The bull’s eye is on their backs, and the ISU Cyclones basketball teams have lost key players from the championship teams of last year.Gone from men’s basketball is Big 12 Player of the Year Marcus Fizer. He is currently playing for the Chicago Bulls.Gone from women’s basketball are seniors Stacy Frese, Desiree Francis and Monica Huelman. Frese and Francis were both drafted into the WNBA, all three brought tremendous leadership to the team.So where do the teams go from here?It looks as if both teams could stay in the same situation. The women’s team has a load of talent, and if they can rebound, they should challenge for the conference title.The men, well nobody could replace Fizer, but the well isn’t dry there either.Senior point guard and last season’s Big 12 Newcomer of the Year Jamaal Tinsley joins fellow seniors Paul Shirley, Kantrail Horton, Richard Evans and Martin Rancik on what should be a solid and exciting Cyclone squad.The women’s team is overflowing with stars-in-the-making. Megan Taylor and Angie Welle lead the way, but there are a host of other players ready to shine.Tracy Gahan, Erica Junod, Lindsey Wilson, Erica Haugen and Holly Bordewyk are all names that Cyclone fans will hear a lot more of this season as the Clones try to dominate the Big 12 once again.The women seem more apt for a repeat than the men, but neither team has it easy. The women get the tough end of the South on the road, playing at Texas Tech and Oklahoma [they also play ACC powerhouse Duke on the road]. Those three teams could be fighting again for the title.The men will be good, no doubt, and should make a run in the NCAA tournament again. But how well they finish in the conference may depend on how well the young players handle tough situations.Freshman Jake Sullivan has the second highest scoring total in men’s basketball in the state of Minnesota, and may enter the game to make big shots. Shane Power will be another scoring-machine freshman that can provide support to the offense.Another freshman, Andrew Skoglund, is 7’1″ and if he can play will fill the big hole in the Cyclone defense left by Fizer. And another juco transfer in Tyray Pearson will pick up on the boards where Fizer left off.Back from last season’s Elite Eight team is sophomore Brandon Hawkins. Hawkins proved last year that he could play, and had big minutes for Iowa State during the tournament.Winning on the road will again be a factor if the Cyclones hope to repeat as champs.Only losing two games on the road in the conference boosted the Cyclones last year. This season, much like the women, things will be tougher for the men.Games at Iowa, Oklahoma State and Texas will let us know what kind of team we have.Kansas will be looking to take the title back, and will pose a major challenge for the Cyclones.But as opposed to last year, Iowa State is getting recognition in the preseason, for both teams.The women, who under coach Bill Fennelly have turned the program into a conference power, will feature preseason Big 12 Player of the Year Welle. Taylor was also among the finalists.The women have also been picked to win the conference.The men have a Player of the Year winner too, as Tinsley has been named the preseason favorite for the award.The recognition is there, the talent is there and both teams should be in the top five of the conference, with the men having a harder time repeating than the women.But then again, who knows? How many people said that the men would roll through the conference last year and go deeper into the NCAA tournament than the women?Anything can happen, and as Fennelly says, “they’re not going to take the damn trophy out of my office if we don’t win it again.”