UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Looking for its first Big Ten victory of 2013, the Nittany Lion basketball team (8-15, 0-11) returns home on Thursday night for a 9 p.m. clash against Iowa (15-9, 4-7).

Take a look through a few notebook items leading up to Thursday's contest against the Hawkeyes.

VIDEO: One-on-One with Wisniewski
Wearing a blue practice jersey signifies a spot in head coach Patrick Chambers' rotation for games.  For walk-on junior forward Alan Wisniewski, he earned the right to switch from white to blue last week because of his effort and production on the practice floor.  As a result, Wisniewski was rewarded with 17 minutes of action in Saturday's road game at Nebraska.

Wisniewski made the most of his first significant minutes in his career with six points and eight rebounds.  An industrial engineering major, Wisniewski is a model student-athlete who brings great attitude and effort to the floor every day at practice.  Coach Chambers said he was thrilled with the way Wisniewski competed against Nebraska.

"He played fearless.  He played relentless," Chambers said.

Wisniewski, who also holds down a job at the Quizno's sandwich shop downtown, doesn't have much free time being a full-time engineering student and a member of the basketball team.  We caught up with the junior forward at practice this week to talk about his performance in Lincoln and earning the right to see time on the floor.

VIDEO: Brian Daly Previews Iowa
Penn State will see the Hawkeyes for the second time in 14 days on Thursday night.  The Nittany Lions jumped out to a seven-point lead early in the first half at Carver-Hawkeye Arena before going on a 4:30 scoring drought.  From there, the Hawkeyes took advantage of a 31-for-39 performance at the foul line en route to a 76-67 victory.  Leading up to Thursday's game, we talked with assistant coach Brian Daly for his thoughts on the way the Lions are playing and a scouting report of the Hawkeyes.

Since Penn State Saw Iowa
Iowa has lost four of its last six games, two of which coming in overtime and a third by three points.  The Hawkeyes are 4-7 in Big Ten play, but their record is not indicative of the way they have been playing or the talent they have.  Iowa has been superb at home (12-2), but the Hawks boast a 1-6 mark on the road.  Simply put, Iowa is reaching the point of its schedule where it is desperate to get wins to stay alive in the NCAA Tournament picture.

Forward Aaron White leads Iowa in scoring with 13.5 points per game.  White scored 27 points against the Nittany Lions in the first meeting.  He also leads the Hawkeyes in rebounding at 5.9 rebounds per contest.  Roy Devyn Marble is averaging 13.2 points per game.  Freshman Mike Gessell is Iowa's third-leading scorer at 8.8 points per contest.  Iowa has not been a dangerous 3-point shooting team this season (29.6 percent for the season), but its post play and transition game fuel an offense that is averaging 72.2 points per game.

Tip is set for 9 p.m. in the BCJ with television coverage from ESPNU.


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