Milan Momcilovic Gets Brutally Honest About Team Performance Against Eastern Illinois

Milan Momcilovic was not thrilled with the Iowa State Cyclones' performance against the Eastern Illinois Panthers.

Iowa State Cyclones forward Milan Momcilovic (22) looks for a drive around Eastern Illinois Panthers forward Terry McMorris (24) during the first half on December 14, 2025, at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Iowa State Cyclones returned to the court on Sunday afternoon at Hilton Coliseum after defeating the Iowa Hawkeyes 66-62 to retain the Cy-Hawk Trophy.

After facing off against the previously No. 1-ranked Purdue Boilermakers and their biggest rivals in back-to-back games, it comes as little surprise that they struggled to get up early against the Eastern Illinois Panthers.

The Ohio Valley Conference squad entered the game with a 2-7 record, with only one of those victories coming against a Division I foe. Alas, they were able to hang around much longer than anyone had anticipated they would.

Eastern Illinois led the game 19-18 with 8:37 remaining in the first half before a Joshua Jefferson dunk gave the Cyclones a one-point lead. It was all Iowa State from that point on, as they scored eight consecutive points to start taking control of the game.

Milan Momcilovic not thrilled with Iowa State's recent performance

Iowa State Cyclones forward Milan Momcilovic (22) goes for a layup around Eastern Illinois Panthers forward Naz Fisher(13) and guard Zion Fruster (5) during the first half on December 14, 2025, at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Cyclones would eventually go on to win 78-53, adding another blowout victory to their ledger. However, it wasn’t a performance that Milan Momcilovic was overly impressed by.

“I think that was one of the worst performances we’ve had this year, to be honest,” he said during a post-game press conference, in a video shared by Ben Hutchens of the Quad-City Times.

Milan Momcilovic on Iowa State’s effort in a 78-53 win vs Eastern Illinois:

“I think that was one of the worst performances we’ve had this year, to be honest.” pic.twitter.com/TFFepmso1N

— Ben Hutchens (@Ben_Hutchens_) December 14, 2025

Momcilovic was the only player on the team to knock down multiple 3-pointers, going two of six en route to a team-high 18 points scored. The rest of the team combined to shoot two of 17 from long range.

Not being satisfied after a 25-point win is something many people will be surprised by. But a new standard has been put in place with the Cyclones, who look like a legitimate championship contender this season.

Iowa State is capable of playing at a higher level than it showed for the majority of Sunday afternoon. In their previous buy game held at Hilton Coliseum against the Alcorn State Braves, they set records with their offensive performance.

That was not the case against the Panthers, with the Cyclones looking like they had taken their foot off the gas a little bit. They weren’t as sharp as they had been in previous games, something head coach T.J. Otzelberger took notice of as well.

Iowa State won’t take the court again until Dec. 21 against the Long Beach State Beach. With a week of practice time, you can be sure Otzelberger will have his squad ready to go for that game, especially with the players knowing they can perform at a higher level than they showed against Eastern Illinois.

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