Our players executed, but I thought the crowd really lifted our team. That was great.”

Eustachy, who commented last season on how he doesn’t even think about the crowd, has changed his tune this season. He is amazed at the support he and his team have received given a subpar conference record.

“I told our team before the [Kansas State] game, this is unbelievable,” Eustachy said.

“I said, ‘We are 2-9 and look at this crowd, this just doesn’t happen and how thankful we should be.’ That was my feeling at the time — people are amazing.”

Guard Jake Sullivan was feeling the effects of the crowd as well in the second half of the game, which he finished with a game-high 25 points.

“The fans have been unbelievable to us, and it’s really been great,” Sullivan said. “The fans were unbelievable in the second half, they get a lot of credit in this one too.”

The Cyclones, 13-10 and 3-9 in the Big 12, are hoping the magic will carry over as Colorado rolls into town tonight. The Buffaloes are 16-9 and 6-6 in Big 12 play, which includes an 84-69 win over Iowa State on Feb. 8.

“I think they’re very deep and well coached, a lot of talent — a couple NBA players it looks like,” Eustachy said. “Obviously, they’re an NCAA tournament team. We have our hands full.”

Like Iowa State, Colorado is still searching for its first road win in the conference. The Buffaloes are led by Michel Morandais, who is averaging nearly 18 points a game. David Harrison is a dominant force inside as he puts in over 13 points a game and leads the Big 12 in blocked shots at three per game.

Iowa State has been playing short-handed since Chris Alexander left the team two weeks ago for personal reasons. Marcus Jefferson was also unavailable on Saturday because he was with his sick mother. As of press time, his return for Tuesday’s game was questionable.

The blows continue for Iowa State’s bench as Clint Varley, the only non-starter to enter the game Saturday, has been suspended indefinitely from the team after being arrested and charged with operating while intoxicated early Sunday morning.

With these factors, big-men Jared Homan and Jackson Vroman, along with the rest of the team, will see extended action for Iowa State.

Andrew Skoglund and Omar Bynum, who started 22 games for the Cyclones last season, are still viable options off the bench for Eustachy.

“We have a big concern about it, but we have to find a way to win,” Eustachy said about his players possibly running out of gas.

Sullivan, the team’s leading scorer, has been struggling with injuries off the court including a bad ankle sprain and tendinitis in his shoulder — which he hopes to get taken care of in the off-season.

“I sprained that pretty bad down at Texas A&M,” Sullivan said about his ankle. “It’s just something you have to play through right now.”

The team feels one of its biggest weak points throughout the season has been being able to put together a complete game. After rallying from 16 down to win on Saturday, the team is more confident in their game-finishing abilities.

“We’ve been working real hard; it’s starting to show a little bit more,” Vroman said Saturday.

“It was really nice to see us play through that stretch in the second half that we haven’t been able to do this year, so it was really gratifying.”