Iowa State basketball player Milan Momcilovic will return to the Cyclones for Saturday’s home game against TCU, a source with direct knowledge of the situation told the Register.
Momcilovic last played on Jan. 11 against Texas Tech before suffering an injury that required surgery on his left (non-shooting) hand. He has missed the Cyclones’ last seven games. Iowa State, which was 14-1 overall and 4-0 in Big 12 play before his injury, has gone 3-4 in his absence. The Cyclones have lost three-straight.
The Cyclones are scheduled to play TCU at 11 a.m. Saturday. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
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Iowa State’s most recent two losses were by double-digit margins against a Kansas State team that was previously winless on the road, followed by a 69-52 loss to Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse on Monday.
No. 8 Iowa State, trying to snap a three-game losing streak, is 17-5 overall and 7-4 in Big 12 play entering Saturday. TCU is 12-10 and 5-6.
The Cyclones have struggled offensively at times in Momcilovic’s absence. The Wisconsin native is Iowa State’s best 3-point shooter at 44.3%.
Momcilovic returned to practice for the first time on Thursday morning. He went through pregame warm-ups Monday at Kansas, leading to speculation that he was close to returning.
“As much as Milan has a tremendous value to our team, I think it’s important our guys understand even though our team changed a little bit at that time, we still had some really good moments and we’ve done some really good things offensively,” Otzelberger said earlier this week. “It just hasn’t been consistent over all of the games. Some of the games, our offensive disappointment has led us to kind of being consumed with it.”
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In Momcilovic’s absence, the Cyclones picked up wins vs. Kansas, vs. UCF and at Arizona State while losing at West Virginia, at Arizona, vs. Kansas State and at Kansas.
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Momcilovic has averaged 10.3 points and 3.5 rebounds per game in 15 contests this season.
Iowa State columnist Travis Hines has covered the Cyclones for the Des Moines Register and Ames Tribune since 2012. Contact him at thines@amestrib.com or (515) 284-8000. Follow him on X at @TravisHines21.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State basketball: Milan Momcilovic expected to play against TCU
