MBB Preview — Penn State

 

OPPONENT	Penn State (14-14, 8-9) at Iowa (16-12, 8-9)
LOCATION	Carver-Hawkeye Arena | Iowa City, Iowa
DATE	Tuesday, Feb. 27
TIP-OFF	8:07 p.m. (CT)
RADIO	Hawkeye Radio Network
TV	BTN

The University of Iowa men’s basketball team returns to Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Tuesday to host Penn State at 8:07 p.m. (CT) on Mediacom Court.
• Tickets are available for $20-67.50 (adults) and $10-15 (youth).

FOLLOW LIVE

Radio: Tuesday’s game will be broadcast on the Hawkeye Radio Network with Gary Dolphin (play-by-play) and Bobby Hansen (color) on the call. The network includes more than 40 stations that blanket the state of Iowa and include portions of Illinois, Nebraska, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin. The Hawkeye Radio Network includes a 60-minute pregame show.
TV: Tuesday’s game will be televised on BTN with Kevin Kugler (play-by-play) and Shon Morris (color) on the call.

OPENING TIP

• The Hawkeyes return home to Carver-Hawkeye Arena to face Penn State on Tuesday night. Iowa has won 15 of the last 16 meetings against Penn State in Iowa City.
• Iowa posted back-to-back Quad 1 victories — beating No. 20 Wisconsin on Feb. 17 in Iowa City and (RV) Michigan State on the road on Feb. 20. The Hawkeyes have two Quad 1 games remaining over its final three contests.
• The Hawkeyes are 34-15 in February since 2018, posting a 69.4 winning percentage.
• Sophomore Josh Dix notched his second career 20-point game at No. 12 Illinois, finishing with career-highs in field goals (9) and field goal attempts (15).
• Graduate Ben Krikke tallied his third double-double of the season, finishing with 18 points and a season-high 14 rebounds — one off his career high — in the road win at Michigan State. He made 7-of-11 field goals in the game.
• Junior Payton Sandfort had his seventh 20-point game, netting 22 points on 7-of-15 shooting in East Lansing. Sandfort leads the team with a 15.4 scoring average.
• Freshman Owen Freeman finished with 20 points, 12 rebounds, a career-high six assists and four blocks in Iowa’s overtime win over No. 20/21 Wisconsin. It is the only game with at least 20-12-6-4 in the nation this season and one of eight since 2010-11.
• It was Freeman’s fifth double-double — the most by a Big Ten freshman and tied for the fourth-most by a freshman nationally. They are the most by a Hawkeye freshman since Melsahn Basabe (6) in 2010-11. Freeman is one of two Power 6 freshman with five double-doubles.
• Senior Tony Perkins is currently the only player in the Big Ten and one of 12 nationally with 400+ points, 100+ assists, 100+ rebounds and 45+ steals. He ranks in the top nine in the Big Ten in points, assists and steals.
• Senior Patrick McCaffery is five points from becoming Iowa’s 53rd 1,000 point scorer in program history.
• Krikke is five points shy of reaching 2,000 career points — at Valparaiso and Iowa.
• Sandfort is second in the Big Ten with 72 3-point field goals on a league-high 196 attempts. He also is second in the Big Ten with a 36.7 3-point field goal percentage. The forward has hit two or more 3-pointers in 22 games.
• Head coach Fran McCaffery is the winningest coach in program history, winning 277 career games, including 134 Big Ten victories.
• Freeman earned his ninth Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors on Feb. 19 after averaging 12.5 points and 10 rebounds against Maryland and Wisconsin. The nine honors are the second-most in league history, trailing only Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger (12).

