It’s no secret that Hilton Coliseum is one of the toughest places to play in all of college basketball.

Over the past five years, the Iowa State men’s basketball team has hosted 80 games at Hilton, and just eight opponents have walked out victorious. That’s a 90 percent winning percentage for the Cyclones, one of the best marks in the country over that time.

Tuesday, at Big 12 Media Day in Kansas City, Missouri, players and coaches from around the Big 12 talked about their experiences in Hilton Coliseum and what it takes to pull off an upset in Ames.

Only two Big 12 teams — Kansas and West Virginia — left Hilton last year with a win. Jevon Carter, senior guard for West Virginia, has played at Iowa State three times before. His record in Hilton is 2-1, thanks to back-to-back wins for West Virginia the past two seasons.

“Their fans are crazy at Iowa State,” Carter said. “That place gets loud. The fans get there a couple hours before the game, the student section gets packed, it’s just a great experience to play there.”

Carter, however, hasn’t had much personal success at Hilton. In his three games in Ames, Carter has scored two, zero and four points for a total of six points in three games. That’s a pretty low number for a player who averaged 8.1 points per game as a freshman, 9.5 as a sophomore and 13.5 in his junior campaign last year.

While Iowa State was able to sneak away with a win last year, the Baylor Bears have won two of the last three games they’ve played in Hilton. That includes the 2014-15 season where the lone blemish on Iowa State’s 15-1 home record was a 79-70 loss to Baylor.

Baylor head coach Scott Drew is entering his 15th season as the head coach in Waco, Texas, and he’s coached in every Big 12 arena multiple times.

“When you go to Iowa State you know that not only do you have a passionate fan base that does a great job supporting their team, but also a very knowledgeable fan base,” Drew said. “As a coach, you love being around people that respect the game and know the game.”

While Drew gave credit to every arena in the Big 12, he said Iowa State “is one of the harder ones.”

It’s a big reason why Baylor’s all-time record at Hilton is just 2-13.

Baylor, of course, is far from being the only Big 12 team to struggle historically in Hilton.

Coming up short

Iowa State has won the last four games overall against Kansas State. At Hilton, the Cyclones have won the past six in the series.

The Wildcats nearly tasted victory in Ames last January. Down 46-26 early in the second half, Kansas State rallied to take a 58-57 lead with just five minutes remaining.

Junior guard Barry Brown finished with 10 points for Kansas State in that game, but he shot just 1-for-6 from beyond the three-point line.

“It was a tough road that game but we fought back,” Brown said. “The atmosphere was great — the game was not as good as we wanted it to be.”

Iowa State was able to hold on for a 70-65 win that night, thanks to 25 points from Matt Thomas.

Losing so closely at Hilton didn’t sour Brown’s view of Iowa State’s arena, however, even with how tough of a game it was. Brown, like others, credited it as one of the toughest places to play in the league.

“Iowa State is very fun to play in,” Brown said. “Their atmosphere is great. The fan base is incredible… they always sell out and their fans are always in tune to the game — there’s never a dull moment when you’re in their arena.”