I couldn’t make it to the first half of Sunday’s men’s basketball game against KU.

Why? We had some guests who I don’t get to see very often, and I didn’t honestly believe that we would win. But when our guests were leaving, they offered to give me a lift to Hilton to see the second half.

I was lucky enough to witness one of the greatest games I’ve ever seen.

A couple of days ago, this newspaper came out with a “best of” section. Recently, the Big 12 came out with its all-conference teams.

In that spirit, I present this list of the best games that I’ve ever witnessed at Hilton Coliseum.

Mostly I viewed them in person, but one I saw on TV, and one I listened to on the radio. Five of the games are women’s and five are men’s. Two are NCAA tournament games. Without further ado, here’s the list, in chronological order:

ISU men vs. No. 2 Oklahoma State, 2/15/92

This was one of Johnny Orr’s best teams: Ron Bayless and Justus Thigpen were in the backcourt, while Howard Eaton was joined in the frontcourt by spectacular freshmen Fred “The Mayor” Hoiberg, Loren Meyer and Julius Michalik.

The Cylones fell behind 36-18 at halftime, and it looked like things were going down the tubes.

But behind the three-point bombs of Thigpen and Bayless, ISU sent the game to OT.

There, ISU took the lead on a Hoiberg three-point play with under 30 seconds left.

But Thigpen was called for a blocking foul on OSU’s final possession, putting Darwin Alexander, an 80 percent free throw shooter, on the line.

The sellout crowd of 14,263 rose to its feet, cheering so loud that the floor shook.

Alexander clanked both free throws, and ISU won 84-83.

ISU men vs. No. 20 Texas Tech, 1/25/97

This was a tremendous defensive struggle between two tremendous teams. ISU starred seniors Kelvin Cato, Dedric Willoughby, Kenny Pratt, Shawn Bankhead and Jacy Holloway, while TTU was lead by Corey Carr and Tony Battie, both of whom would go on to be NBA lottery picks.

ISU held Battie to only three points by fronting him with Pratt and backing him with Cato. ISU took a double-digit lead in the second half, but TTU made a late charge.

ISU held on at the end, as the last 3:30 minutes of the game were scoreless: ISU won, 64-61.

ISU men vs. No. 1 Kansas, 2/9/97

A top ten, nationally televised battle, this one did not disappoint.

ISU led 32-28 at halftime and was looking good midway through the second half behind the hot shooting of Willoughby before two cheap foul calls on Cato turned the tide.

Though Kansas made all its free throws down the stretch to clinch the 69-62 win, the Hilton Crowd chanted “I – S – U, I – S – U” in appreciation over the last minute.

Willoughby finished with 36 points, including 7 treys.

Kansas coach Roy Williams said that he doubted even Michael Jordan could have guarded Willoughby that day.

ISU women vs. Iowa , 12/13/97

The first women’s basketball game I had ever seen at ISU, this was sweet.

The ‘Clones turned the tables on their longtime oppressors, defeating them by 17 as Stacy Frese lit up her former team for 22 points. It was a cakewalk in the second stanza, and the large crowd loved it.

ISU women vs. No.5 Texas Tech, 1/20/98

The biggest win in ISU history to date, ISU rallied from a first half deficit, went into halftime with momentum from an Amanda Bartz trey and pulled away from the line at the end to win 82-73. The ‘Clones ripped the nets, shooting 55 percent, and were again led by Frese, who had 24.

ISU women vs. Rutgers, 3/16/98

This one still hurts. A nip and tuck game all the way, Rutgers won on a pair of free throws by their freshman point guard, Natasha Pointer, with inside 10 seconds left.

Taylor carried the Cyclones with 28 points and 8 rebounds. Final score: 62-61, Rutgers.

ISU Men vs. Western Illinois, 12/5/99

The comeback led by the comeback kid. Mike Nurse wasn’t supposed to play this one, as he had been run over by a truck earlier in the week.

But when ISU got down 16, they put him in. The deficit continued to rise, hitting 21, before Nurse went unconscious from behind the arc.

He carried the game to overtime with a series of 25-footers, and ISU held on in OT for the 80-73 win.

ISU women vs. No. 21 Kansas, 2/9/99

The first game between two ranked women’s teams at Hilton, and the electricity was palpable.

The Cyclones got up early and kept the large, loud, crowd in it all the way as they coasted to a 70-58 win. Fireworks included a technical on Kansas star Lynn Pride.

ISU men vs. Kansas, 2/28/99

The best men’s game in two years at Hilton Coliseum. The biggest win in the Eustachy era. A national TV slugfest.

A game where ISU didn’t lead until the final minute, when they took the lead on a massive Marcus Fizer dunk.

All these elements led to it being on this list. And even though KU wasn’t ranked, any win against the Jayhawks is big.

That’s the list. There are many other games I’d like to include, but this column is too long already. So ’til next time, boys and girls, go Cyclones in Kansas City!

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Jayadev Athreya is a senior in mathematics from Ames.