UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's basketball team looks to take its momentum from back-to-back wins on the road this week, beginning with a Tuesday night test at Iowa. Tipoff from Carver-Hawkeye Arena is slated for 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network.
FOLLOW ALONG
- TV: Big Ten Network – Kevin Kugler (pxp) & Shon Morris (analyst)
- RADIO: Penn State Sports Network – Steve Jones (pxp) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)
- NATIONAL RADIO: Sirius XM Ch. 380 & SXM App Ch. 970
- LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast | Live Stats
- GAME NOTES: Penn State | Iowa
OPENING TIPS
- The Nittany Lions are back on the road Tuesday looking to complete the regular-season sweep of the Hawkeyes. Penn State won the season's first meeting with Iowa, 89-79, on Feb. 8 in Happy Valley.
- Penn State sits 8-9 in Big Ten play and is coming off back-to-back home wins over #12 Illinois (90-89) and Indiana (83-74) last week.
- Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watchlist member Ace Baldwin Jr. leads the Nittany Lions with 14.2 points, a team-best 5.7 assists and a Big Ten-best 2.82 steals per game.
IF PENN STATE BEATS IOWA
- The Nittany Lions would earn just their second win in Iowa City in the last 21 years.
- Penn State would earn a regular-season sweep of the Hawkeyes for just the second time in program history and for the first time since 2017.
SCOUTING THE HAWKEYES
- The Hawkeyes are 16-12 overall and 8-9 in Big Ten play. Iowa is 11-3 in home games this season. The Hawkeyes are coming off an 85-95 road loss at #12 Illinois Saturday.
- The potent Iowa offense is led by Peyton Sandfort (15.4 ppg), Tony Perkins (15.3 ppg), Ben Krikke (14.3 ppg) and Owen Freeman (10.8 ppg).
AGAINST IOWA
- Penn State will be looking for a regular-season sweep of Iowa when the two teams meet for the second time in 21 days on Tuesday night.
- Penn State has won each of the last three meetings with Iowa, including an 89-79 win in Happy Valley on Feb. 8. With the game tied at 71 with 4:07 to play, point guard Ace Baldwin Jr. came up with clutch play after clutch play as he scored 13 points in the game's final 3:48. Baldwin Jr. finished with 22 points, six assists and four steals while engineering a Penn State offense that shot 52.0 percent (26-50) from the field and 52.2 percent (12-23) from 3-point range.
- The Nittany Lions are making their first trip to Carver-Hawkeye Arena in over two years. The Nittany Lions will be looking for their fifth-ever road win in Iowa City and just the second in the last 21 years. Penn State won on the road at Iowa in 2017 for the first time since 2001.
ON THE RIGHT RHOADES
- First-year head coach Mike Rhoades inherited a Penn State team that returned just 5.0% of its scoring production from a 2022-23 season that saw the Nittany Lions advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Notable accomplishments so far in Rhoades' first year at the helm include:
- Eight Big Ten wins (with three games left to play) are the second-most by a first-year head coach in program history.
- Owns two wins over top-15 ranked teams (#12 Illinois & #11 Wisconsin).
- Defeated #11 Wisconsin on Jan. 16 - the highest-ranked win under a first-year head coach in program history.
- Earned regular-season sweep of Indiana for just the second time in program history and the first time since 2009. Defeated Indiana at Assembly Hall for the first time under a first-year head coach in program history and the first time overall since 2014.
- Won consecutive Big Ten road games (at Rutgers & at Indiana) by 12-plus points for the first time in program history.
- Wins over Wisconsin (Jan. 16), Michigan (Jan. 7) and Ohio State (Dec. 9) marks the first time that the Nittany Lions have beaten all three of those teams in the same season since the 1999-2000 campaign.
- On track to have the highest-scoring offense under a first-year head coach at Penn State since 1954-55.
- Signed top-40 recruiting class in the country.
FIRST-YEAR OFFENSE
- Penn State enters Tuesday's game averaging 75.6 points per game in Mike Rhoades' debut season.
- That mark is on track to be Penn State's best offensive output since the 2000-01 team averaged 76.8 points per game en route to a Sweet 16 appearance.
- It is also on pace to be Penn State's best offensive output under a first-year head coach since 1954-55 when the Nittany Lions put up 78.7 ppg under John Egli.
80+
- Penn State has scored 80 or more points nine times this season, six of which have come in Big Ten play. If the Nittany Lions score 80+ once more in conference play, it'll tie a school record in B1G era.
