Observations: Penn State Outlasts Iowa in 2 OTs

Hawkeyes Come Up Short in State College

Iowa Hawkeyes guard Ahron Ulis (4) dribbles the ball around the outside of Penn State Nittany Lions forward Seth Lundy (1) during the first overtime on Jan. 31, 2022 at Bryce Jordan Center in  University Park, Penn. (Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports)

BOX SCORE

Observations from Iowa’s 90-86 double-overtime loss to Penn State on Monday night.

THEY HAD THEIR CHANCES

For as bad of a start as the Hawkeyes had to this game (we’ll get to that in a little while), they had a chance to put the game away in the first overtime, and didn’t.

Iowa led by three twice, and on the next possession gave up a 3-pointer. Myles Dread’s three with nine seconds left was the killer — the Hawkeyes were up 78-75 at the time, and then after Dread’s shot didn’t get a good look at the other end, as Kris Murray’s shot at the buzzer missed.

Then, the Hawkeyes took the lead 12 seconds into the second overtime on Filip Rebraca’s layup, and then promptly gave up five consecutive points and spent the rest of the second extra session trying to chase down the Nittany Lions.

AN AWFUL START

Now, about that start…

The Hawkeyes missed their seven shots, made just one of their first 10, and trailed 11-2 after the first 4 ½ minutes. They were down 15-5 at the 12:10 mark, the second consecutive game in which they trailed by double digits in the first half.

This is something that can’t keep happening in Big Ten play. There aren’t going to be easy games to begin with, and falling behind by big deficits early only adds to the challenge.

MORE FOUL TROUBLE FOR KEEGAN

Keegan Murray ran into foul trouble again and spent most of the first half watching from the bench, but he produced some big moments down the stretch to send the game to overtime.

Murray picked up his second foul with 11:12 left in the first half after he missed his first five shots of the game.

Murray didn’t get going until late in the second half. His first field goal didn’t come until 8:02 left in the game on a dunk.

He then came up with two big plays late in the game. He had a 3-pointer with 52 seconds left to bring Iowa within 65-62, and then he roared in for the tip-in off Jordan Bohannon’s 3-point miss to tie the game and send it to overtime.

“(That was) just a phenomenal court-awareness play,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. “His shot was off, and he just went under the basket and tipped it back in. I mean, those kind of plays are what he does, so really proud of him.”

He would finish with 21 points and six rebounds, but the Hawkeyes need him going early in the game, and to stay away from the early foul trouble.

THE BENCH PICKS IT UP

Without Murray, the Hawkeyes needed help from their bench, and they got it.

Iowa had 24 bench points in the first half, 12 coming from Connor McCaffery. He had four 3-pointers in the half, matching his total for the whole season.

Payton Sandfort also gave Iowa a life with five first-half points. Ahron Ulis had seven points and five assists for the game, playing 27 ½ minutes.

THEY NEED A ROAD SPLIT

This is a two-game road swing for the Hawkeyes. A sweep would have been nice, but a split is acceptable.

That means they’ll have to get a win at Ohio State, a difficult place to play.

The Hawkeyes have lost their last two road games by a total of six points.