GAMEDAY CENTRAL
(2/4) IUP Crimson Hawks (23-2, 16-2 PSAC)
at Cal U Vulcans (7-17, 5-13 PSAC)
Saturday, February 23, 2019 | 3 p.m.
California, Pa. | Convocation Center (6,000)
*Rankings reflect NABC/D2SIDA Top 25 Polls

HOW TO FOLLOW
Stats: CalVulcans.com | Sidearm Stats
Watch: CalVulcans.com | Stretch Internet
Video App: PSAC Sports Network
Radio: WQMU 92.5 FM | u92radio.com
Audio App: U92.5 Sports App (Android & iPhone)
Social Media: Twitter | @IUP_MBB

GAME PREVIEWS
IUP Game Notes (PDF)
Cal U M. Basketball Page

COMING UP
Wednesday, February 27 at Edinboro, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 2 vs. Seton Hill, 7:30 p.m.

THE GAME AT A GLANCE
No. 2 IUP men's basketball (23-2, 16-2 PSAC) goes for its fifth win in a row with a Saturday road matchup against Cal U (7-17, 5-13 PSAC). Tipoff at the Convocation Center is 3 p.m. The Crimson Hawks returned to action for the first time in a week with an 82-61 home victory over Clarion Thursday night. The Vulcans have dropped five straight games including an 89-61 loss at Mercyhurst Wednesday. 

TIPOFF NOTES
>> For the second straight game the senior duo of Dante Lombardi and Jacobo Diaz stood out as they combined for 41 points and each just missed out on double-double in the win over Clarion. 
>> Lombardi had a team-high 21 points, hit 6 3-pointers and dished out 9 assists while Diaz finished with 20 points and 8 rebounds. Both had 3 steals apiece.
>> IUP had arguably its best shooting performance of the season, making 56.4 percent from the field including 13-23 from 3-point range. 
>> The Crimson Hawks clinched a first round bye Thursday and need to win out or have Slippery Rock lose a game in order to clinch a PSAC West title. IUP has won three straight and eight of the last nine division titles. 
>> IUP's four remaining opponents have a combined conference record of 17-38.
>> The Crimson Hawks are 9-1 on the road including five straight wins dating back to mid-January. 
>> IUP HC Joe Lombardi is 21-6 all-time against Cal, including a 13-3 mark since the 2011-12 season.
>> The Crimson Hawks have won six straight games against Cal in the Convocation Center dating back to the 2012-13 season. The Vulcans defeated IUP 65-54 at home during the 2011-12 season. 
>> Lombardi and IUP are looking for their fifth straight regular season sweep of the Vulcans. IUP defeated Cal 81-56 in the KCAC Jan. 23 with Diaz posting 18 points and 15 rebounds. 

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE VULCANS
>> Cal U is 7-17 overall and tied for 7th in the PSAC West standings with a 5-13 conference record. 
>> The Vulcans have lost five straight games and nine of their last 10 games.
>> They are 3-8 at home this season with just one victory in their last eight games in California. That one victory came against Clarion (80-63) January 30. 

CRIMSON HAWKS ONE OF TOP TEAMS IN THE NATION
>> IUP moved up to No. 2 in this week's NABC Top 25. It's the highest ranking they've achieved this season. 
>> The Crimson Hawks have been ranked in the top 3 in eight of the 12 polls this season. They've also been ranked in the top 8 all year. 
>> IUP shows up at No. 4 in this week's D2SIDA Media Top 25.
>> IUP is among five Division II teams with 2 or fewer losses this season. 
>> They opened the year at No. 8 in the coaches and No. 6 in the media preseason polls. 
>> The Crimson Hawks are 3-0 against teams ranked in the top 25 - (16/15) Virginia State, 69-67; (11/13) Shippensburg, 88-77; and at (RV/18) Fairmont State, 83-64. 

CRIMSON HAWKS DEBUT AT NO. 1 IN NCAA ATLANTIC REGION RANKINGS
>> The NCAA released its Division II regional rankings Wednesday with IUP debuting at No. 1 in the Atlantic. 
>> These rankings determine selection and seeding to the 2019 NCAA Division II Championships in March. 
>> The rankings will have two more in-season updates before the field of 64 is released Sunday, March 10. 

