When Acie Earl only scores 10 points in a game for the No. 18 Iowa Hawkeyes, and his team shoots only 37 percent from the field, then you would expect the game to be a close one.
Not when the opponent is Penn State.
As abysmally as Iowa (18-6, 7-5 in Big Ten) played on offense all night, Penn State (6-17, 1-13) was twice as poor and lost soundly 58-38 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Lions shot only 30 percent from the floor for the game, and to make matters worse, allowed the Hawkeyes to dominate the boards. The deep and talented Iowa squad outrebounded Penn State 49-29.
"We didn't play well at either end of the floor," said Lions Coach Bruce Parkhill in a radio interview after the game. "We couldn't buy a shot the whole game."
At the start of the contest, both teams looked fatigued from having to play each other for the second time in three days. Forward Jon Dietz, a native of Walcott, Iowa, started for the Lions, but neither he nor any of his teammates could provide a spark. In fact, Penn State's leading scorers were Eric Carr and DeRon Hayes, who both scored eight points.
The Lions tied the game early at 4-4, after John Amaechi sank two free throws. But then the Hawkeyes pulled away, going on an 11-0 run over the next two minutes, keyed by guard Kevin Smith who hit four consecutive shots.
The two teams then traded baskets for a while as Penn State settled down and began to distribute the ball a little better. With 3:56 left before intermission Greg Bartram sank two free throws to pull the Lions within 10 at 29-19.
Those points ended up being the team's last of the half, however, as the Hawkeyes then went on a 6-0 run and went into the locker room with their biggest lead up to that point at 35-19.
The Lions did not improve much in the second half. Iowa quickly got off to a 43-19 lead -- its largest of the game -- before an Eric Carr reverse layup provided Penn State's only points in the first four minutes. Over the next 16 minutes, the Lions only mustered 17 more points, but the Hawkeyes didn't do much better, scoring only 15 more.
Parkhill said his team looked like it was sleepwalking at times during the game. "If you're missing shots and you're not getting offensive rebounds, then that basket starts looking smaller and smaller."
