On a bone-chilling evening in central Pennsylvania on Monday night, Penn State snapped a four-game losing streak against Rutgers with an 80-72 victory.
The Nittany Lion's anchor, point guard Ace Baldwin Jr. stepped up in much-needed fashion, finishing the contest with 22 points, eight assists, and five steals. Big man Yanic Konan Niederhauser displayed how valuable he’s become for this team, logging 33 minutes in an 18-point effort.
High-flying wing Nick Kern Jr. finished with 16 points on 100% shooting from the floor. Freddie Dilione V started the game off hot and finished 4/4 from three posting 12 points of his own in the full team victory on Monday.
Joe Lunardi of ESPN released an updated bracket projection on Tuesday. Penn State has not been included in his “On The Bubble” section recently but entered the “Next Four Out” section with the team they will be facing on Friday night, Iowa. Since Penn State shot themselves in the foot losing two early in-conference home games against Indiana and Oregon, they must look to steal a game or two on the road in their push for March Madness.
Projected to finish in the middle of the pack of the Big Ten preseason, Iowa has been rather disappointing in its first seven conference games. The Hawkeyes are 3-5 in conference play and are coming off a brutal home loss against Minnesota, shooting 14% from three in Tuesday’s matchup.
Iowa has been a unique team to watch this season. Let’s break down what Penn State has to do to steal a road win, and how Iowa can bounce back from a loss to one of the worst teams in the conference at home:
Iowa keys to the game: attack the three early with Josh Dix and Payton Sandfort, take care of the ball, beat Penn State’s press
- Iowa - 38.6% from three in conference play, 2nd in Big Ten
- Josh Dix - 48.2% from three
- Iowa takes care of the ball the best in the conference, via turnover percentage, Penn State 2nd best in forcing turnovers
- Iowa flourishes in fast tempo, Penn State’s press is beatable
- Brock Harding must facilitate the press without turning it over, he’s averaging 2.5 turnovers a game
Penn State keys to the game: find open shooters in transition, attack the rim all night with Konan Niederhauser, Dilione, Kern, consider slowing the pace down
- Iowa is dead last in defensive efficiency during conference play
- Hawkeyes are allowing opponents in conference play to 41% from three and 59.4% from two
- Penn State’s offense thrives in transition, open shooters will be available against this abysmal defense
- Iowa center Owen Freeman is a weak defensive presence in the paint, go attack him at the rim, especially Nick Kern who is shooting 71.4% on two-pointers this season
- Mike Rhoades should consider slowing the pace down, Iowa struggled mightily against Minnesota’s slow tempo, looked uncomfortable all night
Penn State vs Iowa odds and prediction
Odds provided by FanDuel Sportsbook
*Lines subject to change*
Moneyline
- Iowa -144
- Penn State +118
Spread
- Iowa -2.5 (-112)
- Penn State +2.5 (-108)
Total
- 168.5 (over -110/under -110)
Prediction
- Penn State 87, Iowa 79
I believe Penn State gets the better of Iowa on Friday night. Penn State will come out juiced up for this opportunity to put themselves back in serious March Madness discussions. Iowa’s defense in conference play has been nothing short of a disaster, and Penn State led by a big night from Nick Kern Jr. gets a much-needed road victory.