The Penn State Nittany Lions will be at Carver-Hawkeye Arena to take on the No. 5 Iowa Hawkeyes in a Big Ten matchup. Action starts at 7:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Feb. 3 and will air on ESU and ES3.
The Hawkeyes enter this game hoping for similar success after defeating Northwestern 85-71 on Sunday. Peter Jok was the team’s high scorer with 26 points on 6-for-10 shooting. The Nittany Lions, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after their 79-72 loss to Michigan on Saturday. Penn State lost despite the best efforts of Brandon Taylor, who recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 24 points and 10 rebounds.
Over the last five games, Jok has taken his game to another level for the Hawkeyes. During that stretch, he has averaged 19.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.0 assist, 1.6 steals, and 3.2 three-pointers.
The Hawkeyes come into this game 17-4 Straight Up (SU) and 11-7 Against The Spread (ATS). In their last 10 games, they are 7-3 ATS. The Hawkeyes are a phenomenal three-point shooting team with 8.0 made per game, one of the highest marks in Division I. Iowa is one of the best passing teams in the nation with an average of 17.0 assists per game. Turning to the defensive side, the Hawkeyes have stifled opponents’ efforts from beyond the arc, allowing a three-point field goal percentage of only .303. Not making mistakes with the ball is a staple of the Iowa offense, which averages just 10.0 turnovers per game.
Over on the other bench, Penn State has a SU record of 11-11 and an ATS record of 10-10-1. Don’t expect Penn State to give away the ball much on offense, where its 11.2 turnovers per game ranks 38th in the country.
This game marks the first time these teams will play this season. The last time these conference foes played, Iowa won, bringing its SU record to 7-3 over Penn State in their most recent games. The teams have an even record ATS, 5-5. Penn State held the edge in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers once in the last five game, while Iowa wasn’t able to do so in that span.
Predictions: SU Winner – Iowa, ATS Winner – Iowa
Notes
Iowa is 10-1 SU in its last 11 games.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Iowa’s last 5 games.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Iowa’s last 5 games at home.
Iowa is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home.
Iowa is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Penn State.
Iowa is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Penn State.
Iowa is 11-1 SU in its last 12 games when playing at home against Penn State.
Ranked 15th, the Iowa Hawkeyes have an offensive rating of 116.7. The Penn State Nittany Lions rank 214th with a defensive rating of just 104.7.
The Iowa Hawkeyes average 69.6 possessions and 1.167 points per possession in games this season. The Penn State Nittany Lions average fewer possessions with 65.3, as well as fewer points per possession with 1.010.
The Penn State Nittany Lions average an effective field goal percentage of 46.6% this season. The Iowa Hawkeyes have a winning 7-4 record in games where opponents have an eFG% of 46.6% or greater.
On average, the Iowa Hawkeyes attempt 22.0 three point field goals per game and the Penn State Nittany Lions attempt 19.0. In games where they attempt at least 20 threes, Iowa has an outstanding 12-4 record, while Penn State is 6-5.
The third-ranked team in the category, Iowa has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.71 this season. Penn State ranks outside the top 100 at 298th with an A/TO of .86.
Iowa, the 100th-ranked team in rebounding, register an average of 38.1 rebounds per game. Penn State does worse, ranked 269th with 34.7.
The Penn State Nittany Lions make an average of 4.9 steals per game. When the Iowa Hawkeyes give up 4 or more steals, they are a tremendous 14-3.
