Here are 3 takeaways from Penn State men’s basketball’s 74-68 loss to No. 11 Iowa
Penn State men’s basketball dropped its fourth game in a row when the Nittany Lions lost to the No. 11 Iowa Hawkeyes, 74-68, on Sunday. The loss drops them to 7-12 overall and 4-11 in the Big Ten.
Here are three takeaways from the loss.
1. Penn State once again competes with the best ...
The early indications in Sunday evening’s game showed a Penn State team that was not going to give up or roll over against one of the top teams in the conference. It was a similar refrain that has been played frequently over the years. The Nittany Lions — near the bottom of the conference — take on one of the top teams in the conference with not much to play for other than each other and pride. As they have in the past, they came out and put together a quality performance against the Hawkeyes.
They made enough shots to hang around and even hold the lead at teams, as they did against both Ohio State — twice — and Michigan earlier this year, showing what they can be when they put it all together.
2. ... but once again comes up short
And just like they did against the Buckeyes and Wolverines, the Nittany Lions came up short. Their offense stalled out in a devastating way in the second half and took away any opportunity they had to find their way back to a lead. They scored a paltry 27 points in the second half and went over seven minutes without making a shot from the field in the middle of the second half. That drought had a similar impact to the 15-0 run Ohio State had against them in the second half Thursday night — it closed the door on their chances at an upset.
Penn State got close, but not close enough Sunday evening and that’s been the case time and time again this season.
3. Foul trouble limits Harrar
For the second game in a row senior center John Harrar was forced to the bench due to foul trouble. He fouled out against Ohio State Thursday night and was limited to 21 minutes — his lowest total in nearly two months. Sunday evening saw more of the same as Harrar used his hands too frequently and hacked the Hawkeyes, picking up three fouls in the second half to get to four for the game and limiting his minutes to 21 once again. His lack of minutes took away Penn State’s primary interior presence and best option to defend star Iowa center Luka Garza.
As a result, Garza finished with 23 points to lead Iowa and made life difficult for the Nittany Lions throughout the game. The Nittany Lions outscored the Hawkeyes by three with Harrar on the court, but were outscored by nine with him off. His foul trouble spelled trouble in the second half and made it difficult for Penn State to earn the upset win.
