MATCHUP
(8/6) IUP Crimson Hawks vs. (-/-) Edinboro Fighting Scots
Wednesday, February 19, 2020 | 7:30 p.m. | Kovalchick Complex, Indiana, Pa.
*Rankings reflect NABC/D2SIDA Top 25 Polls

PREVIEW INFORMATION
IUP (21-2, 16-2 PSAC) | Edinboro (5-17, 2-16 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, Feb. 22 at Seton Hill, 3 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 26 at Clarion, 7:30 p.m.

THE GAME AT A GLANCE
No. 8 IUP men's basketball (21-2, 16-2 PSAC) brings its three-game win streak into a second straight home game as they host Edinboro (5-17, 2-16 PSAC) Wednesday at the Kovalchick Complex. Tipoff is 7:30 p.m. The Crimson Hawks have momentum heading into the final two weeks of the regular season following their 85-83 win over Gannon Saturday. The Fighting Scots have dropped 13 straight, including a 93-67 loss to Cal U Saturday. 

TIPOFF NOTES
>> The duo of Sr. G Malik Miller and R-So. G Armoni Foster combined for 56 points in IUP's win over Gannon. 
>> Miller scored 30 points, his second 30-point game of the season, with 23 coming in the pivotal second half. Foster had a big first half with 20 of his 26 coming in the first 20 minutes of play.
>> Miller now has four of his biggest career scoring games in the last six games, averaging 21.3 during that span.
>> Foster is averaging 21.8 PPG over his last five games with four 20-point performances. 
>> It marked the 15th 80-point game of the season for the Crimson Hawks, the most in 14 seasons under HC Joe Lombardi. IUP also has six games of 90+ points this year, a Lombardi-era high. 
>> A win Wednesday would give IUP at least a share of the PSAC West regular season title for the fifth straight year and 10th time in the last 11 seasons. The program has 16 divisional crowns since 1974. 
>> The Crimson Hawks are one of nine teams in Division II with 2 or fewer losses this season. 
>> A victory would also give the Crimson Hawks their fifth straight regular season sweep of Edinboro. IUP defeated the Fighting Scots 88-53 on Jan. 15 with Miller scoring a game-high 22 points. 
>> Lombardi is 21-8 lifetime against Edinboro, including 22 wins in the last 24 meetings. 
>> IUP has won 12 of its last 13 home games against the Fighting Scots. 
>> The Hawks are 32-2 at home since the start of last year, including a 13-0 mark this year. IUP has a +22.3 scoring margin in those 13 wins, including seven by more than 20 points.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE FIGHTING SCOTS
>> Edinboro is 5-17 overall and last in the PSAC West standings with a 2-16 league record.
>> The Fighting Scots are in the midst of a 13-game losing streak with their last win coming over Kutztown (88-86, OT) back on Dec. 21. 
>> 10 of Edinboro's 13 straight losses have come by double-digits, including IUP's 35-point win in January.
>> EU is 3-8 on the road, 0-6 against divisional teams. 

NCAA REGIONAL RANKINGS DEBUT WEDNESDAY
>> The NCAA will release its first set of Division II regional rankings Wednesday, February 19.
>> These rankings determine qualifiers and seeding for the 2020 NCAA Division II Championships in March. 
>> IUP has been ranked No. 1 in the D2SIDA Atlantic Region media poll in 12 of 13 releases this year. 

IUP IN THE RANKINGS
>> The Crimson Hawks moved up one spot to No. 8 in this week's NABC Top 25 coaches' poll.  
>> It marks the 13th 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 31st straight poll release that the Crimson Hawks have been in the top 25. 

CRIMSON HAWKS DOMINATE AT HOME
>> The Crimson Hawks are 13-0 at home this season with a +22.3 scoring margin. 
>> They average nearly 87 points on their home floor with 11 games of 80+ and five games of 90+. 
>> IUP has been exorbitantly successful at home under HC Joe Lombardi, boasting a 166-19 (.897) record in Indiana over the last 11 seasons.

