Penn State men’s basketball fell 90-81 on Tuesday night on the road against Iowa in what was something of a stereotypical contest for a Nittany Lion team prone to falling behind early before making an eventual comeback. Penn State trailed by as many as 17 in the first half against the Hawkeyes following a slow scoring start before cutting that lead to six and then trailing by just eight at halftime 47-39. Quick points by Ace Baldwin Jr., who finished with 11 points, cut the margin to just two in the opening three minutes of the second half but the Nittany Lions would get no closer the rest of the way.
Qudus Wahab led Penn State with 18 points while RayQuawndis Mitchell put together a breakout performance of 16 points on a perfect shooting night. The loss drops Penn State to 14-15 on the year and 8-10 in conference play. The Nittany Lions will head on the road again this Saturday to face Minnesota in Minneapolis before returning home to close out the regular season the following Sunday against Maryland at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Full 40: Ace Baldwin Jr. racked up 40 minutes of playing time on Tuesday night, marking the seventh time in the past 10 games that he has played the entire length of regulation. While the Nittany Lions might be better off without the services of Kanye Clary for other reasons, it’s safe to say that nobody else is really in the same position to help Baldwin that much with his point guard duties. Prior to Clary’s injury against Minnesota, Baldwin had played a full 40 minutes just twice the rest of the entire season. Now it’s almost a nightly occurrence. The die is likely cast for Penn State’s season in the first place, but Baldwin could use some help, or maybe an ice pack and a nap.
5-for-24: The trio of Jameel Brown, Nick Kern and Zach Hicks went an ice cold 5-for-24 from the field against Iowa providing the Nittany Lions very little in the way of secondary scoring. This was a bit of a surprise in particular for the duo of Kern and Hicks, who have turned into fairly reliable pieces of Penn State’s offensive puzzle as of late. It was only a matter of time before one of them had an off night, but both of them struggling — and Brown going cold from beyond the arc — did little to help Penn State get over the hump. Credit to the Nittany Lions all the same for getting to 81 points even on a night that wasn’t the prettiest from some of Penn State’s more reliable scorers.
21-9: Of the two technicals Penn State was called for on Tuesday night, the second — against Baldwin for apparently chirping at the official — sparked what would amount to a 21-9 Iowa run over the next seven minutes to more or less blow the game open. Penn State started the second half with eight-straight points from Baldwin but the technical took all the wind out of the Nittany Lions’ sails. There’s something to be said, of course, about putting those sorts of things behind you, but whatever the case might be it was an inflection point in the game. The foul situation ended up being pretty even by the end of the night but this wasn’t the smoothest game from the officiating crew. Mike Rhoades picked up his second technical of the year in the first half, a rite of passage for all new Penn State head coaches.
Back-To-Back: Penn State won the rebounding battle in back-to-back games for the first time all Big Ten season, going +7 on the glass while out rebounding Iowa 15-4 on the offensive glass. Penn State also managed to beat Iowa 20-2 in the second chance points category as well, a bit of a surprise considering the final score but also a testament to the fact the Hawkeyes shot 37 free throws, making 32 of them. Meanwhile, Penn State shot 23 and made 13. Nevertheless, a good effort on the glass for two-straight games. Nothing to scoff at for a team that has struggled in this area all year long.
RayQuawndis Mitchell: Prior to Tuesday night’s game, Mitchell had scored no more than seven points in a game this season and had played no more than five minutes in any of his previous five appearances. This time he was a welcome sight for a Penn State team that needed a spark off the bench, especially with the usual suspects struggling. Mitchell ended the night with 16 points, going a perfect 6-for-6 from the field while also pulling down five rebounds. Overlooked or a late-bloomer, it doesn’t matter, Penn State will be happy if Mitchell is able to add his name to a growing list of players capable of helping carry the scoring load.