 

SCOUTING PENN STATE

• The Nittany Lions have won back-to-back games to improve their record to 14-14 overall and 8-9 in Big Ten play. Penn State rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit to beat No. 12 Illinois, 90-89, on Feb. 21 before downing Indiana, 83-74, on Feb. 24.
• The Nittany Lions were on a three-game losing streak from Feb. 8-17 following their 89-79 win over Iowa on Feb. 8.
• Penn State has two road wins in eight games this season — at Rutgers and at Indiana.
• Guard Ace Baldwin, Jr., averages 14.2 points to go along with a team-high 159 assists and 79 steals. He’s the only Nittany Lion player averaging in double figures after the program dismissed Kanye Cleary from the roster.
• Qudus Wahab averages 9.2 points and a team-high 7.6 rebounds. Nick Kern (8.8) and Zach Hicks (8.4) both average north of eight points per game.
• The Nittany Lions are leading the Big Ten in steals (8.7) and turnovers forced (15.14) and 3-point percentage defense (.306).

SERIES HISTORY

• Thursday’s meeting is the 56th in the all-time series that began in 1955. Iowa leads, 33-21.
• The Nittany Lions have won three straight in the series, including an 89-79 win on Feb. 8 in Happy Valley.
• The Hawkeyes have won each of the last three meetings in Iowa City and are 15-1 in the last 16 meetings in Carver-Hawkeye, dating back to 2001. Penn State’s lone win came in 2017, 77-73.

 

FIRST MEETING | PENN STATE 89, IOWA 79

The Hawkeyes led 61-54 with 9:54 remaining before Penn State outscored Iowa 35-18 to close out the game in a 89-79 loss in Happy Valley. The Hawkeyes shot 55.9 percent from the floor and won the rebounding battle, 28-26, but the Nittany Lions forced Iowa to commit 18 turnovers. Graduate Ben Krikke paced the team with 22 points, while Tony Perkins and Patrick McCaffery added 11 points apiece.

LAST GAME | NO. 12 ILLINOIS 95, IOWA 85

With the game tied at 75 with 5:53 to play, No. 12 Illinois used an 11-2 run en route to a 95-85 victory on Feb. 24 in Champaign. The Hawkeyes shot 35.3 percent (12-of-34) in the second half and 47.6 percent for the game.
• Sophomore Josh Dix paced the team, scoring 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting. Senior Tony Perkins finished with 18 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals, while Ben Krikke (15 points) and Payton Sandfort (12 points) were also in double figures.
• Iowa shot 50.9 percent, made 18-of-23 free throws, won the rebounding battle, 35-34, and committed just six turnovers to win for the second time in the last three games at the Breslin Center.

