MATCHUP
(7/6) IUP Crimson Hawks vs. (-/-) Clarion Golden Eagles
Saturday, January 25, 2020 | 7:30 p.m. | Kovalchick Complex, Indiana, Pa.
*Rankings reflect NABC/D2SIDA Top 25 Polls

PREVIEW INFORMATION
IUP (16-1, 11-1 PSAC) | Clarion (4-14, 3-9 PSAC)

FOLLOW
Watch: IUP-TV Sports (Stretch Internet) | Live Stats: IUPstats.com (StatBroadcast) | Listen: WQMU 92.5, U92 Sports App | Twitter Updates: @IUP_MBB

COMING UP
Saturday, Jan. 25 vs. Clarion, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 22 vs. Seton Hill, 7:30 p.m.

THE GAME AT A GLANCE
No. 7 IUP men's basketball (16-1, 11-1 PSAC) looks to keep its hot streak going as they return home to host Clarion (4-14, 3-9 PSAC) Saturday night. Tipoff at the Kovalchick Complex is 7:30 p.m. The Crimson Hawks are undefeated in January after an important 100-93 road win over Pitt-Johnstown Wednesday for their seventh straight victory. Clarion brings a two-game win streak into the weekend after an 86-76 win over Bloomsburg.   

TIPOFF NOTES
>> The guard duo of R-So. Armoni Foster and Sr. Malik Miller combined to score 48 points to lead five Hawks in double-figures at UPJ. Foster finished with 26 points and Miller posted 22 points for the third straight game. 
>> It was Foster's eighth 20-point performance this year. He's averaging 20.1 PPG over the last seven games. 
>> IUP shot 56.4 percent from the floor with a season-high 13 3-pointers. The Crimson Hawks also took advantage of their trips to the line, hitting a season-best 25-28 (.893) foul shots. 
>> The game pitted the top two teams in the PSAC West standings. The win gave the Crimson Hawks a 2-game lead over UPJ with a game in-hand. 
>> The Crimson Hawks are averaging 85.9 PPG during their seven-game January win streak. They have five double-figure victories and a scoring margin of +17.7. 
>> The Crimson Hawks are one of six teams in Division II with just 1 loss. 
>> HC Joe Lombardi is 22-4 lifetime against Clarion, including 17 straight wins dating back to the 2010-11 season.
>> IUP has won eight straight home matchups with Clarion by an average of 18.0 points. 
>> The Hawks are 28-2 at home since the start of last year, including a 9-0 mark this year. IUP has a +23.8 scoring margin in those nine wins, including five by more than 20 points.
>> The Crimson Hawks are 49-3 (.942) in January over the last six seasons, including a 23-1 mark at home. 

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE GOLDEN EAGLES
>> Clarion is 4-14 overall and in seventh place in the PSAC West standings with a 3-9 conference record.
>> Clarion has posted wins in back-to-back games (Edinboro, Bloomsburg) after dropping seven straight. Boro and Bloom have a combined 6-18 league record.
>> The Golden Eagles are 2-6 in games away from home, with wins over Edinboro (93-81) and Lock Haven (69-65).

IUP IN THE RANKINGS
>> The Crimson Hawks held steady at No. 7 in the latest NABC Top 25 coaches' poll.  
>> It marks the ninth straight week the Crimson Hawks appear in the top 10 of the coaches' poll after opening the preseason at No. 11. 
>> It's also the 27th straight poll release that the Crimson Hawks have been in the top 25. 
>> IUP reached as high as No. 3 in the poll (Dec. 17). 

IUP OFF TO ANOTHER STRONG START
>> IUP is one of six teams in Division II (as of Jan. 23) with just 1 loss this year. 
>> IUP's nine straight wins to open the season was the fourth best start in the Joe Lombardi era.
>> This is IUP's third 16-1 start in the HC Joe Lombardi era, including the 2018-19 and 2009-10 seasons. 
>> Lombardi and the Crimson Hawks opened the 2018-19 and 2013-14 seasons with 14 straight wins. 

