Marcus Fizer should finally have some breathing room.

After running into Humphrey, Stone and Najera the last time he was on the Hilton court and butting heads with Mihm, Muoneke and Clack in Texas and Chenowith, Earl and Pugh in Kansas, Fizer undeniably needs a break.

Fortunately for Marcus and the entire Cyclone team, Colorado should provide that break this evening when the Buffaloes come to Ames.

With Carlton Carter and Aki Thomas, Colorado’s tag team center combination, combining for only 27 blocks so far and with only two other players over 6-foot-6, the Buffaloes will struggle to neutralize the Cyclone inside game even to the degree to which Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma did.

Despite a lack of defensive dominance, Colorado does feature an offense that averages more points per game than any other in the Big 12. Unfortunately for the Buffaloes, one of those top scorers is out for the year, and another is questionable for tonight’s game.

Freshman guard Nick Mohr tore his ACL and will miss the remainder of the season after averaging 10.6 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.

Senior leader Kenny Price may also miss this evening’s contest after injuring his shoulder. Price starts for the Buffaloes at shooting guard and averages 11.6 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.

The Buffaloes will look to 6’4″ forward Tyron Manlove to pick up the offensive slack after the sophomore exploded onto the scene in recent weeks.

Manlove has averaged 17.4 points over the course of the five games he has played in, including .429 shooting from beyond the arc.

Without Price, Manlove and senior Dwight Jones will be the primary long-distance threats for Colorado, which is currently leading the Big 12 in three-point attempts per game. The other starting forward for CU will likely be 6’6″ Will Smith. The junior has averaged 8.8 points and 3.1 rebounds per contest so far this year.

Starting at center for the Buffs will be either Carter (6’10”) or Thomas (6’8″), both of whom are among the Big 12 elite in field goal percentage, sinking over 53 percent of their shots.

The Buffalo backcourt will feature junior Jaquay Walls and Jose Winston, provided Price is still not available. Jones is often the first guard off the bench. Walls and Jones are both among the Big 12’s steal leaders on a team ranked second in the conference in the same category.

Walls and Winston each average 4.1 assists per game for CU, which is second in the Big 12 in this category as well.

The Buffaloes are in the lower half of the Big 12 when it comes to all three shooting percentages but still find a way to score 79 points per game.

The diversity and depth of their scoring makes the loss of Mohr —and perhaps Price — possible to overcome, though still disheartening.

While CU may not provide the Cyclones their biggest challenge of the young season, they will make a must-win ISU game very exciting.