GameDay Central 
IUP Crimson Hawks (20-5, 14-5 PSAC) 
vs. Slippery Rock (18-7, 13-6 PSAC) 
Wednesday, February 18, 2015 | 7:30 p.m. 
Kovalchick Complex | Indiana, Pa.  

IUP Game Notes (PDF)
Live Stats: IUPAthletics.com | Fan Stats | Media Stats
Live Audio: WQMU 92.5 FM | u92radio.com
Live Video: IUP-TV | BackLightTV.com

AT A GLANCE
The Crimson Hawks return home for the first time in 11 days to host bitter rival Slippery Rock on Wednedsay night at the KCAC. IUP is in the midst of its second two-game losing streak of the season, falling on the road to Mercyhurst and Edinboro last week. SRU, however, has won three straight games, defeating both the Lakers and the Fighting Scots, along with Seton Hill. 

LAST TIME OUT
Sr. F Jeremy Jeffers (Wilson, N.C./Greenfield School) tied things up in regulation with a 3-pointer at the buzzer, but his long range attempt in overtime missed the mark as IUP fell to Edinboro 79-77 in OT. Jeffers finished 4-7 from 3-point range while Jr. F Daddy Ugbede (Gardena, Calif./Serra) set a new career-high with 26 points on 10-14 shooting in just 26 minutes of action.  

WHAT'S NEXT
The Crimson Hawks are on the road this weekend as they face Pitt-Johnstown on Saturday afternoon. IUP defeated the Mountain Cats 88-73 back on Jan. 21. 

BITTER RIVALS
This will be the eighth meeting between these two rivals since the 2012-13 season, with IUP holding a 5-2 advantage during that span, including wins in the PSAC championship and NCAA tournament in 2013. HC Joe Lombardi has a 16-5 record against Slippery Rock since his arrival in the 2006-07 season. 

IUP IN THE POLLS
The Crimson Hawks have dropped out of the NABC coaches' top 25 poll, as their 14 points received in the voting is just beyond the 25th spot. This is the first time since the 2012-13 preseason release that IUP does not show up in the coaches' poll. 

REGIONAL RANKINGS
Despite two losses, IUP remained at No. 2 in the latest D2SIDA Atlantic Region rankings, trailing West Liberty. The NCAA will release its regional rankings - which determine the teams that make the field of 64 - on Feb. 18. 

QUEST FOR THE WEST
The Crimson Hawks will need to win out and get a lot of help from other divisional teams if they hope to earn the top seed in the PSAC West. IUP is currently 1.5 games behind Gannon and 0.5 behind Mercyhurst in the standings. (See page 4)
Remaining Schedules
IUP: SRU (18-7), at UPJ (12-11), Clarion (9-14)
Gannon: at Cal (17-8), Seton Hill (6-17)
Mercyhurst: at UPJ, at Seton Hill

TIEBREAKERS
According to the PSAC Handbook, for the following criteria exist for tiebreakers for selection to the tournament:
A) Head-to-head 
B) Record vs. divisional opponents, going from top of standings to bottom
C) Wins vs. NCAA D2 opponents over .500
D) Win pct vs. NCAA D2 opponents under .500
E) Coin toss
For three-way ties:
• Higher seeds are determined first
• Each tiebreaker step above will be used until at least one team is awarded 
higher seed or one team is eliminated from tiebreaker

HOME SWEET HOME
The Crimson Hawks have been much better at home this season with a 13-1 record while averaging 76.2 points offensively and giving up 59.1 on defense. 

ROAD WARS
IUP is just 7-4 on road games this season, including losses in each of its past four games away from the KCAC. All of those losses have been by 5 points or fewer, with an average deficit of 3.5 per game. 

THE 1000/400 CLUB
Last Wednesday, Sr. G Devante Chance (Philadelphia, Pa. /Electrical & Technology Charter) became the 4th player in IUP history to score 1000 points and dish out 400 assists for his career. He comes into this week ranked 27th in program history with 1029 points and 3rd with 443 assists. He's joined in the club by Ashton Smith (1635, 456), Eddie Peterson (1621, 425) and Yancey Taylor (1257, 406). 

DRAKE DADDY
Jr. F Daddy Ugbede (Gardena, Calif./Serra) rebounded from three straight low-scoring games to set a career-high with 26 points in just 26 minutes at Edinboro. It was his third 20-point of the year and the 12th time he's reached double-figures in scoring. Over his last three games he's shooting 73.9 pct (17-23) from the field. 

SECOND HALF SURGE
The Crimson Hawks scoring average bumps up to 38.6 points in the second half of games, slightly better than the 35.10 in the opening half. Opponents' scoring also increases in the final 20 minutes, moving up from 27.9 to 32.6 points. 

DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Crimson Hawks are at their best when the defense performs well as IUP is 9-1 when holding opponents under 60 points and 17-3 when opponents score under 70 points in a game. The 79 points that Edinboro scored on Saturday in OT was the first time in the last five games that IUP has allowed more than 58 points in a game. The Crimson Hawks are currently 2nd in the PSAC and 7th in Division II with 61.6 points given up per game. 

SCOUTING SLIPPERY ROCK
Slippery Rock heads into the final three games of its regular season still trying to position itself in the upcoming PSAC tournament. Currently the fourth seed in the division, SRU is just one game behind the Crimson Hawks in the standings. SRU has proven to  be the best rebounding team in the conference all season long with a +13.7 edge over opponents on the glass. Seven different player average at least 4.1 rpg, including team leader Jr. C Cornelius Brown with 6.5. SRU can score too, with its 74.4 ppg ranked 6th in the PSAC. R-Sr. G Antonio Butler averages a team-high 15.8 ppg and has 20+ points three times in SRU's last five games.