| PENN STATE (11-11, 2-7) at No. 5/7 Iowa (17-4, 8-1) | ||||||||||||||||
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Feb. 1, 2016
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State men's basketball (11-11, 2-7) faces No. 5/7 Iowa (17-4, 8-1) for the first time in the span of 14 days when it travels to Iowa City for a 7 p.m. ET matchup on ESPNU. The teams will meet against in exactly two weeks with a 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 17 matchup in the Bryce Jordan Center.
STORYLINES
- Three of the Nittany Lions' next four games are vs. ranked foes, including both games this week.
- This is Penn State's 13th game away from home this season and seventh in the first 10 Big Ten games.
- The Nittany Lions are coming off a neutral-site loss to Michigan, 79-72, Saturday as part of the first Big Ten Super Saturday Hoops & Hockey Doubleheader at Madison Square Garden Saturday.
- Three Nittany Lions are scoring in double-figures: Brandon Taylor (16.3 ppg), Shep Garner (13.9) and Payton Banks (10.7) with Taylor controlling the boards (6.0) and Garner also leading in assists (3.1).
- Brandon Taylor produced his fourth double-double of the season Saturday vs. Michigan, tallying a Big Ten career-high 24 points and 10 rebounds. He is one of 11 league players with at least four double-doubles.
GAMEDAY INFO
SCOUTING IOWA
Ranked No. 5 in the AP Top 25 and No. 7 in the USA Today poll this week, the Hawkeyes dropped their first conference game of the season last week, falling to Maryland, 74-68, Jan. 28 in College Park. They had won their previous nine games, including each of the first seven league contests. Iowa defeated Northwestern at home Sunday, 85-71, with 23 points from Big Ten leading scorer Jared Uthoff (18.6 ppg). Iowa ranks third in the nation with a 1.71 assist-to-turnover ratio, averaging 17.0 assists per game with 58.6 percent of field goals coming off an assist. Mike Gesell ranks 14th in Division I with 6.5 apg. Iowa has won each of its last 14 home games, dating back to last February. In five Big Ten home games, the Hawkeyes average 82.0 ppg with a scoring margin of +12.2.
| PSU | STAT CATEGORY | IOWA | STAT | PSU LEADER | IOWA LEADER | ||
| 66.0 | Points Per Game | 81.2 | Points | Brandon Taylor: 16.3 | Jarrod Utoff: 18.6 | ||
| 69.0 | Opponent Points Per Game | 68.4 | Rebounds | Brandon Taylor: 6.0 | Adam Woodbury: 7.0 | ||
| 41.3 | Field-Goal Percentage | 46.6 | Assists | Shep Garner: 3.1 | Mike Gessell: 6.5 | ||
| 42.3 | Opponent FG Percentage | 41.1 | Blocks | Jordan Dickerson: 1.6 | Jarrod Utoff: 2.9 | ||
| 5.9 | 3-pointers Per Game | 9.0 | |||||
| 29.9 | 3-point FG Percentage | 39.8 | |||||
| 36.7 | Opponent 3-point FG % | 30.3 | |||||
| 69.5 | Free-Throw Percentage | 72.9 | |||||
| 34.7 | Rebounds Per Game | 38.1 | |||||
| 35.5 | Opponent Rebs Per Game | 37.4 | |||||
| 9.6 | Assists Per Game | 17.0 | |||||
| 11.2 | Turnovers Per Game | 10.0 | |||||
| 4.9 | Steals Per Game | 7.2 | |||||
| 4.4 | Blocks Per Game | 5.7 |
SERIES HISTORY
- Iowa holds a 27-14 advantage in the series vs. Penn State and has won seven of the last 10 meetings. Nine of the last 12 matchups have been decided by single-digits, including both last season.
- The Nittany Lions were victorious in the last meeting of the series, a 67-58 win in the second round of the 2015 Big Ten Tournament.
- The Hawkeyes took the lone meeting of regular season last year, an 81-77 overtime decision Feb. 28 in the BJC.
- Penn State's last win in Carver-Hawkeye Arena was March 1, 2001, a 78-73 victory.
- Penn State is 5-8 all-time vs. teams ranked No. 7 in the USA Today poll at the time of meeting.
CURRENT ROSTER VS. IOWA
Seven different Nittany Lions have seen action against the Hawkeyes with Shep Garner leading the group with 11.5 ppg in two games. Garner posted 17 points as one of four double figure scorers in last year's lone regular season meeting at home in the BJC.
| PLAYER | GP-GS | PPG | RPG | SERIES HIGH |
| S. Garner | 2-2 | 11.5 | 1 | 17, vs IOWA (2/28/15) |
| B. Taylor | 5-2 | 5.6 | 3.6 | 8, at IOWA (1/31/13) |
| J. Dickerson | 3-2 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 5, vs IOWA (2/28/15) |
| D. Jack | 4-1 | 3 | 2.3 | 8, vs IOWA (2/15/14) |
| D. Foster | 2-0 | 3 | 1 | 3, 2x, last vs IOWA (3/12/15) |
| J. Moore | 2-1 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 3, vs IOWA (3/12/15) |
| P. Banks | 2-0 | 0 | 1 | -- |
LAST TIME VS. THE HAWKEYES
CHICAGO (March 12, 2015) - The Nittany Lions knocked off fifth-seeded Iowa, 67-58, in second-round action of the 2015 Big Ten tournament. Penn State outscored Iowa 48-31 in the second half, shooting 54 percent in the period compared to Iowa's 22 percent showing. The Lions opened the second half with a 17-7 run to take 36-34 lead with 11:01 to play and did not trail for the remainder of the game. D.J. Newbill finished with 18 points and Ross Travis scored a season-high 17 points on 6-for-9 shooting for the 13th-seeded Nittany Lions.
NOTABLE GAMES IN THE SERIES
Feb. 16, 2012 (PSU, 69-64): Having reduced a 16-point Penn State lead to three with 24 seconds to play, Iowa intentionally put redshirt freshman Jon Graham on the foul line. He hit both to effectively ice a 69-64 victory for the Nittany Lions.
Jan. 26, 2011 (PSU, 65-51): One of the two home games in the last eight not separated by five or fewer points was decided by Talor Battle's 23-point outing that gave Penn State its third-consecutive Big Ten home win.
March 27, 1995 (PSU, 67-64): Pete Lisicky nailed a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left to send the Nittany Lions to the semifinals of the NIT.
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions will play their first game since Jan. 21 when it hosts No. 22/21 Indiana at 8 p.m. Saturday in the Bryce Jordan Center. The game is the highlight of the program's Alumni Weekend. Nearly 40 alums are expected to return to University Park, headlined by honorary captain John Amaechi.