For a decade, Kansas has carried with it an air of invincibility throughout conference play on its way to 10 consecutive Big 12 titles.

The Cyclones delivered a serious blow not only to Jayhawks’ chances for an 11th on Saturday night, but one to their mystique as well.

No. 11 Iowa State’s (13-3, 3-1 Big 12) victory against No. 9 Kansas (14-3, 3-1 Big 12) was not the first ISU win in the series. In all likelihood, it will not be the last. Still, it was special because, as ISU coach Fred Hoiberg pointed out, it was years in the making.

“I told those guys how much they deserve getting a Game Day [telecast] to Iowa State because of what they have done to help put Iowa State basketball on the map,” Hoiberg said. “That is a credit to what has happened in this program the last few years, and that is all due to the players, so I told them to enjoy it.”

The historic experience of Game Day on the ISU campus would have proven decidedly less enjoyable had the Cyclones failed to take care of business against the Jayhawks.

Yet, in the big picture, Hoiberg said there was far more riding on his team’s game against the leviathan of the Big 12 than making good on a national stage.

“In order for us to compete with [Kansas] for the league championship, we had to win this game,” Hoiberg said. “We absolutely had to.”

Even despite Kansas coach Bill Self admitting post game that Iowa State outplayed his squad and was the better team throughout the course of the evening, the contest remained in question until the final ticks, as the Jayhawks refused to go quietly into that good Iowa night.

At the 14:42 mark of the second half, a whistle sounded. A frustrated Self called a timeout as his team stared up at a towering 51-39 deficit.

The Kansas players scuttled to their huddle for a much needed reprieve as the ISU players drifted toward center court, beckoning the rambunctious, adoring hoards who packed Hilton to the rafters for more noise and more energy.

Shooting guard Naz Long hooked his thumbs into the side of his jersey, featuring prominently the Iowa State brand across his chest.

“I like to show my jersey and show the letters on the front because I just truly believe that Iowa State is the best place to be at,” Long said. “Every time I do that, it is just a big thank you.”

The problem was that Long’s thank you came about 15 minutes too early.

Kansas mounted a charge, lulling Iowa State to sleep and then bursting forward with opportunistic defensive gambles that manifested themselves as easy fast break points.

By the 9:30 point in the second half, Iowa State’s once formidable double-digit lead was withered to a measly two points.

Enter Jameel McKay.

What came next was what Hoiberg has been referring to all season, repeating as though a skipping record that McKay brings basketball attributes to the table the likes of which have not been seen at Iowa State in the current era.

“Jameel McKay, he is such a difference maker in his ability to run the floor,” Hoiberg said.

On this particular occasion, McKay not only ran the floor, but ended up running Kansas out of contention for victory with an exclamation point.

Hoiberg stressed that the transition offense would be key to his team’s success, and that it must be pursued even after made baskets. Kansas’ Kelly Oubre had just transformed a Long turnover into a dunk on the other end, capping a 12-2 Kansas run that trimmed the ISU lead to 53-51.

It was as close as Kansas would get.

The ball was in-bounded quickly to Morris, who cut up the court through a slow-moving Kansas transition defense and found McKay, who had released after the Oubre score and was torpedoing the hoop from the right side.

Morris floated a pass high into the air and McKay exploded off of the floor, snatching the dish high above the basket and finishing the alley-oop with a violent, iron-bending slam.

The crowd shot up like live bottle rockets, its bellows crashing down on the players below and smothering the hardwood. From that point on, Kansas was not playing a game of 5-on-5, but rather a game of 5-on-14,000.

The battle was no longer with only the ISU players, but with every soul inside Hilton Coliseum.

“Before the game, I could not even hear. It was literally hurting my ears,” Hoiberg said. “Some fans show up for big games. Our fans show up for every game.”

McKay would score four of the next six ISU points, helping the Cyclones stretch out an 8-point lead.

“I felt like I brought a lot of energy with making those plays,” McKay said.

Iowa State rode the resurgence of energy to another 12-point lead, but Kansas would counter and cut the lead to four. The Jayhawks, however, did not have quite enough even as Iowa State faulted somewhat down the stretch, making a four costly turnovers in the final four minutes as well as missing four free-throws in the final 50 seconds.

In the end, Self said the difference was Iowa State’s 21 points in transition along with the Cyclones’ ability to make the big play on the important possession, like the charge taken by forward Georges Niang with only a handful of seconds remaining to reclaim possession for Iowa State, which was up four points at the time.

“We were getting open shots and I thought our transition offense was exceptional tonight,” Hoiberg said. “It would have been nice to keep that in double digits, but Kansas does that to you too. It is a team that just flat out knows how to win, and that is evident by their 10 straight league championships. That thing is not over until that buzzer sounds.”

The victory makes it two in a row for the Cyclones in this series, as they beat the Jayhawks in the teams’ previous meeting during the Big 12 Tournament last season.

Kansas State travels to Ames on Jan. 20 sporting a 4-1 conference record. If the Cyclones can overcome the Wildcats, they will own sole possession of first place in the Big 12 five games into their 18-game conference schedule.

[Beating Kansas] is very satisfying,” Long acknowledged.” But with that being said, we are on to the next.”