MORE NOTABLES…

• The Hawkeyes are 35th nationally in pace of play in 2023-24, averaging 74.2 possessions per 40 minutes. Iowa is second in the Big Ten and 23rd in the country, averaging 14.43 fastbreak points per contest.
• Iowa is 3-8 in Quad 1 games, 5-3 in Quad 2, 2-1 in Quad 3 and 6-0 in Quad 4 games this season.
• The Hawkeyes have played the 18th best strength of schedule in the nation.
• Iowa is one the nation’s top offensive teams, averaging 83.5 points in 28 games. The Hawkeyes are third in the Big Ten and rank 15th nationally. The team has scored at least 84 points in 16 games, averaging 91.7 points in wins and 72.6 points in losses.
• The Hawkeyes are third in the Big Ten and rank 13th nationally, averaging 17.4 assists per game. Iowa is second in the Big Ten and rank fifth nationally with a 1.77 assist-to-turnover ratio.
• Senior Tony Perkins has started 75 consecutive games dating back to the 2021-22 season.
• Iowa has played six games decided by seven or fewer points this season (4-2 record).
• Iowa is 11-3 at home this season, marking the sixth straight year the Hawkeyes have won at least 10 games inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa has won at least 10 home games in 12 of head coach Fran McCaffery’s 14 seasons.
• The Hawkeyes have had six players hit the 20-point mark this season (Ben Krikke, Tony Perkins, Payton Sandfort, Patrick McCaffery, Owen Freeman and Josh Dix).
• Iowa has two players ranked in the top 14 in the Big Ten in scoring — Sandfort (12th, 15.4) and Perkins (13th, 15.3).
• Since joining the starting lineup on Dec. 10 against Michigan, freshman Owen Freeman is averaging 11.2 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocks, while shooting 65.2 percent from the field.
• Ahoy 100. Iowa has reached the century mark in four games this season. The Hawkeyes have scored 100+ points 13 times since the start of the 2021-22 season.
• The team is 10-2 when attempting at least 20 free throws, 12-2 when shooting 50+ percent from the field and 7-1 when making eight or more 3-pointers.
• Iowa has had at least four players reach double digits in 17 games this season.
• The Hawkeyes are 11-3 inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena this season and 25-6 in its last 30 home games.
• Iowa has won 89 of its last 95 nonconference home games, dating back to 2012.
• The Hawkeyes have held four opponents under 40 percent shooting this season. The team is undefeated in the four contests.
• Iowa held Florida A&M to 52 points on Dec. 16 in Des Moines — the fewest points allowed since giving up 51 points to Portland State in 2021.
• Senior Tony Perkins has five games with seven or more assists this season and nine games with at least five assists. He is leading the team with 117 assists against 49 turnovers.
• The Hawkeyes are leading the Big Ten and rank 13th nationally in free throw percentage, making 78 percent of their attempts this season. The team tied a single game free throw percentage (min. 13 makes) school record, making all 18 of its free throw attempts at Michigan on Jan. 27.
• Sandfort has been Iowa’s leading rebounder (or tied for the team lead) in nine games this season. The forward is averaging a career-best 6.4 rebounds per game, which ranks 14th in the Big Ten.
• The Hawkeyes have earned 10 Big Ten weekly honors this season — Ben Krikke (Player of the Week – 11/20) and Owen Freeman (Freshman of Week (11/13, 11/20, 12/4, 12/18, 1/8, 1/15, 1/29, 2/12, 2/19). Freeman is the first Hawkeye freshman to earn the award in consecutive weeks and the nine honors are a single season school record and the second-most in league history.
• Iowa has placed fifth or better in the Big Ten standings in five straight and 10 of the last 11 years, and the program has won 10 or more Big Ten games in eight of the last nine seasons.
• The Hawkeyes have led the Big Ten and was 18th nationally in scoring offense (80.1). Iowa has led the league in scoring in seven of the last 11 seasons, including six straight years.

ALL EVERYTHING HAWKEYE

Senior Tony Perkins is an all-around guard, leading the team in points, assists and steals. The Indianapolis native is also an all-time Hawkeye as he is one of eight players all-time to have 1,000+ points, 350+ rebounds, 265+ assists and 125+ steals.
• Perkins is among a group that includes: Roy Marble, Jordan Bohannon, Devyn Marble, Matt Gatens, Jess Settles, Dean Oliver and Jeff Horner.
• Perkins is currently leading the Hawkeyes in assists and steals, while ranking second in points. He would be the first player since Oliver in 2000 to lead the team in all three categories.

20-12-6-4

Freshman Owen Freeman displayed his versatility in Iowa’s 88-86 overtime victory over No. 20/21 Wisconsin on Feb. 17. The forward finished with 20 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and four blocks (and two steals), becoming the first player in the nation with at least 20-12-6-4 in a game this season.
• Freeman is one of eight players since 2010-11 to post at least 20 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and four blocks. Three of those players resided in the Big Ten — Wisconsin’s Ethan Happ and Purdue’s Trevion Williams.
• He is one of three freshman from a major conference to post the stat line since 2000.
• Freeman had a stellar game in the win over Minnesota, finishing with 17 points, 14 rebounds, four blocks and four assists. He’s one of two players nationally to have at least 17-14-4-4 this season.

MILESTONE WATCH

• Senior Tony Perkins became the 52nd player in program history to surpass 1,000 career points on Jan. 27 at Michigan. Perkins currently has 1,128 points as a Hawkeye, ranking 36th all-time.
• Senior Patrick McCaffery has scored 995 career points. He needs five points to become Iowa’s 53rd member of the 1,000 point club.
• Junior Payton Sandfort has scored 941 career points as a Hawkeye. He is just 59 points shy of becoming the 54th member of the 1,000 point club.
• Graduate Ben Krikke has scored 1,995 points during his five-year collegiate career. He is five points shy of reaching 2,000 career points.