IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Iowa men’s basketball team hits the road again with a game at Penn State on Thursday, and with a chance to climb back to .500 in Big Ten play.

Iowa has won two of its last three road games, but has lost four of its last five games at the Bryce Jordan Center, and two straight in the series.

Iowa is coming off a 79-77 victory against Ohio State last Saturday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena as senior guard Tony Perkins led four Iowa players in double figures with 20 points.

The Indianapolis native has scored at least 20 points in five consecutive games — a first by a Hawkeye since Keegan Murray in the 2021-22 season. Perkins is also the first Iowa guard to accomplish the feat since Fred Brown in 1971; he is averaging 22 points, four assists, 3.6 assists and 2.2 steals, while committing just six turnovers in the five-game stretch.

Perkins is shooting 54.3 percent from the floor and 86.1 percent from the free throw line.

As for Penn State, it is 9-3 at home this season under first-year head coach Mike Rhoades, highlighted by an 87-73 victory over Wisconsin on Jan. 16.

Two Nittany Lions are averaging in double figures with guards Kanye Clancy leading the way with an 18.4 average. Guard Ace Baldwin, Jr., averages 13.6 points, 5.2 assists and 2.8 steals per game.

Baldwin is also leading the league in steals (62) and is fourth in assists (115).

The Nittany Lions force an average of 15.7 turnovers per game, which leads the Big Ten and 15th nationally. PSU averages nine steals per contest.

On the downside, Penn State shoots just 31.5 percent from 3-point range and has a -5.4 rebounding margin — worst in the league.

Rhoades was head coach at Randolph-Macon College, Rice and most recently at VCU. He has led his teams to seven NCAA Tournament appearances as head coach and 12 in his coaching career.

Iowa (13-9, 5-6) vs. Penn State (11-11, 5-6)

When: Thursday, 6 p.m.

Where: State College, Pennsylvania, Bryce Jordan Center (15,261)

TV: Big Ten Network

Radio: Hawkeye Radio Network

Series history: Thursday’s meeting is the 54th in the all-time series that began in 1955. Iowa leads, 33-20. The Nittany Lions have won two straight in the series, both in Happy Valley. Penn State won 83-79 last season and 90-86 in double overtime during the 2021-22 campaign.

Iowa’s last win at Penn State came on Jan. 16, 2019 — an 89-82 victory. The Hawkeyes are 1-4 in their last five games at the Bryce Jordan Center. The two teams have split the past 10 meetings dating back to 2017.

Hawkeyesports.com contributed to this report