Iowa State's Milan Momcilovic returns for Cyclones' matchup vs TCU

No. 8 Iowa State was offered a huge boost as star forward Milan Momcilovic returned to court ahead of the matchup against TCU on Saturday, coach TJ Otzelberger revealed in ESPN's Pete Thamel's report. Otzelberger also reported that the Momcilovic felt great and excited to return to court.

Momcilovic has been sidelined for almost a month due to an ankle injury he sustained during practice. The 6-foot-8 sophomore last played in the Cyclones' 85-84 win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Jan. 11.

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How Iowa State fared in Milan Momcilovic's absence

Before his return to Saturday's game against TCU, Milan Momcilovic missed the Cyclones' last seven games. The sophomore star returned to practice for the first time on Thursday morning, leading to speculations about his imminent return to the court against TCU.

"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."

Momcilovic has been the Cyclones' star forward this season, averaging 10.3 points and 3.5 rebounds per game in 15 games. Before his ankle injury, Iowa State was 14-1 overall and 4-0 in Big 12 play. However, the Cyclones' momentum went down in his absence, as they could only manage 3-4, losing three straight games.

The last two losses were 80-61 to a Kansas State team that was previously winless on the road, followed by a 69-52 loss to Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse on Monday.

Meanwhile, Iowa State is 17-5 overall and 7-4 in Big 12 play entering Saturday's game against TCU, who is 12-10 overall and 5-6 in the Big 12. The Cyclones also boast an 11-1 home record while holding opponents to just 41.5% shooting, despite struggling offensively at times in Momcilovic's absence.