The ISU men’s basketball team will get back on the winning track Saturday as the Kansas State Wildcats come to Hilton Coliseum.

The Wildcats won the first meeting between the two Jan. 19 in Manhattan, Kan., 63-52.

The outing was one of Iowa State’s worst shooting nights of the season as the team was plagued with a rough start in the game.

Iowa State has won two of its last three games, and though the team is just 3-10 in the Big 12 and 11-16 overall, head coach Larry Eustachy is measuring the season by improvement, not wins and losses.

“We’ve had a real tough schedule,” he said. “What would have been and could have been is unbelievable. I think lesser men would have pitched it in, and we’ll never pitch her in as long as we’re here.”

The Cyclones were dealt a hefty loss on Monday against the newly crowned No.1, the Kansas Jayhawks, but strive to bounce back and finish up the season strong.

Despite the harsh loss in Lawrence, more Cyclones have been stepping up their games.

Freshman Jared Homan had a career-high 11 points against Kansas and is establishing himself as a legitimate shot blocker down low.

Iowa State’s other big-time freshman, Ricky Morgan, also had a career high in points at Kansas with eight.

But perhaps the biggest Cyclone force of late has been coming from junior Omar Bynum.

He is averaging almost seven points and seven rebounds per game, and has led the Cyclones in rebounding the last three games. He has also gone 20 of 23 from the field since Feb. 6 in Missouri.

Iowa State’s big guns have also been playing well. Sophomore Jake Sullivan, 16.8 points a game, is second in the nation in three-point percentage.

And senior Tyray Pearson is still going strong with 18.5 points and nearly eight rebounds a game.

On Saturday, the Wildcats will look to improve to 6-8 in the Big 12 and 12-13 overall.

They are led by senior guard Larry Reid who puts in 14.4 points a game.

Junior forward Pervis Pasco is also proving to be a dominant force, averaging 11.5 points and eight rebounds a game.

The Cyclones, who have struggled at times this season at finishing games, are looking to put the Wildcats away early in the game and not have to worry about winning it at the end.

“If you wait until the end of the game, you’re just asking to lose the game,” sophomore Shane Power said. “When we won last year with Jamaal [Tinsley], we won from the eight to the five minute mark.”

Only three games remain before Iowa State travels to Kansas City for the Big 12 tournament.

After Saturday, the Cyclones go on the road to face Oklahoma Tuesday, and then head home to end the season against Texas a week from Saturday.

“I think we ready for the Big 12 tournament,” Bynum said. “But as each day goes on, we get better and better.”