The Iowa Hawkeyes overcame a slow start and beat Penn State 76-67 in Iowa City. Sophomore Aaron White had a career high 27 points and after getting his first start of the season junior forward Melsahn Basabe finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Basabe says a lot of players are having an impact and it does not matter if you are in the starting lineup or coming off the bench.
“It’s just as simple as that, we are just a good team,” Basabe says.
Iowa coach Fran McCaffery says Basabe deserved the start. “The reason I think he is more capable of being a starter now is he is not making the mistakes he used to make defensively,” McCaffery says. He says Basabe is in good physical shape too and that allows him to play hard and not foul.
Iowa used a 14-0 run in the opening half to take the lead for good then held off a late Rally by the Nittany Lions. McCaffery says they attack the zone and man defense well, but didn’t execute the offense well down the stretch. “But again, we were better, we’re getting better, and that’s a heck of a win,” McCaffery says.
Iowa is now 14-7 overall.