GAMEDAY CENTRAL
(2/4) IUP Crimson Hawks (24-2, 17-2 PSAC)
at Edinboro Fighting Scots (9-16, 6-13 PSAC)
Wednesday, February 27, 2019 | 7:30 p.m.
Edinboro, Pa. | McComb Fieldhouse
*Rankings reflect NABC/D2SIDA Top 25 Polls

HOW TO FOLLOW
Stats: GoFightingScots.com | Stretch Internet
Watch: GoFightingScots.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)
Edinboro Preview

COMING UP
Saturday, March 2 vs. Seton Hill, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, March 6 PSAC Quarterfinals, 7:30 p.m.

THE GAME AT A GLANCE
No. 2 IUP men's basketball (24-2, 17-2 PSAC) starts the final week of the regular season with a road match against Edinboro (9-15, 6-13 PSAC) Wednesday night. Tipoff at McComb Fieldhouse is 7:30 p.m. The Crimson Hawks have won five straight games, including a 65-60 victory at Cal U Saturday afternoon. The Fighting Scots have won four of six and are coming off a 90-86 overtime win over Clarion Saturday. 

TIPOFF NOTES
>> Sr. F Jacobo Diaz posted his 14th double-double of the year with 16 points and 14 rebounds, adding 5 assists in the win over the Vulcans. Sr. G Dante Lombardi scored 20 points for the third straight game.
>> IUP overcame a 7-33 performance from 3-point range, limiting Cal to 35.6 shooting and 16 turnovers. 
>> Diaz was named PSAC West co-Athlete of the Week for his efforts, averaging 18.0 points and 11.0 rebounds while shooting 62.5 percent from the field in games against Clarion and Cal last week. 
>> The Crimson Hawks would clinch the PSAC West regular season title with a win at Edinboro. At 17-2 in the conference, IUP is 1.5 games ahead of Slippery Rock (16-4) with two games left. SRU plays just one more time.
>> IUP has won three straight and eight of the last nine division titles since 2010. 
>> A win would also give IUP HC Joe Lombardi 300 for his career, becoming the 10th coach in PSAC history with 300 career wins. In his 13th season, Lombardi would be the fastest PSAC coach to the milestone. 
>> Lombardi is 20-8 lifetime against Edinboro, including 20 wins in the last 21 games since 2008-09. 
>> The Crimson Hawks are looking for their 10th straight regular season sweep of Edinboro. They have won 9 straight games at McComb Fieldhouse, losing 83-78 on Feb. 4, 2009.
>> IUP won this year's first matchup by a score of 102-53 on Jan. 21 at the KCAC. Seven Crimson Hawks scored in double-figures led by Jr. G Malik Miller with 18 points. Lombardi had 16 points and 10 assists. 

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE FIGHTING SCOTS
>> Edinboro is 9-15 overall and 7th in the PSAC West standings with a 6-13 conference record.
>> The Fighting Scots head into the final week of the regular season still in the PSAC tournament hunt, one game back of Seton Hill and Gannon in the standings.
>> They are 5-4 since losing to the Crimson Hawks on Jan. 21, including a 4-1 record against teams in the bottom half of the division standings.

CRIMSON HAWKS ONE OF TOP TEAMS IN THE NATION
>> IUP remained No. 2 in the NABC Top 25 for the second straight week.
>> The Crimson Hawks have been ranked in the top 3 in nine of the 14 polls this season. They've also been ranked in the top 8 all year. 
>> IUP remains 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 last 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 22nd toughest schedule in Division II with an opponents win percent of .574 (366-272).
>> 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 102-57 (.642) 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 24-2 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 299-99 (.751), Coach Lombardi is just 1 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 (316).
>> 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 81.0 scoring average.
>> 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 47.9 FG% is its best since shooting 48.2 in 2015-16. The Crimson Hawks have shot at least 50 percent in 12 of their 26 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 1.5 games over Slippery Rock (16-4) with two 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 (19.0 PPG) and 3rd in rebounding (9.3 RPG). His 14 double-doubles lead the PSAC and are tied for 11th in Division II.
>> Diaz was named PSAC West co-Athlete of the Week Monday after averaging 18.0 points and 11.0 rebounds while shooting 62.5 percent floor in games against Clarion and Cal. It's his four PSAC weekly honor of the year.
>> 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 544 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 16.5 PPG average is 15th in the PSAC. His 5.8 APG is 2nd in the league and 36th 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 14th in the PSAC with a 16.7 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.