Iowa-Penn State breakdown

RECORDS

Iowa 17-4, 8-1 Big Ten; Penn State 11-11, 2-7 Big Ten

TV

6:01 p.m. ESPNU (Adam Amin and Craig Robinson)

LOCATION

Carver-Hawkeye Arena (15,400)

LINE

Iowa by 19

SERIES

Iowa leads 27-14; Teams split last year; teams will play again Feb. 17 in State College, Pa.

PROFILE

Iowa is ranked 5th by AP and 7th by USA Today/Coaches; Penn State is unranked

KEY MATCHUP

Iowa F Jarrod Uthoff vs. Penn State F Brandon Taylor. Everybody knows about Uthoff, the Big Ten's leading scorer and current Sports Illustrated cover boy. But Taylor might be the league's best under-the-radar player. He leads the Nittany Lions at 16.3 points and 6.0 rebounds a game. Taylor has led Penn State in scoring 13 times this year and in rebounding 10 games. He has scored in double digits in every Big Ten game and had 24 points against Michigan on Saturday.

'(Taylor's) game is completely different,' Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said. 'He used to just stand out at the 3-point line and shoot, and he can still make 3s, but he's scoring inside. He's rebounding the ball better. He's making plays for other people. He's been really impressive.'

'He's playing a lot better,' Uthoff said. 'Before he was basically a pick-and-pop guy shooting 3s all the time. Now he's making plays for others. He's doing a lot more. He's playing a lot better on defense."

KEY STATISTICS

SCORING/OPP: Iowa 81.2/68.4; PSU 66.0/69.0

FG%/OPP FG%: Iowa 46.6/41.1; PSU 41.3/42.3

3PT%/OPP 3PT%: Iowa 39.8/30.3; PSU 29.9/36.7

FT%: Iowa 72.9: PSU 69.5

LIKELY STARTERS

Iowa: G Mike Gesell (6-2; 8.7 ppg, 6.5 apg, 3.6 rpg); G Anthony Clemmons (6-2; 8.7 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 3.7 apg); G Peter Jok (6-6; 15.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg); F Jarrod Uthoff (6-9; 18.6 ppg, 6.3 rpg; 2.9 bpg); C Adam Woodbury (7-1; 8.6 ppg, 7.0 rpg)

Penn State: G Shep Garner (6-1; 13.9 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 3.1 apg); G Devin Foster (6-2; 4.0 ppg; 2.8 rpg); F Payton Banks (6-6; 10.7 ppg; 4.9 rpg; F Brandon Taylor (6-6; 16.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.7 apg); F Julian Moore (6-10; 4.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg)

KEY RESERVES

Iowa: F Dom Uhl (6-9; 7.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg); G Brady Ellingson (6-4; 3.6 ppg, 0.8 rpg); F Nicholas Baer (6-7; 5.0 ppg, 2.9 rpg); F Ahmad Wagner (6-5, 2.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg)

Penn State: F Donovan Jack (6-9; 4.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg); G Josh Reaves (6-4; 6-4 ppg, 3.9 rpg — out); C Jordan Dickerson (7-1; 3-0 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.6 bpg);

WORTH WATCHING

This is the first time in five games Penn State plays in Iowa City. Last year they met in a Big Ten quarterfinal (Penn State upset Iowa 67-58), and the previous three games were held in State College. Iowa has won their last 10 meetings at Carver-Hawkeye Arena dating to 2001 and 13 of the last 14 in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes had a four-game winning streak against the Nittany Lions before last March's loss.

Four of Iowa's next five opponents are 2-7 or worse in Big Ten play. Penn State plays consecutive games against Iowa and Indiana.

'I'd like to see us play 40 minutes,' Penn State Coach Patrick Chambers said. 'It's not about Iowa, it's not about their record. It's not about Indiana, it's not about their record. It's about Penn State.'

BOTTOM LINE/PREDICTION

These teams often play close, hard-fought games as demonstrated by last year's pair. The Hawkeyes pulled out an 81-77 overtime victory in State College, before the Nittany Lions locked down Iowa in Chicago.

But both squads are drastically differently from last year. Iowa is a much better shooting squad and sinks nearly 40 percent from 3-point range. Penn State lost all-time scoring great D.J. Newbill and doesn't have the commander in the backcourt like it has for several years (Talor Battle, Tim Frazier, Newbill). At times Penn State has held its own with better teams, like a six-point loss at Maryland and a seven-point defeat against Michigan on Saturday. Others, the Nittany Lions have been blown from the water like in four losses of 20 or more points in Big Ten play.

Penn State does have a physical, aggressive defense that can be difficult to maneuver on the perimeter.

'They play hard. They always do,' Uthoff said. 'That's their mantra. They play hard. They're going to make you beat them. They're going to be physical, up in your space, trying hard.'

That style seemed to work last week against Maryland when forwards Jake Layman and Robert Carter got physical with Uthoff, who had his worst shooting day of the year.

'We're used to it,' Uthoff said. 'In the Big Ten a lot of teams play physical. It's nothing new. You've just got to play to your level. Play hard and go out there and get a win.'

Iowa ranks second among Big Ten teams in scoring offense at 81.2 points a game. Penn State is last at 62.7. Penn State also sits in last in field goal percentage (41.3) and 3-point percentage (29.9) while Iowa is fifth (46.6) and third (39.8) in both respective categories.

Prediction: Iowa 83, Penn State 66

l Comments: (319) 339-3169; scott.dochterman@thegazette.com