3 Takeaways: Iowa needs more than Jarrod Uthoff and Peter Jok

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Jarrod Uthoff and Peter Jok have scored nearly 66 percent of Iowa's points the last two games, a trend Coach Fran McCaffery said cannot continue.

In No. 6 Iowa's 79-75 upset loss at Penn State on Wednesday, Jok scored 28 points and Uthoff had 19. Four other players had six points apiece. There were botched layups, blocked shots and missed open jumpers. Neither Jok nor Uthoff were perfect, but they were the only players with more than two field goals. They combined for 12 baskets; the others totaled nine.

'If you look at the box, we've only got two guys in doubles,' McCaffery said. 'We've got to get some other guys stepping up.'

The uneven performance comes one game after a 75-71 win against Minnesota on Sunday. Jok and Uthoff combined for 51 of Iowa's points. They have scored 98 of 150 of Iowa's points the last two games.

Uthoff and Jok rank among the Big Ten's top scorers so they have more leeway with their shot selection. In their last two games, they've knocked down 28 of 62 shots. Their teammates are just 17 of 46 from the field.

'We've got some things we really need to work on and seal up,' Iowa center Adam Woodbury said. 'Offensively, we're getting kind of stagnant and relying on those guys too much. At times we force those guys into bad shots at the end of the shot clock. We've got to rectify some of those problems and get better.'

While they're not always scoring, the other players are contributing in other ways. Point guard Mike Gesell is just 3 of 16 from the floor in the last two games, but he has 16 assists and no turnovers. Woodbury has attempted just two shots but has 10 or more rebounds in nine of his last 11 games. Clemmons was 5-of-8 shooting against Minnesota but made just two of five shots against Penn State and missed two free throws. He added four assists.

Iowa's bench scored 10 points, more than in the previous three games, but still below the preferred production.

'I think I missed about three layups,' said Clemmons, who scored 12 against Minnesota and six at Penn State. 'I didn't make my free throws. It's something I'm going to work on, and it's not going to keep me from being in attack mode. When you put the puzzle together, you know JU and Pete's going to get theirs by the end of the night. It's something, myself in particular, I have to do a better job of helping them and take a lot of pressure off them.'

Iowa (20-6, 11-3) has struggled moving the ball the last two games against physical defenses. Penn State was whistled for 26 fouls, which led to 35 Iowa free-throw attempts. Iowa struggled to get its transition game going and often settled for contested jumpers late in the shot clock.

'It came easy early; we were up 8-0,' McCaffery said. 'Then we didn't move the ball as well as we should have or could have. I don't think we turned it over that much in the first half. I thought we got good shots. We got really good shots; we didn't make them.'

2. Physical play. Penn State is known as the Big Ten's most physical team, and the Nittany Lions didn't disappoint on Wednesday against Iowa.

The Nittany Lions were called for 26 fouls with one player fouling out and four finishing the game with four fouls. The scheme seemed to work as Iowa shot 35 free throws and missed 10.

'I think it was part of their strategy,' Iowa guard Anthony Clemmons said. 'As you saw in the beginning when we made our 8-0 run, they tried to slow the game down and they weren't taking quick shots. They were moving the ball. We just weren't disruptive at all. That's something that we're normally good at, but it's something we just didn't adjust to. They came at us in attack mode and once that shot clock got down to 10, they just made plays.'

'They do that every game,' Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said. 'They're going to play that way. They always do. You just have to be ready for it. We did a good job of getting in the other double bonus. But four times down the stretch we go one for two. If you do the necessary things to get the in the double bonus, then you've got to make them pay. … Now you can press, you can change defenses, you can change personnel. You miss that second free throw, you can't do it.'

Penn State forward Brandon Taylor, who scored 18 points, grabbed nine rebounds and had four fouls, didn't shy away from the team's physical label.

'That's something that we always try to focus on, defense and playing physical and playing tough,' Taylor said. 'That's what we want to be known as, as the tough, physical, nasty team and we brought that out tonight. I would like to think that slowed that team down, because that's a great team, a great offensive team, a great all-around team.'

3. Looking ahead. Iowa (20-6, 11-3) has four games left in Big Ten play and remains tied atop the league standings. But losing at Penn State (13-13, 4-9) dashed a big-time opportunity for Iowa to stay ahead of Indiana and Maryland down the stretch.

It's also possible the loss could sharpen and narrow Iowa's focus.

'We're not satisfied,' Iowa guard Anthony Clemmons said. 'It's something that we're going to have to get together and pull each other together and we're still in the run.

'We can't look at the home run. We've got to take it base-by-base and take it game-by-game and not look over our opponent. I think that's something that we did. We probably should have locked in on them a little bit more. Pretty much it's nothing a team meeting can't help. I think that's what we're going to do.'

Iowa plays border rival Wisconsin on Feb. 24 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, then travels to Ohio State on Feb. 28. The Hawkeyes play host to Indiana on March 1 and close the season on March 5 at Michigan.

Indiana (21-6, 11-3), which beat Nebraska on Wednesday, plays Purdue on Saturday, then travels to Illinois (Feb. 25) before playing at Iowa and ending the season at home against Maryland (March 6).

The Terrapins (22-4, 10-3) play tonight at Minnesota before hosting Michigan (Feb. 21) and traveling to Purdue (Feb. 27). Maryland closes the season against Illinois (March 3) and at Indiana.

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