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Penn State failed to get the sweep over Iowa in a tough road loss.
The wild roller coaster ride that is Mike Rhoades’ first year as Penn State men’s basketball coach took to the road in Iowa City, seeking to boost their win streak to three games and pull off a sweep over the Iowa Hawkeyes, whom they defeated a few weeks ago in Happy Valley. As we all have learned by now though, winning on the road in Big Ten play can be a rather tall task, and tonight’s game proved to be no exception to the rule.
With their NCAA Tournament hopes hanging by a thread, Iowa came storming out of the gates like a team that knew it couldn’t afford to lose this particular game: ripping the nets with their shooting ability, forcing PSU into taking low-percentage shots and pressuring them into turnovers. This effort led to the Hawkeyes jumping out to a double-digit advantage fairly quickly, one that would balloon up to as high as 17 points.
Ironically enough, a Mike Rhoades technical foul with Iowa leading 28-12 with just under 10 minutes to play in the first half, lit a spark under his team’s collective behinds, as PSU outscored Iowa the remainder of the half to make it a single-digit game, with the Hawkeyes leading 47-39. This, despite the fact that Ace Baldwin and Zach Hicks were held scoreless and PSU only made one three-pointer (compared to Iowa’s five).
The second half saw Penn State pick up where they left off, as Ace and Zach joined the scoring party, which allowed PSU to get the deficit as low as two points at 51-49. Ace was soon afterwards inexplicably whistled for a technical foul for what simply appeared to be clapping. The Hawkeyes took full advantage, by going on a 22-9 run over the next six-and-a-half minutes to push their lead back comfortably into double figures.
The Lions would battle back late to claw the deficit down to as little as six points with 55 seconds to play, but didn’t have enough left in the gas tank or have enough luck with Iowa missing free throws down the stretch to complete another improbable comeback.
Player of the Game
Qudus Wahab - 15 points, 7 rebounds
Demetrius Lilley was finally back from injury to give Qudus a quick breather or two, but that still meant Qudus had to play the bulk of the minutes down low. You could tell towards the end of the game, that he was gassed, but the effort never waned. It’s truly a shame he doesn’t have an extra year of eligibility available (unlike Ace), because he’s really started to round into form as of late.
Random Observations
- Still no quit - Every time it seemed you were ready to write this game off as another rough blowout on the road, PSU would find a way to make things interesting again. It certainly speaks to the team’s “never say die” mentality, one that has enabled them to come back from double-digit deficits to win three separate times in conference play. Obviously, the comeback came up short tonight, but don’t be surprised if they do it again before season’s end.
- I see you, RayQ! - Shout-out to RayQwandis Mitchell, who recorded 16 points off the bench, which was by far his best scoring output in a Nittany Lion uniform. This included an and-one opportunity in the final seconds of the first half (of which he unfortunately missed the free throw). The PSU bench as a whole accounted for nearly half (39) of the team’s 81 total points.
- Iowa makes history - Congratulations to Payton Sanfort, who became the first player in Iowa men’s basketball history to record a triple-double, racking up 26 points, ten rebounds, and ten assists.
Up Next
Penn State (14-15, 8-10) will remain on the road, as they face a rematch at Minnesota this Saturday (March 2nd). Tipoff will be at 3:15 PM EST on B1G Network.
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By: Tim Aydin
Title: Iowa 90, Penn State 81: Put Those Brooms Away
Sourced From: www.blackshoediaries.com/2024/2/27/24085335/penn-state-iowa-basketball-recap-ace-baldwin-qudus-wahab-rayqwandis-mitchell
Published Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2024 04:50:55 +0000