OFFENSE COULD BE BEST IN LOMBARDI ERA
>> The Crimson Hawks are 2nd in the PSAC and 41st in Division II with an 83.4 scoring average.
>> It's the best scoring mark in Lombardi's 14 seasons.
>> IUP has six 90-point games this season, the most by any Lombardi team. 
>> In 13 games since the break, IUP has nine 80-point outings, including a run of six straight in January. 
>> IUP is 2nd in the league in FG% (.494) and FT% (.768), and 3rd in assists (15.6 APG) and made 3s (9.0 PG).
>> R-So. G Armoni Foster and Sr. G Malik Miller are both averaging over 18 points per game. 

DEFENSE IS ROCK SOLID
>> IUP is 19th in Division II allowing just 66.6 PPG. 
>> IUP has held opponents under 70 points 14 times, including 12 times in 18 PSAC games. 
>> IUP is also among national leaders in defensive FG% (.403 - 7th), defensive 3FG% (.318 - 22nd), and blocks per game (4.2 - 26th).  
>> Fr. F Ethan Porterfield (39) and Sr. F Chucky Humphries (23) rank 2nd and 7th, respectively, in the PSAC in blocks. 
>> R-So. G Dave Morris and Foster are tied for 6th in the PSAC wtih 41 steals apiece.   

CLUTCH AT THE FOUL LINE
>> The Crimson Hawks are 2nd in the PSAC shooting 76.8 percent from the foul line. 
>> IUP has been hot of late, converting 83.1 percent (138-166) from the charity stripe over the last seven games. 
>> Five Hawks have made at least 12 free throws during that span with all of them converting at least 77 percent.
>> Foster is 54-63 (.857) in the last seven games. 

MILLER ON A HOT STREAK
>> Sr. G Malik Miller has put together four of the highest scoring games of his career over the last three weeks.
>> He scored a career-high 32 vs. Seton Hill and had 30 points against Gannon, along with games of 28 points against SRU and 27 against Clarion.  
>> Miller has seven 20-point performances in the last nine games, averaging 21.6 PPG during that span. 
>> Miller is currently 13th in IUP history with 1,397 career points. He's 113 points away from tying Joe DeLise for 12th place with 1,510 points. 
>> Miller is 7th in the PSAC with 18.6 PPG.
>> Miller was named a preseason player of the year candidate by Wayne Cavaldi of NCAA.com.

FOSTER HAS BEEN HUGE AS FIRST-YEAR STARTER
>> R-So. G Armoni Foster leads IUP and ranks 6th in the PSAC with 18.9 PPG.
>> Foster has 12 20-point performances, including four in the last five games (21.8 PPG). He averaged 25.0 PPG last week in wins over Cal U and Gannon. 
>> He's one of the top shooting guards in the conference, ranking 8th overall with a 49.0 FG% (145-296).
>> Foster is averaging 9.0 trips to the foul line over the last seven games, with performances of 12-12 against UPJ and 14-16 against Gannon. 
>> He 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.

PORTERFIELD VALUABLE AS FRESHMAN STARTER
>> Fr. F Ethan Porterfield has 16 starts this year, the most by an IUP freshman since Ashton Smith's 23 during the 2008-09 season. 
>> Porterfield has a season-high 19 points on two occasions, which are the most by an IUP freshman since Jacobo Diaz (20 points 2x) in 2015-16. 
>> Porterfield is 2nd in the PSAC with 39 blocks and leads IUP with a 57.1 FG% and 42.6 3FG%. 
>> He posted his first career double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds at Edinboro. 

MORRIS COMING INTO HIS OWN
>> R-So. G Dave Morris is averaging 11.8 PPG and 4.3 APG with a 54.7 FG% over the last 10 games. 
>> The Erie native posted a career-high 19 points in the win at Gannon and had games of 17 points against Cal U and 16 points at Pitt-Johnstown. 
>> Morris leads the team with 92 assists, including a career-high 10 (with 1 turnover) against Bethany.