In-state rivalries will abound in the Big 12 on Jan. 31, with Baylor vs. Texas, Kansas vs. Kansas State and Oklahoma State vs. Oklahoma likely helping shape where the conference pecking order stands just over one-third of the way through league play.

Meanwhile, Iowa State (15-4, 5-2 Big 12) will host Texas Christian University (14-6, 1-6 Big 12) in what looks like a potential snoozer on paper. But don’t tell that to the Cyclones.

Last place Texas Tech stunned a top-10 ISU team that was on the path to a Big 12 Championship and put those hopes in the hands of a Kansas team that has won 10 straight league titles. To make matters worse, that same Tech team was clobbered 81-36 against Oklahoma four days later.

The Cyclones went on to beat a top-25 Texas team just two days later, but the loss to the Red Raiders hasn’t escaped the minds of ISU fans or media. It hasn’t escaped the minds of the Cyclones either, but they probably wish it would.

“I don’t think we’re going to have to say anything about that [loss] the rest of the year,” said ISU coach Fred Hoiberg. “If you don’t show up with your best game in this league, you’re going to get beat.”

While it may just sound like a coaching cliché, the Big 12 has shown time and time again that there truly are “no games off.” While TCU has been on the losing end of the majority of games, the Horned Frogs took No. 22 Baylor, No. 18 West Virginia and No. 9 Kansas down to the wire, taking both Baylor and West Virginia to overtime.

The Cyclones are well aware of this, with teammates watching TCU take on Kansas just three days before their matchup with the Horned Frogs. What they saw was an aggressive team that pulled down 26 offensive rebounds, but missed 14 free throws in a three-point loss.

The Horned Frogs are led by point guard Kyan Anderson, a senior who has dropped double-digit point totals against the Cyclones in 3-of-4 career meetings. He had 27 points and eight assists in last year’s game at Hilton, giving one of Iowa State’s best defenders, sophomore Monté Morris one of the toughest matchups of the season.

“He ain’t got no conscience,” Morris said. “Last year here, I think he had 26 or something like that, so it’s just going to be my job to not let him get in a rhythm.”

And the Cyclones likely can’t afford him to get in a rhythm. Anderson’s performance was overshadowed by Melvin Ejim’s 48-point, 18-rebound game that propelled Iowa State for the win. With the chances of another record-breaking day fairly low against a TCU team that has a reloaded roster with new transfers this season, the Cyclones still hope for a breakout game to help forget the stinging memory of the Texas Tech loss.

“We’ve got a tendency not to stomp teams out like we should, but sooner or later, one game in this league, we’ve got to do it,” Morris said. “I feel TCU, they’ve got a thing for trying to beat us and trying to prove a point, but we should be alright.”

Iowa State will take on TCU at 1 p.m. on Jan. 31 at Hilton Coliseum.