Peterson: Iowa State basketball's Milan Momcilovic had his best game at the right time

AMES – Intensity of the game and whatever happened during the coaches’ postgame handshake between Iowa State’s T.J. Otzelberger and Kansas State’s Jerome Tang aside ...

Wednesday was that game we expected from freshman Milan Momcilovic. The true freshman had been teasing us for the past five Big 12 games, but before a robust sellout crowd at Hilton Coliseum on Wednesday night, Cyclone fans got their money’s worth – and then some.

Game story: Iowa State basketball outlasts Kansas State in frantic finish

Not only what the talented Momcilovic did to energize a 14,267 fans, but throughout a hard-fought, rough-and-tumble and whatever else you want to call Iowa State’s 78-67 victory, they saw honest-to-goodness Big 12 Conference basketball – and all that goes with it.

They saw a physical game that included 47 fouls. They saw the teams combine to shoot 62 free throws. They saw Tang get a technical. They saw the Wildcats’ coach say something to Otzelberger in the postgame see-ya-next-time line that not only included words, but Tang pointing toward where Iowa State fans had been sitting near his team’s bench.

Welcome to the Big 12.

Yeah, this one had something of everything, not the least of which was the conference breakout of Mr. Steady – that’d be Momcilovic – when the outcome was on the line.

He calmly toed the free-throw line, eyeing the basket after Tang’s technical with 2:01 to play and Iowa State leading 66-62.

He made one of two for the foul he drew. He made two for the Tang technical. He did it like he’d been hoisting free throws against the nation's best opponents for a season’s worth of Big 12 games, not just his sixth.

Not only that, but he also swished a 3-pointer on the next possession – a dagger that gave the Cyclones a 10-point lead with 1:29 to play.

“I got four straight free throws, then got that three-pointer in rhythm and knocked that down,” Milan said.

Best Big 12 game?

His breakout, for sure.

“I know he loves the big moment,” Otzelberger said. “He continues to step up. It’s great to see.”

He’d get no argument from an energized crowd that saw Momcilovic score a game-high 19 points while shooting lights out and not committing a turnover in 33 minutes.

He starred on this night, coming off previous conference-game point totals (in order) of 12, 11, 12, 11 and 10. He made half of his 10 shots, including 3-of-6 from three-point range.

“Every game I’m getting more adjusted to Big 12 play,” he said afterward. “The first five games – I’ve gotten shots, but I missed. This game 5-of-10, 50%, that’s decent, but I can do even better.”

His next opportunity for that is Saturday in this no-gimme league, and you know what that means. Kansas comes to town, and if you think the noise level and fan intensity inside Hilton Coliseum was high Wednesday night, just wait till the weekend.

Students lined up outdoors for hours before Wednesday’s 8 p.m. game. Some may have left hoarse after Iowa State’s records improved to 15-4 and 4-2 against a team that was tied for the Big 12 lead. Some of those students then likely promptly got in line again for what unfolds at 12:30 p.m., Saturday.

This annual Cyclones-Jayhawks battle is their one and only regular-season game of the season, thanks to the genius (not) that is an unbalanced, 14-team, 18-game Big 12 conference schedule. That's right, no trip to Lawrence this season.

Iowa State against Kansas -- with no regular-season rematch. Appointment viewing for college basketball fans and for the CBS national television market.

“Unbelievable environment out there,” Tang said after the game, and after decline to go into specifics about his animated comments while shaking Otzelberger's hand. “(Otzelberger) does a great job. His team is tough. They play together. They’re fun to watch, but no fun to play against.

“I have all the respect in the world for (Otzelberger), what he does for the program.”

With Iowa State athletics director Jamie Pollard, a member of the NCAA Tournament’s selection committee, standing in the back of the interview room, Tang then made his pitch for the Big 12.

“Man, it’s the best basketball league in the country by a long ways,” Tang said. “We have unbelievable road environments. Winning a game on the road is really, really hard.

“There are going to be teams in our league that will have higher seeds in the NCAA Tournament, than they do in the Big 12 tournament.”

That’s right, and you know what? This league is only getting cranked up. Just wait until the Jayhawks hit town.

Iowa State columnist Randy Peterson is in his 52nd year writing sports for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at rpeterson@dmreg.com, on X @RandyPete, and at DesMoinesRegister.com/CyclonesTexts

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State basketball's Milan Momcilovic had best game at right time