3 Takeaways: Seniors’ night, numbers game, schedule

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Josh Oglesby stood outside his Iowa's locker room with a left eye so blazing red it made observers wince.

Oglesby, a senior, woke up Saturday morning with his eye crusted shut with pink eye. Iowa trainer Brad Floy picked up some medicine and worked over Oglesby's eye well enough for the shooting guard to play 18 minutes against Penn State in an 81-77 overtime victory. Coincidentally, Oglesby scored a season-high 12 points on four 3-pointers.

'Maybe he'll get it in the other eye next game,” Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery quipped afterward.

Oglesby also produced a high-flying assist with 2:09 left in regulation. He tossed up a lob for fellow forward Aaron White, who slammed it to give Iowa a two-point lead. It was one senior setting up another, which provided a theme in Iowa's fourth straight victory.

White, Oglesby and fellow senior Gabe Olaseni combined for 45 points, 22 rebounds and multiple big plays throughout the night. Olaseni was 8-for-8 from the free-throw line and scored on consecutive possessions midway through the second half to give Iowa a five-point lead. Three of Oglesby's 3-pointers gave Iowa the lead in the back-and-forth struggle. White was a machine all night, scoring 21 points, pulling down 14 rebounds and stealing an inbound pass with 30 seconds left in overtime while Iowa was nursing a one-point lead.

It was seniors providing leadership and results in a pivotal road game late in their final season.

'There was one timeout, JO (Oglesby) just hit a 3, Gabe had the and-one dunk, I didn't have a specific play but I was out there rebounding and playing,” White said. 'I looked around and we're all making big plays happen. I think that's the strength of our team. Everyone has stepped up at different times, but (Saturday) it was the seniors. I'm really happy for all of us, but especially those two guys who made big plays in crunchtime and got us a win basically.”

White has scored 68 points with 34 rebounds in Iowa's last three games. His late rise compares favorably with other seniors in McCaffery's tenure, such as Matt Gatens' shooting barrage in 2012. Oglesby, whose ups and downs have led to frustration, is less interested in making statements. He's more focused on finishing strong for the most basic of reasons.

'I'm just trying to have fun while the season is coming to an end,” Oglesby said. 'Obviously my career is coming to an end. I'm having fun with Whitey, Gabe and Kyle (Denning) as seniors.”

2. Numbers game.

With its win against Penn State, Iowa took a powerwasher to some statistical mold that had settled on the program's resume.

The Hawkeyes (19-10, 10-6 Big Ten) earned their first winning season in Big Ten play since a 9-7 record under Steve Alford in 2007. That team finished 17-14 and failed to qualify for the postseason.

Iowa picked up its 10th Big Ten win, its most since the 2005-05 season. That squad finished 11-5 in Big Ten action. The last time Iowa won at least 12 games in league play was 1996-97 (12-6).

With the victory, Iowa now has clinched its first winning road season in Big Ten play (5-3) since 1997-98. That squad was 9-7 in the Big Ten but 5-3 on the road (NIT qualifier). If Iowa wins at Indiana on Tuesday, it will be 6-3 in Big Ten road games, the best record since a 7-2 mark in 1986-87. It also would mark its third straight 20-win season. The last time that happened was in Tom Davis' final three years (1996-7 through 1998-1999).

Iowa has won its last four games, its first four-game Big Ten winning streak since 2006. Iowa's last five-game Big Ten winning streak was the first five games of the 1996-97 season.

The Hawkeyes finished 6-2 last month, the first time the Hawkeyes have won six games in February since 1988-89.

'We don't want to stop at this time and evaluate anything like that,” Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said. 'You can do that when the season's over. You can look back and say, ‘Boy we did something special. We did something that we haven't done in a while.' But not now.”

As for senior Aaron White, he has 1,747 career points, just 21 shy of tying Greg Stokes for third on Iowa's scoring chart. White needs 33 points to move past Acie Earl for second place. Roy Marble is Iowa's all-time leading scorer with 2,116 points.

White passed Michael Payne for fourth on Iowa's career rebounding list with 868. White needs 10 to pass Ed Horton for third. Greg Brunner is Iowa's record-holder with 990.

3. Looking ahead.

Iowa has two games left in regular-season play: at Indiana (6 p.m. Tuesday, ESPN) and at home against Northwestern (11 a.m. Saturday, BTN). The Hoosiers have beaten Iowa in their last three meetings and the last three times in Bloomington. Iowa's last win was in 2012 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, and the Hawkeyes last won at Indiana in 2011.

The Wildcats have beaten Iowa in their last two meetings - last year's Big Ten Tournament (67-62) and on Feb. 15 in Evanston (66-61 in overtime).

Iowa currently sits as the fifth seed for the Big Ten Tournament, which means it would open play around 1:30 p.m. (Thursday) March 12 against the 12-13 winner (Northwestern-Penn State as of today). If Iowa sneaks into the top four, it wouldn't play until Friday, March 13.

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