The last time we heard from ISU coach Larry Eustachy, he wasn’t nearly as chipper.

But that can be expected from a coach whose team just had a lackluster performance with a game against a top 15 team on the horizon.

“We were very dull all around. We got outplayed and outhustled,” Eustachy said last night. “We lost in every category but the score. I don’t even know if we should go out there against Kansas, because it might be the biggest blowout since Hilton was built.”

He also set up a practice at 6:30 in the morning, in addition to the regularly scheduled one in the afternoon.

Clearly, the coach was enraged and wanted his players to get the message.

However, after letting his players off with an early morning film session, his comments in his Thursday afternoon press conference, weren’t quite so biting. When told that his players were disappointed with the way they played, Eustachy took a bit of a different angle.

“They should be disappointed in their effort, but at the same time they have to look and see that they still won the game,” Eustachy said.

The Cyclones know they will have to step up their efforts considerably when the Kansas Jayhawks, ranked No. 12 in the country, come into Hilton Coliseum for the biggest matchup of the season.

Kansas comes in with a record identical to Iowa State’s 16-3. They are tied atop the conference, along with Texas, with a mark of 5-1.

The Jayhawks are led in scoring by Kenny Gregory at 13.9 points, but the team’s story has been its depth.

Five players are averaging double figures for the year, and seven put up at least 7.7 points per game. They are also a young team, as five of the 10 players that see heavy action are freshmen or sophomores.

Two of them, of course, are Iowa natives. McDonald’s All-American Nick Collison, a native of Iowa Falls, and Kirk Hinrich, who hails from Sioux City, are both freshman awaiting their first “homecoming.”

However, Collision, who averages 10.1 points per game, does not expect a friendly reception.

“I expect to be booed. I would be pleasantly surprised if they didn’t boo me. But that’s OK. I’m a big boy. I can handle it,” Collison said.

While he did briefly consider Iowa State, Eustachy believes that he was never a serious recruit.

“He may say different, but I never thought he was going to come here. He’s a great guy, as is Hinrich, but it just didn’t work out,” Eustachy said.

The Cyclones will face a KU team that is much deeper, and more talented, than perhaps any team they will face this year.

They are also a very good rebounding team, as they have beaten their opponents to the ball by an average of 12 rebounds per game and accumulate 17 offensive rebounds each game.

Eustachy knows this is a cause for concern.

“They are so good on the boards. We’ll both put up a lot of shots, I’m sure, but my worry is that they can get their misses a lot better than we can ours,” Eustachy said.

He doesn’t believe that depth will be a concern for his team.

“You see teams in the NBA, like Utah, who play a seven-man rotation in the playoffs for 48 minutes, and they do OK. So I think it’s a little overrated. In fact, it can even bring you some trouble at times,” Eustachy said.

The Cyclones won the last meeting between the two schools 52-50 in the final regular season game a year ago. In that game, the Cyclones came back from a 10-point half-time deficit to win on Marcus Fizer’s dunk with 52 seconds left.

As in most of their games a year ago, Iowa State was forced to slow down the tempo and slug it out. This year, Eustachy knows the strategy will be a little different.

“I think we can still try to play transition ball, because that’s maybe when we are at our best,” Eustachy said. “But we’ll have to play a little bigger. I’m sure there will be times that we have Fizer, Johnson and Shirley all on the floor at the same time.”

The Jayhawks have 7-1 Eric Chenowith to patrol the middle and also rotate in 6-foot-10 perimeter player Luke Axtell, the 6-foot-9 Collison, and 6-foot-9 freshman Drew Gooden.

Iowa State counters with only Fizer at 6-foot-8, and 6th man Shirley, who is 6-foot-10. Martin Rancik, at 6-foot-9, was a big factor down the stretch of the game last season and will no doubt be missed on Saturday.

Fizer says that although Kansas is obviously a formidable opponent, the Cyclones have the chance to win.

“We just have to bring our game to the floor. It’s a really good opportunity to show what we can do,” Fizer said.

After the Cyclones struggled with the 3-2 zone that Texas A&M played, Eustachy said that Fizer may have to change his game.

“If he continues to get surrounded, he may need to step out and shoot some 12-15 foot shots. It really takes us out of our game,” Eustachy said.

Fizer is ready to take that opportunity.

“I feel good taking that shot, I feel that I can make that. I’m not going to take any shots that aren’t comfortable for me to shoot,” Fizer said.

The Cyclones and Jayhawks will tip off at 3 p.m. Saturday. As of late Thursday, less than 200 tickets remained.