On Saturday, Iowa was about as welcoming to the Penn State men's basketball team as the state's caucuses were to former Democratic candidate Dick Gephardt. Like the Missouri congressman, the only time the Lions were in their respective contest was before it even began.

From the opening tip through the final buzzer in the 77-58 drubbing, the Lions were too slow to stop a hot Hawkeyes offense that seemingly couldn't miss from behind the three-point arc.

"Emphasis coming into the game was transition defense," Penn State men's basketball coach Ed DeChellis said on the Penn State Sports Radio Network. "But we just weren't fast enough."

Ever.

It was more than six minutes into the game before the Lions (9-9, 3-4 Big Ten) were able to hit a basket from the field, and by that time they were already trailing by 14.

Led by sophomore guard Jeff Horner who went six-of-six from beyond the three-point arc, the Hawkeyes (11-7, 4-3) shot three-pointers at an impressive 60 percent clip, knocking down 14-of-23 attempts. The Lions shot 24 times from downtown, but only five of their attempts fell through the rim.

"It's very frustrating as coaches, and I'm sure it's very frustrating as players," DeChellis said of his team's struggles both defensively and offensively.

However, the Lions led in many of the offensive categories where they normally trail. Penn State had more points off turnovers, points in the paint, fast-break points and second-chance points than Iowa, but none of that mattered.

The only relevant statistic -- zero lead changes.

Any desire that the Lions had to beat the black-and-gold probably ended about a quarter into the game.

At the 10:03 mark in the first half, sophomore Aaron Johnson picked up his third foul and had to go to the bench. Fifteen seconds later, Iowa's Glen Worley extended the Hawkeyes' lead to 19.

Johnson only saw 20 minutes of play and consequently put more weight on the shoulders of Robert Summers and Ndu Egekeze. And once again when facing a solid defense, Jan Jagla failed to find his shot draining only five of his 17 shots.

The one bright spot for the Lions was the play of freshman point guard Ben Luber. Even though he shot just 41 percent from the field, Luber tried to help maintain the team's composure throughout his 39 minutes on the court.

Luber scored 11 points, dished out five assists and had three steals all while playing with more confidence and patience than in some of the other blowouts he has experienced thus far.

Even his off-court demeanor is maturing through the tough losses.

"Sometimes you can't just talk," Luber said. "You've got to lead by example. The first half is where we've got to come with the fire and set the tone."

But the Lions never set the tone. Iowa wouldn't allow it. Any time that Penn State tried to gain some momentum with a defensive stop and transition basket, the Hawkeyes had the answer.

"Once they get into their rhythm they're very, very good," DeChellis said. "You can't get down on the road as many as we were down."

With the loss, Penn State moves to 3-4 in the conference. The good news for the Lions though, is that they will play their next two games at home where they are 3-1 against Big Ten opponents. But with Purdue and Indiana coming to the Bryce Jordan Center, any win will have to be earned.