2015 NCAA Division II National Championship
(A3) IUP Crimson Hawks (31-6, 17-5 PSAC)
vs. (S1) Florida Southern Moccasins (35-1, 15-1 SSC)
Saturday, March 28, 2015 | 3:00 p.m. (EST)
Ford Center | Evansville, Ind.

IUP Game Notes (PDF)
Television: CBS 
Live Audio: WQMU 92.5 FM | u92radio.com
National Audio: Westwood One Sports | Streaming Player
Live Stats: NCAA.com | NCAA Stats
Full NCAA Bracket

AT A GLANCE
The Crimson Hawks will be going for the first national title in program history when they face Florida Southern in the 2015 NCAA Division II National Championship game on Saturday at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind. IUP is 31-6 overall while the Moccasins are 35-1 and are the No. 1 ranked team in the country.

HOW THEY GOT HERE
The Atlantic Region champion Crimson Hawks defeated Tarleton State 72-68 in the national semifinals a day after beating Azusa Pacific 66-65 in the quarterfinals. Florida Southern made a late shot to beat Bellarmine 79-76 and also defeated Southern New Hampshire 81-70 on Wednesday.

THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
This marks the first time these two teams have ever met. This is IUP's second ever title game appearance, falling to Cal Poly Pomona back in 2010. Florida Southern won the 1981 Division II title and was also the national runner-up in 1982. The 36 combined wins between these two teams is the most all-time for a Division II championship game. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Crimson Hawks rallied from a 49-39 deficit midway through the second half to defeat Tarleton State 72-68 in the semifinals on Thursday. Gr. G Shawn Dyer (Marion, Ohio/Marion Harding) had a game-high 20 points and IUP went 28-34 from the foul line, including 24-28 in the second half alone. 

THE FORD CENTER
This is the second straight year that Evansville and the Ford Center has hosted the Division II Elite Eight, seeing Central Missouri defeat West Liberty 86-83 in 2014. The 290,000 square foot facility opened in Nov. 2011 and is home to the Evansville Aces men's and women's basketball teams and the East Coast Hockey League's Evansville IceMen. It seats 9,000 for basketball games. 

IUP IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
This is IUP's second championship game appearance in 14 all-time NCAA tournaments. IUP has made six Elite Eight's and four Final Four's and last made the title game in 2010. IUP is 29-13 all-time in NCAA postseason games. 

IUP IN THE ELITE EIGHT
IUP is 6-5 all-time at the Elite Eight, including a 4-2 record in the quarterfinal round, a 2-2 mark in the semifinals and 0-1 in the title game. The program has made the Elite Eight in 1994, 1995, 2000, 2002, 2010 and 2015.  

NCAAs UNDER LOMBARDI
This is Lombardi's seventh NCAA tournament appearance at IUP, leading the Crimson Hawks to a 16-6 (.727) record with regional titles in 2010 and 2015. He also led IUP to the national championship game in 2010, defeating Valdosta State and St. Cloud State before falling to Cal Poly Pomona 65-53 in the final.

TWO HUNDRED
Lombardi hit the 200-win plateau with IUP's victory over Glenville State. He's the fastest IUP coach to reach the milestone and with 204 all-time wins, is second all-time in school history behind Gary Edwards and his 206 career victories.  

THE FLORIDA SOUTHERN MATCHUP
This will be yet another high-scoring attack for the Crimson Hawks, who have also faced West Liberty (100.5 ppg) and Azusa Pacific (83.2 ppg) in the NCAA tournament, limiting those teams to 74 and 65 points, respectively. Florida Southern has scored 80 or more points 31 times this year, but is also 5-0 when scoring 79 or fewer points.  

GUARD-ORIENTED
IUP has been led this postseason by the backcourt combination of Sr. G Devante Chance (Philadelphia, Pa. /Electrical & Technology Charter), Gr. G Shawn Dyer (Marion, Ohio/Marion Harding) and Jr. G Brandon Norfleet (Virginia Beach, Va. /Landstown). The guards have combined to average 46.6 ppg with a 48.7 FG% and and 88.2 FT% in IUP's five NCAA tournament games.  

THE AWARD WINNER
Chance was named the PSAC West Athlete of the Year and is a 1st team All-Atlantic Region pick. The co-captain is 4th in the PSAC with 16.5 ppg and 18th in Division II at 5.7 apg. He has four double-doubles and is 10th in Division II with 37.9 mpg. Chance's 212 assists are a school record and the 5th highest total in the nation this season. 

DYER'S POSTSEASON SUCCESS
Dyer was the Atlantic Region Tournament Most Outstanding Player and was a 2nd team All-PSAC West pick. The transfer from West Liberty has a 28-4 record in 32 career postseason games, and has won four straight regional championships. He's also 16-3 in 19 NCAA tournament games, averaging 15.8 ppg with a 86.2 FT% and is scoring 17.6 ppg with a 93.1 FT% in five games this season.  

MR. CONSISTENCY
Norfleet is a highly efficient scorer, boasting a 55.3 FG% (21-38) in NCAA tournament games, while also going 13-14 from the foul line in the last five contests. 

DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Crimson Hawks are at their best when the defense performs well as they are 12-1 when holding opponents under 60 points and 27-4 when opponents score less than 70 points in a game. 

SCOUTING FLORIDA SOUTHERN
Florida Southern enters as the No. 1-ranked team in Division II with a near perfect 35-1 record on the season. The Moccasins' lone loss came in the beginning of January, falling to then-11th-ranked Barry 107-102 at home. They've played eight games against top 25 opponents all year, going 7-1 in those games with an average scoring margin of +6.8. Florida Southern is 5th in Division II with 88.5 ppg, scoring 80 or more points 30 times, topping 90 points on 14 occasions. The Mocs feature All-American Sr. G Kevin Capers, who's scored 20+ points 22 times this season and is averaging 21.6 ppg in the NCAA tournament.