After reaching 20 wins, Iowa is looking for more opportunities at Penn State.

Now in Iowa’s bounce-back season, the Hawkeyes’ main goal is to see if their resurgence can translate into an NCAA Tournament berth.

Iowa can take a major step toward that goal when it faces Penn State on Saturday at University Park in Pennsylvania.

Iowa (20-8, 10-7 Big Ten), which entered the NET rankings at No. 26 on Friday, reached the 20-win mark for the first time since the 2022-23 season. A win at Penn State would ensure a record above .500 in Big Ten play to add to the NCAA Tournament restart.

With a home game against league champion and third-ranked Michigan scheduled and a road game against 12th-ranked Nebraska remaining, Saturday’s game is the Hawkeyes’ most obvious chance to win to close out the regular season.

“We’ve got to keep getting better,” Iowa’s first-year coach Ben McCollum said. “Try to extend the season as much as possible. If we keep improving we can do that.”

McCollum’s biggest adjustment at Iowa has been on defense. Iowa, known as a high-scoring team under former coach Fran McCaffery, is allowing the fewest points per game in the Big Ten (64.8).

Iowa is also getting strong play from Bennett Stutz, one of the best guards in the league who has scored 20 or more points in 10 of Iowa’s last 11 games and has averaged 25.3 points on consecutive days.

Penn State (11-17, 2-15) enters the game at the bottom of the conference standings and has not played since last Saturday’s 87-64 loss at Nebraska.

“I really admire these guys and their approach over what has been a tough two months as a result,” Penn State coach Mike Rhoades said. “But the way these guys approach things, the way they coach, the way they come into the gym and work, I really appreciate their approach and effort.”

Freddie Dilione V and Kayden Mingo are Penn State’s leading scorers, averaging 13.9 points each. The Nittany Lions earned their first win at home in Big Ten action on Feb. 1 against Minnesota.

–Field level media