Ranked teams meet as No. 21 Penn State hosts No. 23 Iowa
No. 23 Iowa (10-3, 1-1) vs. No. 21 Penn State (11-2, 1-1)
Palestra, Philadelphia; Saturday, 2 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Two ranked teams battle as No. 23 Iowa visits No. 21 Penn State in a Big Ten showdown. Iowa has one win and one loss against ranked opponents this season, while Penn State has won one of its two games against ranked teams.
SENIOR STUDS: Iowa’s Luka Garza, Joe Wieskamp and Ryan Kriener have combined to account for 52 percent of the team’s scoring this season, including 59 percent of all Hawkeyes points over the last five games.LOVE FOR LUKA: Garza has connected on 38.7 percent of the 31 3-pointers he’s attempted and has gone 2 for 8 over his last three games. He’s also made 63.5 percent of his free throws this season.
WINNING WHEN: The Nittany Lions are 11-0 when they hold opposing teams to 71 points or fewer and 0-2 when opponents exceed 71 points. The Hawkeyes are 8-0 when the team blocks at least three shots and 2-3 when they fall short of that total.
ACCOUNTING FOR ASSISTS: The Hawkeyes have recently created baskets via assists more often than the Nittany Lions. Penn State has an assist on 54 of 91 field goals (59.3 percent) across its previous three outings while Iowa has assists on 56 of 90 field goals (62.2 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: Penn State is ranked second in the Big Ten with an average of 73.1 possessions per game.