Both the men’s and women’s basketball teams face big challenges as they look ahead to the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City.

The men will open play Thursday at noon when they face the Colorado Buffaloes.

The two teams split the season series, with each team defending its home court successfully.

In the first game, Iowa State held Colorado to a season-low 51 points in defeating the Buffs 60-51.

However, this may have been a bit misleading, as Kenny Price, Colorado’s leading scorer at 14.5 points per game, was able to play only 10 minutes because of a shoulder injury.

The senior guard was 0-5 from the field and was obviously limited by his ailment.

The Cyclones were able to record their first win of the conference season behind Stevie Johnson and Marcus Fizer.

The forward tandem combined for 32 points and 18 rebounds. Also contributing to the cause was Martin Rancik, who scored 11 points.

Colorado, meanwhile, was led by Will Smith, who scored 17 points on 6-8 shooting from the field.

When the two teams met just two weeks later in Boulder, it was a much different story.

Price was back for the Buffs, and his 23 points led the way to a 64-44 CU victory.

The 44 points represented a season-low for the Cyclones. The game was tied at 21 at the half before Colorado exploded for 43 second-half points.

The meager Cyclone attack was led by Fizer, who tallied 16 points. As a team, ISU shot 32 percent for the game.

Colorado has won four straight, and five of its last six games overall. During its four-game stretch, the Buffaloes have won by an average of 11.5 points.

The duo of Kenny Price and sophomore Jamahl Mosley have been key in the resurgence of the Buffs.

Price is averaging 20.7 points and 4.7 three-pointers in his last six games.

Mosley is averaging 14.5 points and 7.7 rebounds in his last six outings.

Meanwhile, the Cyclones are coming off the biggest win for the program since defeating Cincinnati to move to the Sweet Sixteen two years ago when they defeated Kansas 52-50.

Before that, ISU had lost six of seven games before defeating the Jayhawks.

The Cyclones are led by Fizer, who was recently named first-team All Big 12.

The 6-8 sophomore from Arcadia, La., is second in the Big 12 with an average of 17.9 points per game and is averaging 22 points in the last two games.

Martin Rancik has also been a key figure for the Cyclones this season.

The sophomore from Slovakia hit three key three-pointers in the win against Kansas and has been a productive performer throughout the season.

Johnson has been a bit of an enigma lately.

His huge talent has translated into strong numbers on the rebounding side, but his scoring has been sporadic.

Michael Nurse has been taking more of the offensive load himself, as he has averaged 14 points over the last seven games.

The winner of this game will face Texas, the No. 1 seed in the tournament.

The Longhorns dismantled the Cyclones by a score of 71-45 early on in the conference season and would be a formidable opponent.

The women will face a challenge of a different type.

They will face Missouri in the second round of the tournament after receiving a bye in the first round.

The game, at 6 tonight, will be the third time that the two squads face off.

The Cyclones have played exceptionally well against the Tigers this year, as they have recorded two wins of 26 points over Mizzou.

The first meeting was in Columbia in late January, and the Cyclones came up with an 80-54 win.

ISU had a very balanced scoring attack, which featured five players in double figures, led by Angie Welle’s 16 points and 12 rebounds.

The Tigers were led in that game by Julie Helm, who scored 13 points.

The second meeting occured in Ames and was the Cyclone’s final regular season home game.

The Cyclones were led by Stacy Frese, who scored 24 points in the 84-58 win.

Helm once again led the Tigers, this time with 20 points.

On the year, ISU has been led by Frese, who was named first team All-Big 12.

The junior point guard averages 16.8 points per game, with Taylor right behind her at 16.5.

The duo is supplemented by Big 12 Newcomer of the Year Desiree Francis, who averages 13.9 points and 7.3 rebounds.

Also playing a key role is Welle. The freshman center is averaging 11.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game and has shown a steady improvement as the year has gone by.

Tracy Gahan and Monica Huelman round out the starting five for the 21st-ranked Cyclones.

The winner of that game would likely play Kansas in the semifinals of the tournament.

Iowa State swept the season series, defeating the Jayhawks 70-58 at home and gritting out a tough 55-53 win on the road.

An appearance in the finals figures to give ISU a solid chance at hosting the first two rounds of the tournament and also a possible chance at redemption.

