Penn State Men’s Basketball Game Preview vs. Iowa
The Penn State Nittany Lions will travel to Iowa City on Saturday afternoon to take on the Iowa Hawkeyes. Both teams come into Saturday’s matchup at 3-4 in Big Ten play.
Iowa is coming off a heartbreaking loss to Rutgers 48-46, while Penn State is looking to bounce back from its 61-56 loss to No. 16 Ohio State. The Hawkeyes hold a 13-5 record and the Nittany Lions sit at 8-7 on the year thus far.
A big story for Penn State against Ohio State was that they were without its leading scorer, Seth Lundy. The junior is averaging 14.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. He is questionable to play on Saturday.
Iowa is 10-1 when they play in the friendly confines of Carver-Hawkeye Arena this season. Its offense has been led by sophomore Keegan Murray. He has been lighting it up averaging 23.3 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. He has been extremely efficient while doing so, shooting 58.4% from the field.
Penn State has had to lean on its defense all season long, and they have been holding its opponents to 64.7 points per game. Iowa’s offense averages putting up 83.9 points per game, so one will have to give on Saturday.
Jalen Pickett has been a much-needed boost since the new year for Penn State’s offense. He is averaging over 17 points per game in 2022, and he averages 4.4 assists and 4.0 rebounds on the season.
Penn State first-year head coach Micah Shrewsberry had his team at 3-3 in conference play before the loss to Ohio State. That was only the ninth time in 30 Big Ten seasons for the Nittany Lions that they had started .500 or better in their first six conference games.
This game should come down to the matchup between Iowa’s high-powered offense and Penn State’s “gritty, not pretty” defense.
If Seth Lundy can give it a go on Saturday look for the Nittany Lions to have a chance late to pull off the upset in Iowa City. The junior would most likely match up with Keegan Murray in what would be a fantastic one-on-one matchup.
Ultimately, the Iowa shooting and overall offensive attack will be too much for Penn State to overcome in the second half.
Prediction: Iowa 75, Penn State 66
Trevor Grady is a fourth-year majoring in supply chain. To contact him, email tmg5685@psu.edu.
