City of Basketball Love

Marley Paul (@MarleyPaul22)
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Penn State suffered yet another lopsided conference loss on Wednesday as it endures a brutal stretch in its Big Ten conference play. The Nittany Lions (11-12) traveled to play No. 5 Iowa at the Carver-Hawkeye Arena and fell 73-49, their fourth consecutive loss and sixth in their last seven games. The Hawkeyes move to 18-4 on the season, 9-1 in conference play, which ties Indiana atop the Big Ten standings.

At first…
Slow starts have tormented Penn State amid the losing streak, and the Nittany Lions have found themselves in a quick deficit after missing nine of their first 11 shots from the field.

The Hawkeyes led 15-4 until the Nittany Lions found their third basket of the game, an And 1 finish by a cutting Davis Zemgulis off a sharp pass from Jordan Dickerson, eight minutes into the game.

Turning point…
Things got out of hand early, starting when leading scorer Brandon Taylor picked up his second foul in the first four minutes of the game. At the time, Penn State trailed 10-4, however, that deficit would stretch to 13 in the following four minutes of action. 
Penn State coach Pat Chambers played with fire, re-inserting Taylor into the game with 10 minutes to play, in an effort to keep prevent the eventual blowout, which eventually occurred. With two minutes left in the first half, Taylor picked up his third foul as Jarrod Uthoff pushed the lead to 39-24. Iowa took a 45-26 lead into the half.

Shining Star…
Brandon Taylor has anchored Penn State in his senior season, for better more times than for worse. The forward battled foul trouble all game, but did as much as he can to keep the game competitive from start to finish, despite the scoreboard. In 26 minutes of play, he registered another double-double, tallying 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Noteworthy Number(s)...
Another dud in the 3-point department for Penn State, making a single one in 20 attempts from the field. This isn't the sole reason for the loss, however, as noted by Ben Jones of StateCollege.com, when the opponent only makes five more baskets than you (25-20), the difference in distance shooting can make an impact.

Up Next...
Penn State vs. No. 22 Indiana (Feb. 6, 8 PM)
Iowa @ Illinois (Feb. 7, 1 PM)