Iowa gave away a game at Penn State Thursday night. Normally protective of the basketball, the Hawkeyes turned it over 18 times, the second most in 23 outings this season.
Like last week's setback at Indiana, Iowa stumbled late in Thursday's contest. The visitors led by seven with 8:38 remaining in regulation before falling, 89-79.
Back-to-back turnovers by Tony Perkins and Ben Krikke in the closing minutes ignited an 8-0 run that put the Nittany Lions ahead, 84-73, with :53 left. It all but sealed the victory for the home team.
The Hawkeyes are not an efficient defensive outfit. They rely on offense. As a result, handing the opponents extra possessions is a losing formula.
Even though Penn State failed to convert the turnovers into a lot of direct points, the Hawkeyes missed out on opportunities. And that stung on a night that they held a 46-26 advantage on points in the paint.
The setback continued Iowa's roller-coaster season. It's alternated wins and losses in its last four contests and fell to 5-7 in the Big Ten.
Like a microcosm of the campaign, Perkins and Krikke experienced an up-and-down night. The seniors combined for 33 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and two steals. They also accounted for half of the team's turnovers.
Payton Sandfort, Iowa's second-leading scorer behind Perkins, missed time in the second half with an injury. He returned but finished with just eight points on 3 of 9 shooting from the floor, including 2 of 7 on three-pointers.
Standout freshman big man Owen Freeman was limited to 7:46 in the first half due to foul trouble. He wound up playing 25:43, notching nine points and five rebounds. He converted all four of his field-goal attempts and could have benefitted from more touches.
The brightest spot for the Hawkeyes was their bench. That group has been inconsistent this season.
Reserves Patrick McCaffery and Pryce Sandfort, a freshman, teamed up for 16 points, converting 7 of 10 shots from the floor. Backup Brock Harding added four points, an assist and two steals in three minutes.
Iowa shot 55.9 percent from the field Thursday, but made just 4 of 15 tries from behind the three-point arc. The Hawkeyes fell to 10-2 during games in which they make at least half of their field goal attempts.
Ace Baldwin Jr.'s 22 points led four Lions scoring in double figures. PSU improved to 6-6 in conference play, running its winning streak to three in a row.
Iowa can avenge Thursday's loss when the Lions come to Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Feb. 27. The Hawkeyes next play on Sunday at home against Minnesota (2 pm CT, BTN).
More must-reads: