Iowa vs. Penn State: Score, Highlights and Reaction from 2015-16 Regular Season

The Iowa Hawkeyes controlled their own destiny in the Big Ten race coming into Wednesday's action and looked primed to challenge for a No. 1 NCAA tournament seed as the No. 4 team in the country. Penn State must not have gotten the memo.

The Nittany Lions stunned the Hawkeyes with a 79-75 upset that put Maryland and Indiana squarely back into the Big Ten title picture.

Iowa is now 11-3 in league play after its second loss in its last three games. It also struggled to get past lowly Minnesota (0-13 in the conference) in a four-point victory Sunday and suddenly finds itself tied in the loss column with the Terrapins and Hoosiers.

No. 1 seed contenders simply don't lose to teams like Penn State in the season's stretch run. While the Nittany Lions deserve credit for notching the victory, they were 3-9 in the Big Ten this season heading into Wednesday and don't have the talent on paper to keep up with the Hawkeyes.

Alas, the games are not played on paper, and Brad Evans of Yahoo Sports reflected on the sudden downturn for Iowa:

While Evans looked to the Iowa program for issues, Seth Davis of Sports Illustrated attributed yet another upset to a roller-coaster season in college basketball:

Perhaps the Hawkeyes can take solace in the fact some other top-notch teams will surely lose again before Selection Sunday, which will open up the door again for a possible No. 1 seed.

ESPN Stats & Info underscored just how unexpected Wednesday's upset was for Penn State:

While the Nittany Lions may not be a basketball force given those numbers, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports praised the recent momentum that coach Pat Chambers has gained in State College: 

Derek Young of Scout.com tried to maintain some perspective for Iowa fans during the contest:

Iowa may be better positioned for the rest of the season than Penn State, but Wednesday's contest belonged to the threesome of Brandon Taylor, Shep Garner and Donovon Jack. Taylor nearly tallied a double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds, while Garner drilled four three-pointers on his way to 18 points. Jack posted 19 points and five rebounds off the bench. 

Jack also ended the first half in dramatic fashion, as the Big Ten Network shared:

Penn State took a 38-31 lead into the locker room following Jack's slam. Young pointed out the listless arena may have impacted the favorites during the opening 20 minutes:

That may have been the case, but Iowa never adjusted and failed to generate much offense anywhere but the free-throw line until the final couple of minutes. In all, the Hawkeyes shot 35 free throws compared to Penn State's 22, but the difference was far more pronounced before Iowa started fouling near the end of the game, which Young put into perspective:

Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo Sports noted the biggest concern for Iowa in the second half:

Peter Jok went 10-of-11 from the charity stripe for Iowa and led his team with 28 points. Still, his efforts were not enough, especially since Iowa turned the ball over 13 times and only shot 8-of-24 from three-point range during the loss. 

While the threes weren't falling for most of the game, Iowa did make four from long range in the final 80 seconds to put a serious scare in a Penn State squad that had controlled the majority of the contest. 

In fact, Iowa turned a nine-point deficit with only 40 seconds left into a three-point game with six seconds to go, but Taylor drilled a crucial free throw to give Penn State its final four-point lead and put the game out of reach in the closing moments. 

Kevin McGuire of CollegeFootballTalk described the closing stretch:

At least Iowa can look to a strong finish as something of a silver lining as it attempts to regroup following a disappointing run of basketball. It will have to do just that with four games remaining in the regular season, including a showdown with Indiana on March 1.

What’s Next?

Penn State’s only chance at the NCAA tournament is a miraculous Big Ten tournament title, but it can build some momentum heading into next season. It already beat Indiana and Iowa in its past three contests and still faces Michigan State in the final five regular-season games.

Penn State also plays Rutgers, Nebraska, Northwestern and Illinois in those last five games, and all four of them have losing records in the Big Ten. If the Nittany Lions play like they did Wednesday, they could close with at least a couple of wins in the stretch run.

As for Iowa, it has four games left until the Big Ten tournament. It plays Wisconsin on Wednesday and travels to Ohio State before the Indiana clash on March 1. The Hawkeyes then finish the season with a road trip to Michigan.

Wisconsin may not be ranked, but it boasts seven wins in a row, including a Saturday win over Maryland. What’s more, the Buckeyes have won three in a row, and the Wolverines beat a ranked Purdue squad in their last home game.

While many will circle the Indiana contest because of the race for a Big Ten title and the fact the Hoosiers already beat the Hawkeyes once this season, Iowa cannot afford to overlook its other three remaining opponents, either. 

Especially since Wednesday it saw what can happen when it appears to take an opponent lightly.

Postgame Reaction 

Chambers discussed the victory, per Penn State on BTN:

Jack also weighed in on the victory, per Penn State on BTN:

Penn State was only 1-of-20 on three-pointers in the first matchup against Iowa this season but made 10 Wednesday. Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said, “funny how that happens,” per Audrey Snyder of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

McCaffery also said, “We don't need to go to a spa, we need to work,” per Snyder when discussing his team’s recent struggles.