The excitement is at an all-time high. Students have been camped outside Hilton Coliseum for a week now, with the line in ‘Tent City’ spanning more than three-quarters of the way around the arena. 

And finally, it’s time. No. 14 Iowa State (15-4 overall, 4-3 Big 12) will take on No. 4 Kansas (16-3 overall, 5-2 Big 12) in the Cyclones’ second consecutive ‘Big Monday’ game tonight at 8 p.m.

Here’s what you need to know:

No. 14 Iowa State vs. No. 4 Kansas

Where: Hilton Coliseum | Ames, Iowa

When: 8 p.m.

TV: ESPN 

Talent: Brent Musburger (PxP), Jay Bilas (Color), Holly Rowe (Reporter)

Twitter: For updated information throughout the game, follow Ryan Young (@RyanYoung44) and Chris Wolff (@HashtagChrisss) on Twitter

 Series History:

• Kansas leads the all-time series against Iowa State 177-62, dating back to 1908. 
• Iowa State has won three of the last four meetings, including two games in the Big 12 tournament championship. No Big 12 team has ever beat a Bill Self-coached Kansas Team four times in five meetings. 
• The Jayhawks are 24-20 in games played at Hilton Coliseum.
• The teams have split the last four meetings in Ames, Iowa, with all four games being decided by eight points or less, or in overtime. 
• This is Steve Prohm’s first game against Kansas and against Bill Self.

Kansas Jayhawks | A decade of dominance

The Jayhawks are led by coach Bill Self, who has already turned himself into one of college basketball’s top coaches in just over a decade at Kansas.

In his twelfth season, Self has won one national championship, six league tournament championships and a Kansas record 11-straight regular-season conference championships. Self is 190-9 all-time at Phog Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas, making it one of the toughest places to play in all of college basketball. 

In Self’s 11 seasons at Kansas, he has coached 10 different NBA Lottery picks. His last two were Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid, who went first and third in the 2014 NBA Draft, respectively. Wiggins was the second-ever Jayhawk to be drafted first in the NBA Draft.

The Best of the Best?

Monday’s game has the potential to be one of the best to ever come through Hilton Coliseum. With two top teams playing in front of a crowd that has been waiting outside for seven straight days, ISU point guard Monté Morris said it will be anything but boring.

“It’s Kansas,” he told the Des Moines Register. “It’s going to be electrifying.”

Coming in, Kansas is currently in a four-way tie for first place in the Big 12 (with Oklahoma, West Virginia and Baylor). Iowa State is right behind them, tied for fifth place with Texas.

Both teams are averaging at least 84 points per game, and are the top-two shooting teams in the Big 12. Senior Georges Niang and Kansas’ Perry Ellis are second and third in conference scoring, too, averaging 19.3 and 16.3 points per game, respectively.

But here’s the difference. Iowa State has won it’s last three games, including one against then-No. 1 Oklahoma. Kansas, however, has not. Kansas is 2-2 over it’s last four games, including an 11-point loss against West Virginia and a 19-point loss at Oklahoma State.

While they may be down, though, Niang said it’s not fair to count them out.

“People are like, ‘they’re not playing well,'” Niang told the Register. “Bill Self teams are always ready to go. I never play attention to it when people say that. They have depth. They have length. They have guys shooting the heck out of the ball.”