GAME NOTES: The Iowa Hawkeyes will try to extend a three-game win streak as they travel to face the Penn State Nittany Lions in a Big Ten Conference battle at the Bryce Jordan Center.

Iowa is looking for its fourth consecutive win after the team defeated conference rival Illinois, 68-60, on Wednesday. The Hawkeyes improved to 9-6 against conference competition, but the team is mathematically eliminated from winning the Big Ten regular-season crown with three games left to play.

Penn State has had a rough go of it since Big Ten play began. The Nittany Lions have lost four in a row entering this weekend, with a 60-39 defeat at the hands of Northwestern last Saturday serving as the most recent outing. The team is now just 3-12 against league opponents. But at home, Penn State is 10-4 this season.

Iowa and Penn State will be meeting on the basketball court for the 40th time in their series history. The Hawkeyes hold the all-time advantage over the Nittany Lions by a 26-13 margin. The sides met just over a year ago, with Iowa coming away with an 82-70 win at the Bryce Jordan Center.

The train kept rolling for Iowa on Wednesday as the Hawkeyes clashed with an Illinois squad looking to turn things around. Iowa held Illinois to just 33.3 percent shooting in the contest, which included a 25 percent shooting touch in the second half. The Hawkeyes, meanwhile, hit 43.8 percent of their attempts from the floor, and buried 20-of-30 from the free-throw line in the win. Aaron White scored 29 points to pace the team, adding in nine rebounds and a 10- of-12 mark from the charity stripe. Jarrod Uthoff pulled down a team-best 10 boards for the Hawkeyes, who survived nine lead changes in the game.

The emergence of White in the second half of this season has helped the Hawkeyes get to where they are now, within striking distance of one of the top seeds in the conference tournament. White leads Iowa with 15.2 ppg, connecting on 51.4 percent of his shots from the field with a team-leading 7.2 rpg mark. Uthoff is the only other Hawkeye averaging a double-digit scoring total, netting 12.0 ppg. Uthoff is very active underneath the basket, bringing down 6.1 rpg and leading the team with 45 blocked shots. Iowa as a unit is collecting 69.1 ppg on 43.5 percent shooting, and is holding its opponents to a mere 61.5 ppg (ranked third in the conference standings) on just 39.3 percent shooting.

Penn State suffered through a dismal offensive performance last weekend against Northwestern. The Nittany Lions connected on just 27.3 percent of their shots from the floor, and hit a woeful 1-of-8 from the free-throw line in the loss. Penn State scored just 39 points in the entire contest, as Northwestern cruised to victory behind 46 percent shooting from the floor. Geno Thorpe was the only Nittany Lion in double figures in the loss, netting 13 points with six rebounds on 5-of-17 shooting. Shep Garner chipped in with nine points, as the Wildcats keyed in on defending D.J. Newbill, who finished the contest with a mere three points.

Northwestern effectively executed a defensive strategy all teams should incorporate when taking on Penn State: shut down Newbill, the Big Ten's leading scorer. Newbill scored just three points last weekend, but still leads the conference at 20.5 ppg, hitting 46 percent of his attempts from the floor. His 84 assists and 34 steals are the most on the roster as well. He's the only player for the Nittany Lions netting double digits, though Brandon Taylor (9.5 ppg) is right under that mark. Ross Travis tops the team on the boards, bringing down 6.1 rpg for the Nittany Lions this season. Penn State as a unit is tallying 66.3 ppg, but is giving up 65.3 ppg to opponents through 28 games.

Iowa will likely follow Northwestern's lead and employ a defensive scheme to neutralize Newbill, which could end Penn State's chances of keeping up offensively with the Hawkeyes. Iowa could be a dark horse in the Big Ten Tournament, especially if the team heads in on a lengthy winning streak.