A two-game spark in the defensive play by Iowa State has turned a dreaded trip to Lawrence, Kan., into a much-anticipated event.

“I’m ready to leave right now if I could,” freshman forward Marcus “Money” Fizer said after Wednesday’s night 63-62 victory over Kansas State. “It’s going to be a hard fight down there, but we are going to play the same defense we have been playing at home.”

And that defense has been impressive. After holding Colorado to 63 and Kansas State to 62, ISU is leading the Big 12 in fewest points allowed, with a 65-point average.

“The last two games we have really been playing defense, and when you play defense like that, you are going to have a chance against anybody,” freshman guard Lee Love said.

Against the Wildcats, centers Klay Edwards and Paul Shirley shut down leading scorer Manny Dies to only six points. Dies, who scored 27 against the Cyclones in a 77-59 beating in Manhattan, Kan., earlier in the season, was averaging 17 points a game.

Against Colorado, Edwards and Shirley held senior Charlie Melvin to just two points. Melvin scored 15 and grabbed 10 rebounds a week earlier in Boulder, Co.

Shirley said the pair of stances can be credited to Coach Tim Floyd and the entire team.

“I think coach has done a good job instilling that defense is what wins games,” he said. “A lot of it is not necessarily just Klay and I, but it’s a team defensive effort. You don’t always see the backside help and the emphasis on doubling down, and that is what has really helped us out.”

ISU can use all the help it can get heading to Allen Fieldhouse, where the Jayhawks have a 50-game winning streak. The Cyclones have not won at Kansas since 1982.

“It’s a good opportunity for us because they are not expecting much from us,” Shirley said. “Obviously, coming off of two wins we are going to have a little more confidence than we did when we played them the first time. But you can’t be overconfident against Kansas because they are just a dynamite team.”

Kansas is 7-0 since the return of Iowa native Raef LaFrentz, who sat out nine games with a broken right hand. LaFrentz leads the team in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 21.2 points and 11 boards a game. He also has turned in 13 double-doubles in 22 games this season.

“It is obviously our goal to take Raef out of the game,” Love said. “But we are going to have to guard all areas, slow the guards down and slow Paul Pierce down.”

Kansas is currently 28-3 and 12-1 in the Big 12. A Kansas win Saturday would mean the team will have clinched a conference title seven of the last eight seasons.

“Obviously, they are playing as well as anyone in the country right now,” Floyd said. “Hopefully we are playing better, and we’ll play with more poise. The main thing will be keeping our composure.”

ISU and Kansas will square off Saturday at 3 p.m.