As No. 8 Iowa State prepares to take on No. 5 Houston at 1 p.m. Saturday from the Fertitta Center, the Cyclones will be without two key players.

According to the Iowa State men’s basketball X account, senior guards Curtis Jones and Keshon Gilbert were ruled out ahead of Saturday’s contest, Jones with an illness and Gilbert having a muscle strain.

This is the first time this season that the Cyclones will be without Jones and Gilbert, as both senior guards have played in all 26 games.  

The news comes as a crushing blow to an Iowa State team that is currently looking to go on the road to take on the conference-best Cougars in their own home.

It will have to look to play spoiler without their top two scorers, as Jones leads the Cyclones with an average of 17.2 points, while Gilbert sits second with an average of 14.1 points per game.

That will be hard to make up, considering Houston has the best defense in the conference, as it gives up an average of 57.6 points per game on a conference-low 38.3% field goal shooting.

With the absences of Jones and Gilbert, expect to see an increased workload from junior guard Tamin Lipsey, who is already playing through a thumb injury, while also seeing more of senior guard Nate Heise and potentially junior guard Demarion Watson, who has not played very much since the return of sophomore forward Milan Momcilovic.

Heise will be looking to build off his season-high with Iowa State, as he scored 11 points on 4-of-6 field goal shooting, 2-of-3 from 3-point range with one free throw in 21 minutes off the bench in the Cyclones 79-65 win over Colorado on Tuesday.

With the increased workload from the guards, Iowa State may be forced to rely upon scoring from within the arc, particularly the paint, with junior forward Joshua Jefferson and senior center Dishon Jackson starting and senior forward Brandton Chatfield coming in off the bench.

With the absence of its top two scorers, Iowa State will be missing the defensive play from the two senior guards who were scheduled to try and contain the Cougars’ offensive attack led by senior guard L.J. Cryer with an average of 14.5 points per game.

Along with Cryer, three other Houston players average double-digit points with junior guard Emanuel Sharp (12), senior forward J’Wan Roberts (11.6) and junior guard Milos Uzan (10.3).

The Cougars are also the best 3-point shooting team in the conference at a 39.4% clip from deep despite being sixth in the conference in field goal shooting at 46%.

Both teams will be looking to keep their respective winning streaks alive, as the Cyclones come into Saturday’s match off a four-game win streak, while the Cougars are riding a five-game winning streak.

The Jones and Gilbert-less Cyclones take on the Cougars at 1 p.m. Saturday from the Fertitta Center. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN.