A little over a year ago, on Jan. 14, 2017, Iowa State traveled to Fort Worth, Texas to take on TCU.

At the time, TCU was 2-2 in the Big 12 while Iowa State was sitting at 3-1. The Cyclones lost to the Horned Frogs 84-77 during that road trip last season because of two particular players, Vlad Brodziansky and Kenrich Williams.

This season, it’s a little different. TCU is ranked No. 24 in the country and holds a 1-4 record in the Big 12. Iowa State is not ranked, graduated most of its starting lineup last season and is 1-4 as well in conference play.

There’s one similarity though between the two seasons and it’s that TCU still has Brodziansky and Williams on its roster and starting lineup.

Iowa State coach Steve Prohm made it clear that Iowa State needs to focus on those two players and the entire TCU starting lineup at 8 p.m. on Wednesday at Ed & Rae Schollmaier Arena.

“You look at [Kenrich] Williams and [Vlad] Brodziansky, terrific players,” Prohm said. “Williams has gotten the point where he can make threes now. [Brodziansky] dominated us [last game].”

The biggest thing that freshman guard Lindell Wigginton and sophomore forward Solomon Young brought up regarding the game against TCU is defense.

It was a rough night defensively for the Cyclones last season at TCU. The Horned Frogs shot 56.9 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent from the 3-point line. Iowa State was also out-rebounded 36-27 overall and 13-11 in offensive rebounds.

Iowa State was also outscored in points in the paint (54-38), second chance points (15-12) and bench points (33-26). TCU won most of the categories in the game, resulting in a win against the Cyclones.

Prohm believes that defense will allow these categories to be in favor of Iowa State which will help the Cyclones get a second win in the Big 12. Iowa State is coming off its first win of the Big 12 season on Saturday against Baylor.

Even though it’s only one win, Young believes it’s a small sigh of relief to get that first win. Now, it’s just bringing that confidence to start a winning streak.

“Finally got the win, it feels good getting a win,” Young said. “Hopefully we take this as a motivation and continue on throughout the season.”

TCU returns all of its main players this season and its starting five is one of the most balanced lineups in the Big 12. All five players are averaging between 10.2 and 15.1 points per game.

That starting five includes sophomore guards Jaylen Fisher and Desmond Bane, junior forward JD Miller and seniors Brodziansky and Williams.

Those five are scoring 64.5 out of the 88.2 points per game, equaling 73 percent of the points. Wigginton and Young agreed that Iowa State will need to stay on their defender at all times to stop that consistency between all the Horned Frogs players.

“We just got to be good in our rotations,” Wigginton said. “If someone drives to the basket, not help too much, but be good in our rotations and know who we’re guarding and know our spots on defense.”

That defense from the Cyclones, if efficient, will decrease TCU’s field goal percentage, which is currently at 50.2 percent this season. The Horned Frogs are also at 41 percent from the 3-point line, which is ranked 18th in the country according to KenPom.

Iowa State won’t be getting much of a vacation on Wednesday as the Fort Worth weather looks to have a high of 38 degrees and a low of 22 degrees. The Cyclones aren’t looking to bring back the warm weather, but rather extend their winning streak to two games with a home game in sights this weekend.

“Collectively, five guys need to do a great job as a team to defend them,” Prohm said. “They are very, very efficient … But the defensive end is what’s going to win us down there.”