Fran McCaffery
The fourth ranked Iowa Hawkeyes could not have been worse with so much on the line. The Hawkeyes were outhustled by Penn State and never established rhythm on offense in a 79-75 loss to the Nittany Lions that knocked them out of the driver’s seat in the Big Ten race.
Iowa never lead in the second half against a team that was 3-9 in the Big Ten heading into the game. The Hawkeyes were the victim of a 16-2 run in the opening half and also turned it over 13 times.
“We did not really move the ball like we would like to”, said Iowa coach Fran McCaffery. “Penn State is a team that if they make 10 threes they are going to be tough to beat so it is just a tough loss on the road.”
The Hawkeyes connected on only 41 percent for the game and made only eight of 24 from three point range. Peter Jok led Iowa with 28 points and the Hawkeyes stumbled after jumping out to an 8-0 lead.
“We stopped defending and did not play like we usually do when they move the ball”, said Jok. “We had more turnovers than assists and that is not us. They were ready to play.”
Iowa falls to 11-3 in the Big Ten