A rollercoaster season continued today as the Iowa Hawkeyes reached a season low by losing to last place Penn State 71-69. Despite a great effort by Cooper Koch, there was little to cheer for as the Hawkeyes potentially blew their chance at a double bye in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament. Now they are in a precarious position for that bye with a home game against Michigan and a road contest at Nebraska coming up.
Penn State entered the game shooting 47% from the field on the season but lit up the Hawkeyes, hitting on 64% from the field and 60% from behind the three point line. Some great shots by the Nittany Lions for sure but it also was one of Iowa’s worst defensive performances of the season. Defensive rotations were off and many bad fouls were taken by the Hawkeyes. Considering Iowa led 67-62 with four and half minutes left in the game, the last several minutes the offense sputtered and didn’t score until a Bennett Stirtz layup with ten seconds left. The 9-2 run from Penn State stole a victory from the Hawkeye’s grasp.
Koch was the lone bright spot for the Hawkeyes hitting five three pointers and scoring a career high 18 points. Stirtz added 16 points and five assists but couldn’t take over the game in the second half as he usually does. Head Coach Ben McCollum pinpointed what he saw as the reason for the loss. “They individualized us a lot. They took individual matchups and tried to punish them. They punished us inside, gambled for a few steals, and they punished us on the perimeter in individual matchups. These teams are tough for us to play because they just kind of drive at you. Sometimes they hit a couple of shots and get some confidence going. When your offense isn’t concentrating on finishing and stuff like that, then that gets you.”
Up next is a home game against No. 3 Michigan Thursday at 7 p.m. on Senior Night on Mediacom Court inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Hear the game on AM 860/FM 95.1 KWPC. Coverage is brought to you by Muscatine Power and Water and Ed Morse Chevy, Buick and GMC.
