Following Tuesday’s game against Minnesota, Iowa men’s basketball guard Drew Thelwell ended the contest with his head buried in his jersey. His emotion showed nothing but pure disappointment, as he finished the night with only two points on 1-of-7 shooting. 

Three days later, Thelwell could breathe a long-awaited sigh of relief at mid-court, as his Hawkeyes squeaked out a gutsy 76-75 victory over Penn State. Thelwell followed up his poor outing against the Gophers, netting a team-high 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-5 from downtown. 

“He was terrific tonight,” head coach Fran McCaffery said after the game. “He was really down the other night, and he didn’t feel like he played well. He’s been great every game except for that one, so he was locked in at practice for this one and played great.”

Thelwell could never find his rhythm against Minnesota, but he began the Penn State game on fire, scoring Iowa’s first six points of the game. While he continued to score, Thelwell’s presence wasn’t felt from just a scoring perspective either, as he included five rebounds, four assists, and two steals to go with his 16 points. 

As if those accomplishments weren’t enough, Thelwell also eclipsed 1,000 career points, a feat that impressed McCaffery. 

Drew Thelwell joined the 1K club AND led @IowaHoops to a win over Penn State with 16 point 👏

Don’t miss his highlights ⤵️#B1GMBBall x @IowaHoops pic.twitter.com/6aId7QGMpo

— Big Ten Men’s Basketball (@B1GMBBall) January 25, 2025

“I’m thrilled for him,” McCaffery said. “It’s an incredible accomplishment. It’s really hard to do, it says a lot about who he is. The thing about him that I’m more impressed with was when he got his one-hundredth win, that tells you exactly what his character is.”

Thelwell was also pleased with the achievement, and thanked some important people during his postgame press conference. 

“I have to give glory to God,” Thelwell said. “I also want to thank my dad for being here, he woke me up so many times when I was in middle and high school and sacrificed his time, and thanks to my mom as well. It just means a lot, and to do it in a win makes it even better.”

Thelwell was all over the floor Friday night, whether offensively or defensively. The guard made plays in every aspect of the game, but none were bigger than the shots that he doesn’t normally take. Thelwell hit two highly contested corner threes, one coming in the game’s last six minutes to help secure the Iowa victory. 

Though he made the shot look easy, the corner triple is a shot that Thelwell usually likes to avoid. 

“No,” said Thelwell. “As a matter of fact, when I was growing up I had a driveway where there was no corner three, so I don’t like taking them, but if I find myself there I will.”

The Minnesota game was arguably one of Thelwell’s worst performances in an Iowa uniform, but he credits his tough, focused mindset for helping him rebound against the Nittany Lions. Even if he plays well or not, that mentality remains the same each night. 

“That game is over and done with,” Thelwell said. “Move on to the next one. We’ve got a lot of games left. I just take a mature approach about it.”