“Hilton Magic” will forever link the Missouri and Iowa State basketball programs. After all, it was after an Iowa State upset of No. 3 Missouri on Feb. 14, 1989 that the term “Hilton Magic” – the divine intervention that allows even the worst Iowa State basketball teams to win in Hilton Coliseum – was first written in the newspaper.

But really, “Hilton Magic” began Feb. 8, 1983 when Barry Stevens hit a game-winning shot with no time remaining to defeat the No. 10 Tigers 73-72 in overtime. It was Missouri’s first Big Eight loss and one of only two as Mizzou won the Big Eight regular season title.

Iowa State will retire Stevens’ jersey at halftime Wednesday. The school’s second-leading scorer died of a heart attack on Feb. 21, 2007. He was 43.

Iowa State has made a living upsetting Missouri and it faces a similar prospect Wednesday. Missouri is coming off the biggest win in coach Mike Anderson’s short tenure, but that win will be slightly devalued if the Tigers go out and lay an egg in Ames.

“We can’t be like, ‘Well, we beat Texas,’ and just play regular against Iowa State,” sophomore guard Keon Lawrence said. “We have to play like we played against Texas in every game from here on out and we know it.”

Replicating what the Tigers did against Texas is not out of the realm of possibility. Iowa State is one of the lowest scoring teams in the conference while Missouri is one of the highest. The Tigers also held the league’s top 3-point shooting team to just 36 percent on Saturday. Missouri might have trouble with Iowa State freshman forward Craig Brackins, who made 8 of 10 3-pointers against Baylor on Saturday, but the rest of the team went 0-for-10.

In Missouri’s last two games, it has shot better than 70 percent in the second half. In four of Iowa State’s six losses this season, opponents have shot 50 percent or better in the second half, including 65.2 percent by Drake.

It would be easy for Missouri to look past this game and to the monumental task of beating Kansas on Saturday. But the Tigers don’t have that luxury because they don’t have a true road win on their resume and currently they don’t have enough quality wins to even be considered for the postseason.

Mizzou knows what this game means not just in the short-term, but to the rest of their season.

“We can’t go up to Iowa State thinking they’re going to give us a win,” Lawrence said. “That’s our next big game. That’s what coach wants us real focused on. We’ll worry about Kansas Saturday. Right now, we can’t worry about them.”

Here’s how the Tigers stack up against the Cyclones (Big 12 ranking in parentheses):