IUP OFFENSE HAS SET GOOD EARLY SEASON PACE
>> The Crimson Hawks are 2nd in the PSAC scoring 83.7 PPG through 17 games. 
>> IUP is also 2nd in the PSAC with a 49.4 FG% and 9th in Division II with a +18.2 scoring margin. 
>> They have 11 games of 80+ points, posting a Lombardi-era high 108 in the win over Bethany.
>> IUP's 83.7 average is currently the highest in the 14 seasons under Lombardi and ahead of last year's 17-game pace (82.6).
>> IUP players have a combined 17 20-point games, with R-So. Armoni Foster leading the team with eight. 
>> IUP is 12-0 when a player scores 20 points. 

DEFENSE IS ROCK SOLID
>> IUP leads the PSAC and ranks 13th in Division II allowing just 65.5 PPG.
>> IUP has held opponents under 70 points 11 times, including nine times in 12 PSAC games. 
>> IUP also leads the conference in defensive FG% (.399), defensive 3FG% (.295), is 2nd in steals per game (8.1) and 3rd in blocks per game (4.2). 
>> Fr. F Ethan Porterfield (27) and Sr. F Chucky Humphries (22) rank 2nd and 5th, respectively, in the PSAC in total blocks. 

WINNING THE BATTLE ON THE GLASS
>> The Crimson Hawks are 2nd in the PSAC and 22nd in Division II with a +6.5 rebounding margin.
>> They've been on the plus side of the rebounding margin 14 times in 17 games this year, including a +16 difference last Wednesday against Edinboro. 
>> The Golden Eagles are last out of 18 conference teams with a -4.9 rebounding margin.

FOSTER HAS BEEN HUGE AS FIRST-YEAR STARTER
>> R-So. G Armoni Foster was named to the top-100 watch list for the Bevo Francis Award, which annually goes to the top small college player in the nation.
>> He ranks 7th in the PSAC at 18.6 PPG.
>> Foster has eight 20-point games and has scored in double-figures 12 straight outings. 
>> Foster is the top shooting guard in the conference, ranking 6th overall with a 50.9 FG% (112-220).
>> He scored a career-high 28 points in the comeback win at Le Moyne, shooting 13-20, and scored 22 of his points in the second half. 

MILLER REACHES 100-GAME AND 1000-POINT MARKS
>> Sr. G Malik Miller became the 34th player in program history to reach 1000 career points when he hit the milestone in the win at Le Moyne (Nov. 15)
>> He became the ninth player in the Lombardi era to reach 100 career games at Shippensburg (Dec. 21). 
>> Miller has 1269 points and an 11.9 career average.
>> He has seven 20-point games, including four in the last five outings. Miller enters the week with three straight 22-point performances.
>> Miller was named a preseason player of the year candidate by Wayne Cavaldi of NCAA.com.

PORTERFIELD VALUABLE AS FRESHMAN STARTER
>> Fr. F Ethan Porterfield has started each of the last 10 games, the most by an IUP freshman since Dante Lombardi (13) in 2015-16. 
>> He scored 17 points with 3 blocks in the comeback win over Cal U and had his first career double-double (14, 12) in the win at Edinboro.
>> Porterfield is averaging 12.4 PPG and 6.1 RPG with 17 blocks and a 66.1 FG% (37-56) in his last seven games.
>> He scored a season-high 19 points at Shepherd, the most by an IUP freshman since Jacobo Diaz in 2015-16. 

MORRIS COMING INTO HIS OWN
>> R-So. G Dave Morris is averaging 14.8 PPG with a 62.1 3FG% (18-29) over the last four games. 
>> He's put together big second halves in close games, scoring 17 points against Gannon and 15 points in the comeback win over Cal U. 
>> He leads the team with 64 assists and ranks 4th with 9.7 PPG.