Iowa State is expecting more from itself in a rematch with Kansas

Iowa State senior guard Jalen Coleman-Lands goes up for a layup against Jackson State on Dec. 20.

Zane Douglas

The Cyclones are in an interesting situation after losing 97-64 in Lawrence, Kansas, to the Jayhawks on Thursday, a situation they’ve never had to face before.

Just 48 hours removed from a 33-point loss at Allen Fieldhouse against Kansas, the Jayhawks will now head to Ames for a rematch Saturday as Iowa State looks to avoid losing two-straight games to perennial Big 12 powerhouse Kansas.

It’s not often that a team gets a chance at revenge just two days later, but Iowa State will get that chance.

“I think it’s perfect,” Iowa State Head Coach Steve Prohm said. “Playing the same team a day later is awesome, I wouldn’t want it any other way right now, to be honest with you. I wouldn’t want to play them on Tuesday, I wouldn’t want to be playing Oklahoma State on Wednesday. It’s great that we got [Kansas] here tomorrow at 2.”

The positive attitude comes after a thrashing where everything went wrong in Lawrence for Prohm’s group. Iowa State shot 20 percent from 3-point range while allowing the Jayhawks to shoot Iowa State out of the building with a 61.5 percent 3-point effort in the second half.

The leading scorer for the Cyclones on Thursday had something to say about the effort his team put forth against the Jayhawks in the first meeting.

“This right here — the performance we displayed [Thursday]. It’s not us, it’s not our character, and that’s something we’re going to fix,” senior guard Jalen Coleman-Lands said after the 33-point loss to move the Cyclones to 0-10 in Big 12 play.

The other side of the coin saw Kansas earn its second win in a row after losing two of three before the two-game streak.

It was also the most lopsided Kansas has been this season, with its 45-point win over Omaha on Dec. 11 taking the cake.

As it had in games before, Iowa State’s lack of size proved to be an issue. The Jayhawks outrebounded the Cyclones 44-32, but what was a new issue for Iowa State was how badly it gave up 3-pointers.

Kansas knocked down 12 shots from distance in just 26 attempts, good for 46.2 percent for the game. For the Cyclones, this hasn’t been a common issue, as their 3-point defense has been one of the better statistics for a team with few positives.

Now, the Cyclones will come home in hopes to reverse all the negatives of Thursday’s game.

“[Thursday] the ball stuck a ton,” Prohm said. “The pace wasn’t as good, the ball stuck a ton, our reads weren’t right. … But at the other end, out of our 20 missed 3s, 12 at least were wide open good looks that you gotta make.”

After the second meeting with Kansas, the Cyclones will have five more games left in the season that are scheduled, with four of those coming against ranked opponents including a game in Waco, Texas, to take undefeated No. 2 Baylor.

The Jayhawks are just the tip of the iceberg for Iowa State’s tough road down the stretch, and it won’t get any easier after Saturday.

Iowa State and Kansas will tip off at 2 p.m. in Hilton Coliseum on ABC.