The day before Penn State's 79-57 loss at Ohio State, Lions' Coach Bruce Parkhill spoke of how a young team such as his has to learn how to win.

The coach spoke of how winning becomes a habit, just as losing does. Once you start winning, the more you're able to draw on the experience. It becomes an attitude.

But when a big win, such as the 78-67 upset of Minnesota, is followed by a disheartening loss, the questions will always arise. Was the win a fluke? What did the team learn?

"I'm hoping that we've learned the value of poise and the importance of toughness in this league," said junior center John Amaechi, adding that the loss in Columbus is already a memory. "It has to be. Obviously it's a big letdown."

In a conference as strong as the Big Ten, there isn't any time to dwell on past games, be they wins or losses. And that's the situation Penn State finds itself in tomorrow, when the Lions take on Iowa at 8 p.m. in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

"Similarly, as we couldn't look back on Minnesota," Amaechi said, "we can't look back on Ohio State."

Said Parkhill: "Obviously it's a tough situation to have to fly home and then fly back out to Iowa City," Parkhill said, adding that he has some of the same concerns against Iowa as he had against the Buckeyes. "It's going to be a tough matchup."

The Hawkeyes (6-7 overall, 0-4 in the Big Ten) find themselves in the same boat as Parkhill and company, not being able to dwell on a loss -- coming off a 105-90 loss at Champlain against Illinois Wednesday night.

However, Iowa is also coming off one of its best shooting performances of the season, as the Hawkeyes went 30 of 59 from the field (50.8 percent) and 10 of 19 from three-point range (52.6 percent). The balanced Iowa attack features five players scoring in double figures and five averaging more than five rebounds per contest.

Leading the Iowa charge is forward James Winters. The 6-foot-5 senior leads the Hawkeyes in scoring (19.3 per game), rebounding (7.5 per game) and blocked shots (16).

The Lions will also have to contain Winters' frontcourt mate, forward Kenyon Murray. The 6-foot-5 sophomore from Battle Creek, Mich. leads the team with 28 steals, is second with six blocks and third with 29 assists. He led the team with 45 steals a season ago.

"We know they're probably one of the most tenacious rebounding teams," Amaechi said. "We know they attack the glass. They have a lot of weapons -- an offense we have to try and stop."