An assistant coach's tactical brilliance fueled Penn State's stunning upset over Iowa, disrupting a star player's rhythm and securing a crucial victory.
February was a rough month for Penn State, but the team pulled off an upset of Iowa on Saturday.
The Hawkeyes entered the contest needing another win to pad their resume for the NCAA Tournament.
However, PSU senior forward Josh Reed scored a game-high 25 points to help the Nittany Lions earn a 71-69 win in front of a crowd of 6,922 fans at Bryce Jordan Center.
Star guard Bennett Stirtz had an off game for Iowa, finishing 6-of-15 shooting for 16 points to go along with one rebound, five assists and one block.
During his postgame news conference, PSU head coach Mike Rhoades credited associate head coach Jamal Brunt for coming up with a scouting report on Stirtz that led to the upset.
“I thought Jamal Brunt’s scout for this game was awesome,” Rhoades said, via The Daily Collegian. “I think what we prepared for was what they were trying to do to us.
"So we, our guys, have clear understanding of what we needed to do, now doing it consistently is hard... You're not going to shut Stirtz out, because he impacts the game in so many different ways. And he's fun to watch too, because he plays the right way.”
PSU's goal was to make it hard for Stirtz to score. It worked, and the Nittany Lions improved to 12-17 overall and 3-15 in Big Ten play.
Rhoades was impressed with the defense of sophomore guard Dominick Stewart to defend Stirtz.
“I thought Dom Stewart's defense today of Stirtz was awesome. I'm so proud of him,” Rhoades said.
“He played a lot of minutes, 30 to 34 minutes and guarded that guy and made some basic plays like, I thought a lot of guys this late in the year are still fighting to help their team be successful, but also they get better.”
Stewart finished with eight points, three rebounds, two assists and a block. Despite guarding Stirtz, he was only called for two personal fouls.
PSU has two more games remaining in its regular season. The Nittany Lions will host Ohio State on Wednesday before traveling to play Rutgers on Sunday.