Penn State basketball stuns Iowa in Big Ten thriller

While Penn State's basketball team hasn't exactly covered itself in glory, they very briefly shocked the college basketball world on Saturday.

With two late Freddie Dillone free throws, the Nittany Lions squeaked out a Big Ten win over the Iowa Hawkeyes at the Bryce Jordan Center. It was certainly a game of many twists and turns for the Nittany Lions, highly reminiscent of the games they have played all year. Still, somehow, someway, they managed to escape on top this time.

The most important aspect of the victory was perhaps Penn State's much improved shooting performance, especially in the game's second half. They shot 57.1 percent from the field, and more impressively, 54.5 percent from three throughout the game, matching Iowa's intensity. Still, it was that very same Iowa intensity paired with several familiar mistakes by the Nittany Lions that kept this game as close as it did. Three separate Iowa state runs: an 8-2 run to close the first half, a 5-0 run towards the start of the second to maintain their slim lead, and a 9-0 run with a little over four minutes remaining to put themselves up five: haunted Penn State fans who were sick of a familiar narrative.

It was the play of both Josh Reed and Freddie Dillone that saw this game through however. Reed was the game's leading scorer with 25 points and Dillone finished with 15. Most importantly, their three point performances kept Penn State in line to log a rare Big Ten victory and potentially end the season on a high note.

Penn State will close out their 2025-2026 regular season home schedule against Ohio State on Wednesday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 ET.

This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Penn State basketball secures rare Big Ten win over Iowa