When a Sweet 16 goes sour ... notes on Iowa State's narrow lost last week to Illinois
The Cyclone men sought to reach the Elite Eight for the first time since 2000, but a cold start against the Illini doomed them to a narrow loss that ended a remarkable season.
BOSTON — Iowa State freshman Milan Momcilovic slumped in a corner, clearly dejected, devoid of excuses.
The slick-shooting 6-6 forward went 0-for-4 from the field and 1-for-2 from the free throw line to score a single point in the No. 2 seed Cyclones’ 72-69 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 loss last Thursday to third-seeded Illinois at the TD Garden.
The Illini clearly identified Momcilovic — who averaged 14.5 points in his team’s previous four postseason wins — as someone who could beat them if he got going, so they deployed taller, more atheltic players to guard him and make any shot considerable more difficult to find, lt alone make.
“I just let the guys down,” Momcilovic said. “I let the coaches down. I let everyone down (in that game) because I didn’t come ready to play.”
Lest you be inclined to feel pity for Momcilovic, know that he’s not looking for sympathy. Winners are often their own worst (or is it best?) critic and that’s because they’re confident enough in their abilities to offer such harsh personal assessments.
And let’s be clear: ISU doesn’t advance to the tounament’s second weekend for the second time in head coach T.J. Otzelberger’s three seasons without Momcilovic’s considerable contributions throughout the season. He’ll be fine. Better, even.
The loss to the Illini should serve as a bump in the road for a Cyclone team that returns its leading scorers and have already made a couple of valuable additions via the transfer portal. ISU will likely be an AP top-15 team in the 2024-25 preseason poll and for good reason.
Momcilovic will remain a major reason why the Cyclones will be so highly regarded again and he allowed himself to tip his toe into those optimistic waters while still stinging from the Sweet 16 setback.
“We’ve got a good part of our team coming back next year,” Momcilovic said. “A lot of core pieces, so obviously the outcome didn’t go our way (against Illinois), but looking into the future, we’re all gonna get so much better this offseason, and we’re gonna get a lot better next year.”
Doubt Momcilovic at your peril. Go ahead and doubt the trio of outstanding returning guards — Keshon Gilbert, Curtis Jones and Tamin Lipsey — as well. Nothing motivates winners better than being slighted and underestimated; overlooked and counted out by outsiders.
“I’ve got a couple days rest,” Gilbert, a UNLV transfer, said. “Then I’m right back at it.”
ISU’s big men — Robert Jones, Tre King and Hason Ward — served as foundational pieces for Otzelberger’s program before exhausting their eligibility. They used up every ounce of it. It didn’t slip away. It simply ran out.
“The impact they had on me is huge, but just this program in general, just trusting the coaches when they were recruited, and coming into this program new with T.J., and just putting in the work and the time to improve,” Lipsey said. “Those guys obviously improved every single year and helped lead this team this year to the Sweet 16. Those guys have the biggest impact with the leadership of this team.”
Now it’s up to players like Lipsey to exand their leadership roles. Gilbert, Jones and Momcilovic, too. Imperfect performances don’t derail them. Instead, struggles fuel greatness as inevitably as past failures frame future success.
“I played terrible,” Momcilovic said of the Sweet 16 loss. “but at the same time, it’s gonna be motivation in the offseason to work harder. There’s so much room for improvement for me. I had a decent freshman year, but I struggled in good stretches, so I feel like I can just play way better.”
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