How to watch Penn State basketball vs. No. 11 Iowa Hawkeyes: Live stream, players to watch & key matchups
Penn State men’s basketball will head out on the road Sunday evening as the regular season winds to a close. The Nittany Lions are heading to the Midwest to play the No. 11 Iowa Hawkeyes. The Nittany Lions are 7-11 overall and 4-10 in the Big Ten.
Here’s everything you need to know about the game against the Hawkeyes.
Player to watch
Myreon Jones: Penn State is going to have to keep pace with a high-powered offense that scores 128.4 points per 100 possessions according to Ken Pomeroy’s adjusted offensive efficiency. That’s not just first in the Big Ten, but first in all of college basketball. While the Nittany Lions will need to slow that down, they’ll also need players like Jones to put together a prolific game to keep up with the Hawkeyes.
Jones — who leads the team in scoring with 15.1 points per game — can get hotter than any other player on the roster and light up the scoreboard from all over the court. He’s especially dangerous from beyond the arc and can make shot after shot from 25 feet and beyond. Meeting his scoring average likely won’t be enough Sunday night, but getting to at least 20 points for Jones will be a good start as Penn State tries to keep up with the best offense in the country.
Key matchup
John Harrar vs. Luka Garza: Harrar is going to have his hands full Sunday with arguably the best big man in the nation. Garza has been nothing short of dominant for the last two seasons. This year, Garza is averaging 24.7 points per game, 8.7 rebounds per game and only turning the ball over 1.4 times per game. He’s doing all of that while making 56.3% of his shots from the floor and 34.8% of his shots from beyond the arc.
The benefit to Harrar is that Garza takes advantage of something Harrar does as well on offense. Both of the centers hustle down the floor on offense and get early position in the paint, bodying up their defender and forcing them underneath the hoop, putting themselves an entry pass away from a shot from directly under the rim. Harrar will be challenged with hustling down on defense and using his strength to prevent Garza from getting to those spots that make him so dangerous. He’s still going to get his, but slowing down those opportunities would be extremely beneficial to Penn State.
How to watch
Who: Penn State Nittany Lions (7-11) at No. 11 Iowa Hawkeyes (16-6)
When: 5 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 21 | Where: Carver Hawkeye Arena
TV: Fox Sports 1
Live stream: FoxSportsGo
Online radio stream: GoPSUSports (university-run)
This story was originally published February 20, 2021 at 8:05 AM.
