Des Moines, Iowa ? Fresh off a victory over No. 22 Iowa that helped erase some of the sting of two early season home losses, Iowa State travels today to Des Moines with the chance to knock off its second straight Big Ten opponent.

The Cyclones (6-2) will face Ohio State (6-0) in the Mediacom Cyclone Capital Classic, the program’s first game at new Wells Fargo Arena.

Iowa State entered the season ranked No. 25, but a pair of home losses to Iona and Fresno knocked the Cyclones out of the poll. Iowa State bounced back with an 89-74 victory over Drake in its first road game, then took advantage of a Hawkeyes team playing without point guard Jeff Horner for a 72-60 victory.

The Cyclones’ major question mark entering this season was its inexperienced front court. But after struggling in the early going, young post players such as Jiri Hubalek and Ross Marsden started to come around against Iowa, much to the delight of Iowa State head coach Wayne Morgan.

“We’ve had to be patient. For the first time in my coaching career, I didn’t return any power guys,” Morgan said. “Some of our young guys, like Jiri and Ross, played at the physical level they needed to compete at (against Iowa).”

The game will be just the second away from home for Ohio State, which is unranked by the Associated Press but received the second-most votes for a non-ranked team in this week’s poll.

The Buckeyes have taken off in their second year under head coach Thad Matta, with wins over Saint Joseph’s and Virginia Tech to their credit. The Buckeyes have shot 51 percent from the floor, feature five players who are currently averaging over 10 points per game and are outscoring their opponents by an average of 17 points a night.

But today’s game will be the fourth for Ohio State in eight days, and after struggling to beat Belmont, 85-75, Wednesday, Matta acknowledged his team was running on fumes.

“It was obvious we were exhausted. We weren’t getting loose balls and rebounds. We had to find guys to make the plays down the stretch. We were late getting to where we needed to be. We need to get our rest over the next four days,” Matta said following the game.

Senior guard Je’Kel Foster leads Ohio State with 15.8 points per game and is shooting 67 percent from the floor, and backcourt mate J.J. Sullinger has chipped in with 13 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Bowling Green transfer Ron Lewis has provided scoring punch off the bench in his first year with the Buckeyes, averaging 12.7 points per game.

Morgan watched Ohio State beat Saint Joseph’s, 81-74, on Saturday and came away impressed.

“They are a very, very good team,” he said. “They played very hard, they are very strong and very balanced. Playing them is like picking your poison.”

The Iowa State women’s basketball will face Northern Iowa in the first game of the doubleheader.