- The only other times Penn State has scored 80+ six or more times in Big Ten play were in 2000-2001 (6) and 2020-2021 (7).
OH SO SWEEP
- Penn State completed a regular-season sweep of Indiana for the first time since 2009 and just the second time in program history when the Nittany Lions defeated the Hoosiers 83-74 in their most recent game Saturday. Penn State won the season's first meeting, 85-71, in Bloomington on Feb. 3.
- Should Penn State complete the season sweep of Iowa with a win on Tuesday night, Mike Rhoades (2023-24) would join Jerry Dunn (1995-96) as the only Penn State head coaches to sweep two different Big Ten teams in their first year as the Nittany Lion head coach.
TWO TOP-15 DUBS
- The Nittany Lions own a pair of top-15 wins this season, with the most recent being Penn State's epic comeback victory over #12 Illinois (90-89) on Feb. 21 inside Rec Hall. Penn State also took down then-#11 Wisconsin (87-83) on Jan. 16 inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
TURN UP THE PRESSURE
- The Nittany Lions have forced their opponents into 15.14 turnovers per game, a mark that leads the Big Ten and ranks 19th in the nation. Penn State's +4.2 turnover margin ranks 12th in the country. The Nittany Lions lead the Big Ten and rank 27th in Division I with 8.7 steals per game.
- The Nittany Lions have scored an average of 15.8 points off turnovers per game thus far this season, while Penn State's opponents have only scored 11.1 points per game off Nittany Lion turnovers.
DEFENDING THE ARC
- Penn State leads the Big Ten in 3-point percentage defense (through games on Feb. 24) as the Nittany Lions have allowed their opponents to shoot just 30.6 percent from downtown. Penn State's 3-point percentage defense has been a key factor in the Nittany Lions' success as the Nittany Lions have held their opponents to a 26.1 3FG% in their 14 wins compared to a 35.0 3FG% in Penn State's 14 losses.
GOT AN ACE UP OUR SLEEVE
- Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watchlist honoree Ace Baldwin Jr. is stuffing the stat sheet, averaging 14.2 points per game, a team-best 5.7 assists per contest and a Big Ten-best 2.82 steals per game. His 2.82 steals per game ranks fourth in the nation.
- Should he finish the season averaging 14.0+ points per game, 5+ assists per game and 2+ steals per game, Baldwin Jr. would be one of just four Big Ten players to do so since 1992-93 (31 years) and the first since former Nittany Lion standout Tim Frazier did so in 2011-12:
- 2023-24: Ace Baldwin Jr. (PSU) - 14.2/5.7/2.8
- 2011-12: Tim Frazier (PSU) - 18.8/6.2/2.4
- 1997-98: Mateen Cleaves (MSU) - 16.1/7.2/2.4
- 1992-93: Tracy Webster (WIS) - 14.1/6.4/2.4
- Baldwin Jr. is one of only two currently active Division I players with 1,000+ career points (1,226), 500+ career assists (578) and 250+ career steals (262). His 262 career steals rank second amongst active Division I players, while his 578 assists rank 17th.
HICKS HEATING UP
- Zach Hicks has turned it up a notch as of late, scoring in double figures in each of the last seven games.
| Zach Hicks | Last Seven Games | First 21 Games |
| Points per game | 15.0 ppg | 6.2 ppg |
| 3FG% | 47.8% | 29.3% |
BIG Q
- Veteran big man Qudus Wahab is having the most efficient season of his five-year collegiate career, shooting a career-best 62.1 percent (100-161) from the field.
- He owns career marks of 1,287 points and 949 rebounds. His 949 rebounds rank 17th amongst active Division I players and he is one of just 24 active Division I players with upwards of 1,000 career points and 900 career rebounds.
KERN COMING ON
- Nick Kern Jr. has been one of Penn State's most productive players in conference play, averaging 10.6 points per Big Ten game while shooting 58.6 FG%.
- He has scored in double figures in four of the last five games, including a career night in Penn State's comeback win over #12 Illinois in which he went off for a career-best 22 points including 13-straight Penn State points in a key second-half stretch.
UP NEXT
- The Nittany Lions play their final regular-season road game Saturday afternoon when Penn State travels to Minnesota for a 3:15 p.m. ET/2:15 p.m. CT tipoff on Big Ten Network.
The 2023-24 Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.