The Texas Tech Lady Raiders will be the team to beat in the tournament, and they dismantled the Cyclones by a score of 71-47 earlier this year in Lubbock.

Both teams have big post-season implications involved with this tournament.

Just one win could very well give the men a chance at playing in the NIT, not to mention securing a winning record for the year.

The women, meanwhile, will be looking for a strong showing that would lead to hosting the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament.

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Big 12 Tournament Schedules

Women

 
Tuesday, March 2
Game 1—No. 9 Colorado vs. No. 8 Kansas State, noon.
Game 2—No. 12 Texas A&M vs. No. 5 Nebraska, 2:20 p.m.
Game 3—No. 10 Missouri vs. No. 7 Baylor, 6 p.m.
Game 4—No. 11 Oklahoma State vs. No. 6 Oklahoma, 8:20 p.m.
Wednesday, March 3
Game 5—Game 1 winner vs. No. 1 Texas Tech, noon.
Game 6—Game 2 winner vs. No. 4 Texas, 2:20 p.m.
Game 7—Game 3 winner vs. No. 2 Iowa State, 6 p.m.
Game 8—Game 4 winner vs. No. 3 Kansas, 8:20 p.m.
Thursday, March 4
Game 9—Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 5 p.m.
Game 10—Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 6
Game 11—Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 7 p.m.
 

Men

 
Thursday, March 4
Game 1—No. 9 Iowa State vs. No. 8 Colorado, noon.
Game 2—No. 12 Baylor vs. No. 5 Oklahoma St., 2:20 p.m.
Game 3—No. 10 Texas A&M vs. No. 7 Kansas St., 6 p.m.
Game 4—No. 11 Texas Tech vs. No. 6 Nebraska, 8:20 p.m.
Friday, March 5
Game 5—Game 1 winner vs. No. 1 Texas, noon.
Game 6—Game 2 winner vs. No. 4 seed Oklahoma, 2:20 p.m.
Game 7—Game 3 winner vs. No. 2 seed Missouri, 6 p.m.
Game 8—Game 4 winner vs. No. 3 seed Kansas, 8:20 p.m.
Saturday, March 6
Game 9—Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 1 p.m.
Game 10—Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 3:20 p.m.
Sunday, March 7
Game 11—Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 2 p.m.
 

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All-Big 12 men’s team

 
The following players were selected to the 1998-99 All-Big 12 team:
FIRST TEAM
Venson Hamilton, Nebraska, Sr., 6-10, 245, Forest City, N.C.
Chris Mihm, Texas, Soph, 7-0, 255, Austin, Texas.
Gabe Muoneke, Texas, Jr., 6-7, 240, Houston, Texas.
Adrian Peterson, Oklahoma St., Sr., 6-4, 197, North Little Rock, Ark.
Marcus Fizer, Iowa State, Soph, 6-8, 240, Arcadia, La.
SECOND TEAM
Eduardo Najera, Oklahoma, Jr., 6-8, 235, Chihuahua, Mexico.
Albert White, Missouri, Jr., 6-5, 238, Inkster, Mich.
Kris Clack, Texas, Sr., 6-5, 225, Austin, Texas.
Desmond Mason, Oklahoma St., Jr., 6-6,. 207, Waxahachie, Texas.
Eric Chenowith, Kansas, Soph, 7-0, 235, Villa Park, Calif.
THIRD TEAM
Rayford Young, Texas Tech, Jr., 5-11, 175, Pampa, Texas.
Cookie Belcher, Nebraska, Jr., 6-4, 205, Mexico, Mo.
Kenny Price, Colorado, Sr., 6-4, 190, Springfield, Mo.
Ryan Robertson, Kansas, Sr., 6-5, 190, St. Charles, Mo.
Clifton Cook, Texas A&M, Jr., 6-1, 175, Dayton, Ohio.
HONORABLE MENTION
Keyon Dooling, Missouri; Jeff Boschee, Kansas; Doug Gottlieb, Oklahoma State; Jaquay Walls, Colorado; Kish Lewis, Baylor; Chris Griffin, Ayome May, Kansas State; Eric Martin, Ryan Humphrey, Michael Johnson, Oklahoma; Brian Grawer, Missouri; Stevie Johnson, Iowa State.