IUP BOASTS ONE OF TOUGHEST SCHEDULES IN DIVISION II
>> IUP has the 9th toughest schedule in Division II with an opponents win percent of .598 (329-221).
>> The Crimson Hawks went 7-0 in their non-conference schedule that included two top 25 teams.
>> IUP's non-conference schedule included six Division II schools that are a combined 85-51 (.625) this season.
>> IUP had an average scoring margin of +17.0 in their seven non-conference games.
>> The Crimson Hawks are a combined 6-2 against teams currently in the top 10 of the NCAA Atlantic Region rankings including No. 3 Virginia State, No. 4 Mercyhurst, No. 5 West Chester, No. 7 Slippery Rock, No. 8 Shippensburg, No. 9 Fairmont State and No. 10 East Stroudsburg. 

CRIMSON HAWKS OFF TO ONE OF BEST STARTS OF LOMBARDI ERA
>> IUP's 23-2 overall record this year matches their starts during the 2016-17 and 2009-10 seasons. 
>> The 2009-10 team won 15 straight games late in the season which led to PSAC and Atlantic Region tournament titles and a national championship game appearance. 
>> The 2013-14 squad started with 14 straight wins as did this year's team. The 14-game win streaks are two of the longest in the Lombardi era. 

LOMBARDI APPROACHING ANOTHER MILESTONE
>> At 298-99 (.751), Coach Lombardi is just 2 wins shy of becoming the 10th coach in PSAC history with 300 wins.
>> Already IUP's all-time victories leader, he's currently 3rd among active PSAC coaches in victories, trailing Kutztown's Bernie Driscoll (321) and East Stroudsburg's Jeff Wilson (315).
>> Lombardi is a combined 17-8 against Driscoll and Wilson in his 13 years at IUP. 

THE IUP OFFENSE PUTTING UP ITS BEST NUMBERS UNDER LOMBARDI
>> The Crimson Hawks are 5th in the PSAC with an 81.7 scoring average through 25 games.
>> Their current scoring clip is the best in 13 seasons under Lombardi. The 2015-16 and 2016-17 teams both averaged 77.7 points. 
>> IUP has 14 80-point games this season, scoring 106 against Westminster and 102 against Edinboro. 
>> IUP's 48.4 FG% is its best since shooting 48.2 in 2015-16. The Crimson Hawks have shot at least 50 percent in 12 of their 25 games, including a season-best 56.5 percent (35-62) at Fairmont State.

CRIMSON HAWKS LOOKING TO CONTINUE DOMINANCE IN PSAC WEST
>> IUP currently leads the division standings by one-half game over Slippery Rock (16-3) with three games left.
>> IUP has won eight PSAC West regular season titles under Lombardi in the last nine years.
>> The Crimson Hawks won five straight (2010-14) and have won each of the last three (2016-18). 

JACOBO DIAZ ONE OF THE TOP PLAYERS IN DIVISION II
>> Sr. F Jacobo Diaz ranks in the top 10 in the PSAC in 11 statistical categories, including 6th in scoring (19.1 PPG) and 3rd in rebounding (9.1 RPG). His 13 double-doubles lead the PSAC and are tied for 11th in Division II.
>> Diaz was named PSAC West Athlete of the Week Monday after scoring 23 points with four 3-pointers in the win last week against Pitt-Johnstown. It's his third PSAC weekly honor of the year (Nov. 12, Nov. 26).
>> Last Friday Diaz was named to the top 50 Watch List for the Bevo Francis Award, which is given annually to the best player from Division II, Division III, NIAA or the NJCAA.
>> Diaz has led IUP in scoring nine times this year and has 11 different 20-point performances. He scored a season-high 29 points at Slippery Rock and against Westminster, and had 28 at East Stroudsburg.

DANTE LOMBARDI ONE OF TOP POINT GUARDS IN PSAC
>> Sr. G Dante Lombardi is IUP's all-time assist leader with 542 career dishes. That number is 7th most among active Division II players. 
>> He has at least 6 assists in 12 games this year, including 12 against UPJ and 10 in back-to-back games against Edinboro and Cal. 
>> Lombardi is the only player in the PSAC averaging better than 15 points and 5 assists per game. 
>> His 16.4 PPG average is 15th in the PSAC. His 5.8 APG is 2nd in the league and 28th in Division II. 

MALIK MILLER IS A VALUABLE SCORING OPTION
>> Jr. G Malik Miller has turned himself into a big time scorer as a first year starter, ranking 2nd on the team and 10th in the PSAC with a 17.0 PPG average.
>> Miller has led IUP in scoring a team-best 10 times this year, including a recent run of three straight games against Mercyhurst, Slippery Rock and Gannon.
>> He has nine 20-point games this year, including a career-high 26 points in the Jan. 2 win over Gannon.