Tip Time Preview: Iowa at Penn State
IOWA (13-9, 5-6) at PENN STATE (11-11, 5-6)
TIME: 6:00 p.m.
TV: BTN – Jason Horowitz and Shon Morris on the call.
SERIES: Iowa leads the all-time series 33-20. The two teams have spilt the last ten meeting, but Iowa has not beat Penn State in Happy Valley since January of 2019. Iowa is 1-4 in their last five games played at Penn State.
THE LINE: Iowa is a 2 point favorite
THE NUMBERS
OFFENSE: PENN STATE– 76.0 PPG, 43.9% FG, 31.5% 3 PT FG. IOWA – 84.2 PPG, 47.6% FG, 34.3% 3 PT FG.
DEFENSE: PENN STATE – 73.3 PPG, 45.8% FG, 30.9% 3 PT FG. IOWA – 77.2 PPG, 44.7% FG, 33.6% 3 PT FG.
PENN STATE
6-1 guard Ace Baldwin – 13.6 points and 5.2 assists per game.
6-8 forward Zach Hicks – 6.8 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.
6-6 guard Nick Kern – 7.6 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.
6-5 guard Demarco Dunn – 7.1 points and 1.9 rebounds per game.
6-11 forward Qudus Wadab – 9.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game.
IOWA
6-10 forward Owen Freeman – 10.7 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.
6-4 guard Tony Perkins – 15.7 points and 4.1 assists rebounds per game.
6-7 forward Payton Sandfort – 15.0 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.
6-5 guard Josh Dix – 7.3 points and 2.1 rebounds per game.
6-9 forward Ben Krikke – 14.7 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.
PLAYER TO WATCH – Owen Freeman – The Iowa big man is due for a strong game. He’s been struggling with foul trouble in the last two weeks. In three of the last five games he has failed to reach double figures. Penn State struggles to rebound the basketball, so look for Freeman to go to work on the offensive glass with a double-double a real possibility.
KEY MATCH-UP – Tony Perkins vs. Ace Baldwin – Two of the best guards in the Big Ten are going head to head on Thursday night. Perkins has been on a scoring spree in recent games with five straight over 20 point performances. Meanwhile, Baldwin is one of the top defensive guards in the conference and a good scorer as well.
STATS AND NOTES
Penn State starting guard Kanye Clary is questionable heading into this game. He has missed the last two games with a facial injury. The 6-foot guard is leading the Nittany Lions, averaging 18.4 points per game and shooting 38% from three point range.
Tony Perkins has scored more than 20 points in five straight games. The last time an Iowa player did that was Keegan Murray in the 2021-22 season. He’s the first Iowa guard to accomplish this since Fred Brown in 1971. He also surpassed 1,000 career points recently.
Perkins is currently the only Big Ten player and one of six nationally to have scored 340 points, dished out 90 assists, pulled down 90 rebounds, and have 40 steals this season. He is the only player among the six who has less than 35 turnovers.
Iowa is adding eight newcomers to their roster, including six new scholarship players. The transfers are Ben Krikke and Even Brauns. The freshmen are Brock Harding, Pryce Sandfort, Owen Freeman, and Ladji Dembele. Harding and Sandfort were Mr. Basketball in their home states of Illinois and Iowa.
Freshman big man Owen Freeman was named Freshman of the Week by the Big Ten five times in the early portion of the college basketball season. He is averaging 10.7 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. Fellow freshman Brock Harding posted his first career double-double with 10 points and 12 assists in a game earlier this year.
The Hawkeyes are one of ten teams in the country to make the last four NCAA Tournaments. Iowa has placed fifth or better in the Big Ten in five straight years.
Iowa went 3-0 on a foreign tour of France and Spain. They had victories over the Paris All Stars, Valencia All Stars, and Barcelona All Stars. Iowa averaged 127 points per game in the three victories.
Iowa is 0-1 this season in games played on a Thursday. The Hawkeyes are 41-45 in games on a Thursday in the McCaffery era. Iowa is 6-5 this year on the BTN. In the McCaffery era, Iowa is 115-91 in games played on the BTN.
KenPom.com has Iowa ranked 42nd in his rankings. Penn State is ranked 93rd. Penn State 102nd in the NCAA NET rankings and Iowa is 59th. KenPom.com has Iowa winning this game 84-82.
THE PICK
No matter how good the Iowa basketball team is, road games at Penn State are always tricky. The crowds are generally not very big and the atmosphere is usually not great, but the games are always tough.
Thursday night will be another case of that in the first year of Nittany Lions basketball under the direction of Mike Rhoades. He comes to Penn State from VCU and always plays a more up tempo style of basketball. He also brought one of his top players with him in Ace Baldwin, who is a dynamic defensive player that can also get out and score.
One big note is will Kanye Clary play for the Nittany Lions? He’s their leading scorer and their best three point shooter. His availability is unknown. If he plays, Iowa will have to face a very dynamic backcourt.
Here are three keys to this game.
First, Penn State is not good on the glass. In fact, they are underwater by 5.4 rebounds per game. This could be a field day for Owen Freeman on the offensive glass. Iowa needs to dominate the backboard in this one on both ends of the floor.
Second, the Hawkeyes need to take care of the basketball. Penn State will turn you over. They are creating nearly 16 turnovers per game and that’s a huge number. They play with pressure and Iowa is going to have to limit their turnovers to the low teens. The other thing that Iowa needs to do is try and score quickly on that pressure.
Finally, we are overdue for a Ben Krikke and this could be it. This feels like a game where the mid-range shooting expert will have plenty of opportunities to show that skill. He’s had a string of four straight games with less than ten points. He’s due for a 20 point type performance and Iowa will need it.
Much of the outcome of this game will revolve around Clary playing or not playing. Iowa might be in trouble if he’s out there and at full speed. But, without him, if Iowa takes care of the ball, they can sneak out of Happy Valley with a victory. Look for a good amount of points on Thursday night with runs by both teams. IOWA 88 PENN STATE 85
The post Tip Time Preview: Iowa at Penn State appeared first on On3.
