The No. 3 Iowa State Cyclones opened Big 12 conference play with a home matchup against the West Virginia Mountaineers, and big performances from senior forward Joshua Jefferson and junior forward Milan Momcilovic gave Iowa State an 80-59 win Friday night.
Iowa State improved to 14-0 with the dominant win in the Big 12 opener over West Virginia, but the road only gets tougher, as the Cyclones’ next matchup is against Baylor. The Bears recently added freshman center James Nnaji to their roster. He was picked No. 31 in the 2023 NBA draft but still retains his college eligibility.
Jefferson posts 9th Cyclone triple-double in history
Jefferson has been the most consistent player all season for the Cyclones, putting up what feels like an easy 18 points every game. Despite not reaching the 18-point mark that Jefferson usually hits, he put up a triple-double, a feat only reached by eight others before him at Iowa State.
“I think I noticed that when I had about like eight [assists],” Jefferson said. “Then I was like, don’t overdo it, just play with what happens, it happens, so that was my mindset going out there.”
Jefferson’s statistics looked like the judges’ panel for a dunk contest with tens across the board. His 10-point, 10-rebound and 10-assist triple-double was the first since 2023, when his former teammate Keshon Gilbert posted a triple-double against New Hampshire.
“I think what separates him is all those ways he can impact winning,” head coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “He can impact it on the glass, he can impact on his passing, he can impact it with his scoring getting downhill. So, it’s just night in and night out, you know, him taking advantage of all the skills that he has to impact winning.”
What makes the accomplishment even more impressive is the fact that Jefferson accomplished it in their Big 12 opener, setting a tone for the rest of the season as the Cyclones move forward.
“Just playing on what the defense gives me is what happened tonight, so, wasn’t trying to do anything,” Jefferson said. “Just playing to my strengths and playing to what they’re giving me.”
A triple-double isn’t something that Jefferson is necessarily trying to accomplish; it comes while he’s playing at his best. He has posted double-doubles with both rebounds and assists this season, so it felt inevitable that he would put up a triple-double sooner or later.
Momcilovic continues his hot shooting
In 34 minutes on Friday, Momcilovic put up 26 points, 24 of which came from deep, as he shot 8-for-10 from behind the arc. A lot of those makes came off movement threes, whether that was off the dribble or off a catch from a screen.
“His release point and his size, right?” Otzelberger said. “What you see a lot of the time is people trying to take that three away, and you’re trying to contest, you leave your feet. When you do that, he’s [Momcilovic] going to the sidestep and he’s going to shoot and that’s a great rhythm shot for him.”
Momcilovic, who took over the top spot from Jefferson as the leading scorer Friday night, has continued a historic shooting run 14 games into the season, shooting over 56% from three, retaking the number 1 spot in the country over Incarnate Word’s Harrison Reede.
Jake Sullivan holds the Cyclone record for 3-point percentage in a season with 47.2%, but there is one glaring difference between the two. Sullivan hit 60 threes in the entire season, and Momcilovic has 58 threes through only 14 games.
The final three that Momcilovic hit was a big one, as it helped Jefferson hit 10 assists and ultimately complete the triple-double.
“The possession previous I passed it down, we still got a good look, [Nate] Heise in the lane, but he missed it though,” Momcilovic said. “I knew I needed to get it back, and I got it back.”
The eight made threes tied Momcilovic’s career high, which he previously hit in an all-around historic scoring night against Alcorn State in early December.
Similar to Jefferson, Momcilovic has continued to take advantage of whatever the defense gives him, whether it is playing hard on contesting the three or trying to close out but still take away the dribble drive.
“They obviously flew at me right away, so, got them in the air and then I heard their coach just telling them to stay down on their feet,” Momcilovic said. “I knew they weren’t going to over-close, so just get it up fast.”
All quotes are provided by the Cyclone Fanatic YouTube Channel.
