Best photos from the Hawkeyes’ loss at Penn State

Iowa nearly pulled it off. Down by as many as 18 heading into halftime, twice the Hawkeyes pulled within a basket of Penn State late.

Iowa (8-6, 0-3 Big Ten) actually had a chance to tie or take the lead in the final seconds, but a Tony Perkins turnover meant the Hawkeyes instead didn’t even get a shot off. A terrific performance from Iowa forward Kris Murray regrettably went to waste.

Murray finished with 32 points, scoring 22 points after halftime to help spur the Hawkeyes’ 53-point second half and near rally.

“To me, [Kris Murray] is just consistent. He is going to move without the ball. Nothing is going to rattle him. If he is open, he will shoot it. If he is covered, he will pass it. He can score with threes, with drives. I thought he played through contact. They obviously were focusing on him and doubling him. If we got it to him inside, they were coming on him, but he didn’t rattle. He had 32 and nine, but he also had three assists, four offensive rebounds. Again, he scored in a variety of ways,” Iowa head men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery said.

Ultimately, it just boiled back down to the poor start.

“We got off to a decent start, but really didn’t play well in the first half. The last possession hurt us. We had a chance to take the last shot, took a rushed shot, and they hit a three at the buzzer. I thought we did a better job in the second half guarding their stuff. They were five out. Lot of hand offs, lot of ball screens, lot of slips, lot of curls. Not an easy offense to guard. As the game went on, I thought we did a much better job,” McCaffery said.

It doesn’t get easier for Iowa, but No. 18 Indiana on Thursday does represent a fantastic opportunity for the Hawkeyes to start making amends on an NCAA Tournament resumé.

Here were the Hawkeyes’ best photos from University Park.