Iowa Hawkeyes vs Penn State Nittany Lions Prediction, 2/28/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Iowa Hawkeyes vs Penn State Nittany Lions

Date: Saturday, February 28, 2026

Location: Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, PA

TV: BTN

The Penn State Nittany Lions (11-17) will take on the Iowa Hawkeyes (20-8) at Bryce Jordan Center on Saturday.

The Iowa Hawkeyes played Ohio State and went home with a win by a final score of 74-57 in their last contest. Iowa ended the game with a 57.4% FG percentage (27 out of 47) and knocked down 5 of their 18 3-point attempts. From the charity stripe, the Hawkeyes made 15 of 17 shots for a rate of 88.2%. When discussing grabbing boards, they compiled a total of 26 with 4 of them being offensive. They also distributed 15 dimes in this matchup while creating 11 turnovers and earning 7 steals. With regard to defending, Iowa allowed 41.9% from the floor on 18 out of 43 shooting. Ohio State earned 9 dimes and had 3 steals for this game. On top of that, Ohio State grabbed 22 rebounds (5 offensive, 17 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Ohio State ended up shooting 66.7% from the free throw line by making 14 of their 21 tries. They converted 7 out of their 14 shots from beyond the perimeter. In the matter of personal fouls, the Hawkeyes finished with 19 and Ohio State accounted for 17 personal fouls.

Bennett Stirtz is a guy who was a contributor in this contest. He finished shooting 72.7% from the floor and earned 3 assists. He saw the court for 39 minutes and also grabbed 1 rebound. He walked away with 22 points on 8 of 11 shooting.

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Iowa will enter this contest with a win-loss record of 20-8 for the campaign. They turn it over 9.5 times per contest and as a squad they commit 17.8 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Iowa is pulling in 30.0 boards per game and has accounted for 422 dimes for the season, which ranks 127th in college hoops in terms of passing the ball. The Hawkeyes are shooting 35.7% on three-point attempts (218 of 611) and 77.3% from the free throw line. They are averaging 75.9 pts per contest (182nd in the nation) while hitting 49.6% from the floor.

When they are on defense, the Hawkeyes are forcing their opponents into 13.3 turnovers per game and they draw 18.0 personal fouls. They are ranked 23rd in Division 1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 312 relinquished this year. The Hawkeyes are giving up a shooting percentage of 45.0% (625 of 1,389) and they concede 28.4 rebounds per contest as a unit. They are giving up 32.6% on 3-point shots and they are 13th in the nation in points per game allowed (64.8).

When they last stepped on the court, the Penn State Nittany Lions went home defeated by a final of 87-64 when they faced Nebraska. The Nittany Lions pulled down 21 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive boards totaling 30 in this matchup. They coughed it up 13 times, while earning 6 steals for the contest. Nebraska was called for 14 fouls for this contest which got the Nittany Lions to the charity stripe for 17 attempts. They were able to convert 12 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 70.6%. When talking about shooting from downtown, Penn State converted 4 of 20 attempts (20.0%). At the conclusion of this game, the Nittany Lions went 24 for 57 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 42.1%. The Nittany Lions permitted Nebraska to bury 32 out of their 62 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 51.6% for the matchup. They finished 40.0% from 3-point land by connecting on 14 of 35 and finished the contest at 9 of 12 from the free throw line (75.0%). Concerning attacking the glass, Penn State allowed Nebraska to collect 35 in total (10 offensive).

Ivan Juric ended up being a major contributor for the Nittany Lions in this matchup. He converted 6 out of 8 in the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 75.0%, and accumulated 10 rebounds. He tallied 13 points in his 28 minutes on the court and had 1 assist for the game.

Penn State has a win-loss mark of 11-17 for the year. The Nittany Lions are committing 15.6 personal fouls per game and they shoot 75.1% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 12.6 times per contest (279th in college hoops) and they turn it over 10.2 times per contest. Penn State has scored 2,097 pts so far this year (74.9 per game) and they collect 29.7 boards per contest. When it comes to executing on offense, the Nittany Lions are connecting on 46.7% from the floor, which ranks 105th in the nation.

The Penn State defense concedes 38.6% on 3-pointers (273 of 708) and opponents are connecting on 77.0% of their shots from the free throw line. They surrender 17.1 assists and 33.5 rebounds per contest, which ranks them 354th and 124th in those defensive categories. The Nittany Lions are ranked 319th in Division 1 in PPG surrendered with 79.5. They are forcing 12.4 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 49.8% from the field (361st in college hoops).

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Penn State

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