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Hawkeyes will try to lift selves out of recent rubble when they host Penn State tonight
At 3-5 in the Big Ten with three straight losses, Iowa badly needs a win. It faces a Penn State team that, like the Hawkeyes, likes to get up and go, and score.
Jan. 24, 2025 12:02 pm
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You can’t start a fire without a spark, a man once sang. More than once, actually.
The Iowa men’s basketball team, losers of their last three games, need a spark. Maybe it comes tonight when the Hawkeyes host Penn State at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in a match of two teams that are 3-5 in the Big Ten.
Penn State flew to Iowa Thursday with a little wind at its back, having defeated Rutgers 80-72 at home Monday. Iowa’s last game was a bust, a 72-67 home loss to Minnesota.
One thing that seems predictable is that the pace of this game will be higher than normal. The Hawkeyes are fourth in the nation in points per game with 87.8, and Penn State isn’t far behind with 84.2.
Penn State fifth-year guard Ace Baldwin lives up to this first name. He has 1,561 career points, 763 assists and 308 steals. He averaged 16.5 points and 7.5 assists in two games against Iowa last season, which the teams split.
Baldwin comes to play. He went the full 40 minutes in his team’s last two games, averaging 21 points.
Sophomore center Owen Freeman leads Iowa in scoring with 16.9 points per game. He has been a consistent presence, scoring, taking high-percentage shots, and staying out of foul trouble more than he did as a freshman.
Freeman made 24 of 31 shots over the last three games. He has scored at least 11 points in every game he’s played this season. His 65.4 percent field goal shooting ranks fifth nationally.
“He has a really extensive skill set,” Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said Thursday. “Wonderful young man, incredibly hard-worker.
“He now has accepted the responsibility of being one of our primary go-to guys, certainly a go-to guy In the post. But I want him to keep being aggressive in all areas, off the bounce, shooting the ball outside, making plays for other people, and being able to just use him in a variety of ways.
“Really proud of him.”
After Tuesday’s loss, Freeman said “I’m just frustrated. I want to win. That’s really just it.”
You can't start a fire, a man once sang, sittin' 'round cryin' over a broken heart.
Comments: (319) 398-8440; mike.hlas@thegazette.com
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