Men's Basketball Breakdown: Iowa vs. Penn State

Breaking down Saturday's game between Iowa and Penn State.

Game facts

Time and place — 1:05 p.m. (CST), The Palestra, Philadelphia

TV — BTN (Dave Revsine, play-by-play; Stephen Bardo, analyst; Olivia Dekker, sideline)

Radio — Hawkeye Radio Network

Records — Iowa 10-3 (1-1 Big Ten), Penn State 11-2 (1-1)

Rankings — Penn State is No. 21 in the Associated Press and USA Today coaches polls. Iowa is No. 23 in the AP poll and No. 25 in the coaches poll.

Series — Iowa leads, 30-17.

The lineups

Iowa — Luka Garza (C, 6-11, Jr., 21.6 ppg.), Joe Toussaint (G, 6-0, Fr., 6.2 ppg.), Connor McCaffery (G, 6-5, Soph. 7.5 ppg.), CJ Fredrick (G, 6-3, Fr., 11.2 ppg.), Joe Wieskamp (G, 6-6, Soph., 12.8 ppg.)

Penn State — Lamar Stephens (F, 6-8, Sr., 16.4 ppg.), Mike Watkins (F, 6-9, Sr., 11.2 ppg.), Myles Dread (G, 6-4, Soph., 8.5 ppg.), Jamari Wheeler (G, 6-1, Jr., 4.1 ppg.), Myreon Jones (G, 6-3, Soph., 14.5 ppg.)

The analytics

NET — Penn State 16, Iowa 26

KenPom — Iowa 18th (Adjusted offense, 4th; adjusted defense, 92nd), Penn State (Adjusted offense, 33rd; adjusted defense, 28th)

Sagarin — Iowa 19th, Penn State 21st

What to watch

It's a Penn State home game, but it also will be a great atmosphere in a historic arena.

For Iowa coach Fran McCaffery, a Philadelphia native, it's a chance to be in an arena where he watched games as a child, played in games at Penn, and later coached. But he also knows the Nittany Lions are going to provide a crucial early test in Big Ten play.

"It's a big game on our schedule," McCaffery said. "It's a ranked opponent, a team I have a lot of respect for. They're playing extremely well. My responsibility is just to make sure we go there and play well."

The Hawkeyes have won their last four games and five of their last six. The Nittany Lions have won four consecutive games as well.

Stephens and Watkins could cause problems for Iowa's four-guard lineup, but McCaffery knows he can mix and match.

"The thing about Lamar, he's their '4' man but he's a guard, and I think when he plays at the next level, he'll play in the backcourt," McCaffery said. "He's a driver, he's a playmaker, has tremendous athletic power. Watkins is as you would expect, playing at a very high level being a senior. He's consistently putting up numbers.

"But I think the rest of their roster is really what's also been very impressive. They're shooting the ball well."

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