Passionate, excited and willing to do the extreme for the basketball team.

Yes, these words might be used to describe Iowa State seniors Matt Thomas, Deonte Burton or even Monté Morris. But instead, these words describe students Marcus Faust, Jason Terrell and Matt Stubblefield.

Temperatures are hovering in the single digits, with wind gusts in the double-digits. And it’s the first few days of the spring semester. But this game is one of the most important games that all Iowa State basketball fans have marked down on their calendar.

Iowa State (11-4, 3-1 Big 12) will square up against No. 2 Kansas (15-1, 4-0 Big 12) at 8 p.m. Monday — as part of ESPN’s Big Monday — and will go for its third straight home win against the Jayhawks.

Marcus Faust, sophomore in marketing, was the first person to get in line outside of Hilton Coliseum, setting up his tent just hours before Iowa State’s game against Texas on Saturday. His intensity and commitment to the team instantly popped out.

“To me, cheering on my school is the biggest experience of college,” Faust exclaimed. “[It is] just the biggest part of the magic here in Hilton.”

An avid Cyclone fan from his childhood, it’s not the first time he has withstood the elements like this.

Last year, Faust camped out for the annual Cy-Hawk basketball game and said he has developed a community feeling with the rest of his “Cyclone camping family” since the first game he attended.

Along with Faust in line is fellow student Jason Terrell, junior in civil engineering. As a fellow camper, Terrell got to the line two days after Faust around noon, and instantly connected with his fellow campers.

“I only think about the game,” Terrell said when asked about his mentality through the blistering weather. “I just think about it as a long-term tailgate.”

A misconception when people hear about these students who camp out is that they don’t go to class — or even shower, yet all these students swear they do.

“We don’t miss class,” Terrell, who still makes his 8 a.m. class each day, said with a grin on his face. “Everyone here holds themselves accountable to go to class. We make a chart with everyone’s schedule.

“This cold still beats engineering.”

Being a Cyclone fan at Hilton Coliseum is surreal for anyone who has come through the ranks or attended a home game.

Matt Stubblefield, sophomore in political science, arrived in line on Monday too. A fan since childhood, Stubblefield is in the middle of his third campout, his last being the Iowa game last season.

And while he doesn’t know everyone outside camping by name, he knows that should anything ever happen with any other member, he would help the way they would help them. This came into action on Tuesday — just six days away from the game — when Stubblefield helped fellow campers whose tent blew away.

“Cyclone Nation looks out for another,” Stubblefield said on why he left his own tent to help out is fellow tent-out friend. “Just a small bump on the road, that’s all.”

While many may think that he and his friends are crazy, Stubblefield doesn’t think so. It’s a feeling of togetherness that keeps him going.

That is commonly-found feeling outside the steps of Hilton Coliseum.

“As soon as I get inside Hilton, you get excited,” Stubblefield said. “It makes it all worth it.”