Iowa basketball: Hawkeyes take down Penn State to end losing streak

Posted by author January 25, 2025 Basketball

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IOWA CITY — Iowa basketball‘s three-game losing streak is officially over.

Barely.

Down by one point with the shot clock turned off, Penn State had multiple opportunities to win the game Friday but was unable to convert.

After grabbing a rebound, Drew Thelwell missed the front end of a one-and-one, giving Penn State another chance with 2.4 seconds. But the Nittany Lions were denied once again.

Iowa held on to beat Penn State, 76-75.

With the victory, the Hawkeyes improved to 13-7 overall and 4-5 in Big Ten play.

Friday was the best start Iowa got off to since the Indiana game. The Hawkeyes were playing from behind frequently over the last three games, leading for less than one minute combined during that span.

Iowa changed that against Penn State. The Hawkeyes led for more than 13 minutes in the first half, taking a five-point advantage into the break. It was Iowa’s most sustained stretch of quality play over the last few games.

Iowa, which led by as many as 10 in the second half, didn’t put Penn State away when it should’ve. The Nittany Lions made a run late in the game, but the Hawkeyes held onto the lead for the entirety of the second half.

Thelwell had a bounce-back performance. After recording just two points on 1-of-7 shooting from the field against Minnesota, he had 16 points Friday. He was an efficient 6-of-10 from the field while adding five rebounds and four assists.

He also surpassed 1,000 points in his college career.

Penn State didn’t have many answers for Owen Freeman. The Iowa big man scored 16 points on 5-of-9 from the field and grabbed nine rebounds.

The discrepancy from long range played a major factor Friday too. Each team shot similarly from the field — with Iowa at 50% and Penn State at 49%. But Iowa shot 48% from deep compared to Penn State’s 23%.

That was a significant improvement from Iowa’s game against the Golden Gophers. The Hawkeyes were an awful 3-of-21 from deep in that contest and scored a season-low 67 points.

Each player in Iowa’s starting lineup had at least eight points: Freeman (16), Thelwell (16), Payton Sandfort (10), Josh Dix (11) and Brock Harding (eight).

Pryce Sandfort and Seydou Traore provided sparks off the bench. Pryce Sandfort had nine points while Traore tallied six points and three rebounds. Riley Mulvey also provided good energy in limited minutes.

The Hawkeyes’ next game is at Ohio State on Monday. After that, Iowa has over a week’s break until its next game against Purdue on Tuesday, February 4.

Follow Tyler Tachman on X @Tyler_T15, contact via email at ttachman@gannett.com