The hoopla has left Hilton.

As the traveling circus that is ESPN’s College Game Day moves on down the road to its next destination with the bright lights of the national spotlight in tow, it is Big 12-leading Kansas State that travels to Ames to play the part of spoiler in Iowa State’s encore to a season-defining victory.

There is neither time for reflection nor respite in any manner for an ISU team on the hunt for conference supremacy and ISU coach Fred Hoiberg refuses to suffer drawn-out celebration on the part of his players.

“You worry about getting over big emotional wins and you also have to get your guys over those tough losses,” Hoiberg said. “You have got to put it behind you.”

One factor that should aid No. 9 Iowa State (13-3, 3-1 Big 12) in its quest for a return to an even-keel is that when Kansas State (11-7, 4-1 Big 12) takes the court against the Cyclones on Jan. 20, the outright conference lead will hang in the balance.

For an ISU team that has not won the Big 12 regular season title in 13 years, the importance of protecting home court and claiming position at the top of the conference rankings cannot be overstated.

“You hope they come out with the same type of effort because I know Kansas State is going to come out extremely hard,” Hoiberg said. “They are the first-place team in our league, so I would hope that we would come out with some urgency.”

Urgency was not difficult for the Cyclones to muster against the Jayhawks, considering the gravity of the matchup and what the win symbolizes for the perpetuation of the ISU program to the greatest of heights.

Yet strangely enough, Kansas State not only poses a different challenge than its in-state counterpart Kansas, which has won 10 straight Big 12 regular season titles, but poses perhaps an even more difficult challenge where Iowa State is concerned.

“[Kansas State] has really found itself. Bruce Webber’s teams are always going to defend you,” Hoiberg said. “All over the floor, they’re going to be up in you. You’ve got to take care of the ball. You’ve got to be smart.”

It is strange to fathom Kansas, a team that has been ranked in the top 10 for the entire season until this week, as presenting a reprieve for any opponent.

Yet, for Iowa State on the offensive end, that is exactly what the Jayhawks were — a breather. The primary reason for that is because Kansas wanted to push pace and create the same sort of game that favors the strengths of Iowa State.

Iowa State took advantage of a game-style against Kansas, the likes of which Oklahoma State, West Virginia and Baylor prevented through various tactics of full-court pressure and ball-control deep into the shot clock, which forced ISU mistakes and relegated the Cyclones to more half-court offense than they would prefer to play.

Kansas, on the other hand, allowed Iowa State to get out in transition off of both missed and made baskets, which equated into 21 points in transition, 26 trips to the free-throw line, a litany of open three-point looks and an ISU shooting percentage that topped out at just under 51 percent.

The game against Kansas State has the potential to play out differently despite the Wildcats’ mediocre defensive production this season.

“If you can eliminate transition points and eliminate points from the line and force teams to score on you in the half-court, it’s a lot more difficult to do,” Hoiberg said. “We’re always going to try to get the pace established to where we want it … [but] sometimes we have more success than others.”

Success in any fashion is not something that has come easily to Big 12 opponents of the Wildcats, who started the season 7-6 in non-conference play but have come on ferociously since, winning at Oklahoma and at home against Baylor.

“They’re a confident team right now,” Hoiberg said. “They’ve won four games, including a couple close ones.”

A big part of the Wildcats’ success in both road games and in close games, two descriptions likely to be applied to Tuesday’s contest against Iowa State, is due to guard Marcus Foster, who Hoiberg said is one of the best offensive threats in the country.

“He’s a bucket-getter,” said guard Monté Morris of Foster. “He can score the ball. He’s gotten a lot better since last year … and his release has gotten a lot faster.”

Another matchup within the matchup to watch is between the ISU front-line and forward Thomas Gipson.

“He’s a tough guy to guard just because of how strong he is and how aggressive he is,” said forward Georges Niang.

Gipson’s play is a microcosm of his team’s and because of that, Niang added that he expects the game to be a physical fight to the finish.

Tip off between Iowa State and Kansas State is set for 6 p.m at Hilton Coliseum.