MATCHUP
(7/6) IUP Crimson Hawks vs. (-/-) Pitt-Johnstown Mountain Cats
Saturday, February 29, 2020 | 7:30 p.m. | Kovalchick Complex, Indiana, Pa.
*Rankings reflect NABC/D2SIDA Top 25 Polls

PREVIEW INFORMATION
IUP (24-2, 19-2 PSAC) | Pitt-Johnstown (21-7, 15-6 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
Wednesday, March 4 vs. TBD (PSAC Quarterfinals), 7:30 p.m.

THE GAME AT A GLANCE
No. 7 IUP men's basketball (24-2, 19-2 PSAC) looks to end the regular season with a primetime Senior Night matchup against Pitt-Johnstown (21-7, 15-6) Saturday. Tipoff at the Kovalchick Complex is 7:30 p.m. The Crimson Hawks have won six straight games with a pair of road blowout wins, including a 101-49 thrashing of Clarion Wednesday. The Mountain Cats have split their last four and are coming off an 85-73 win over Seton Hill.

TIPOFF NOTES
>> Sr. G Malik Miller led five IUP players in double-figures with 20 points as the Crimson Hawks shot over 50 percent for the fourth straight game and made a season-high 16 3-pointers at Clarion.
> Saturday's game is Senior Night for the Crimson Hawks as they'll honor Malik Miller and Chucky Humphries before tipoff. The two have helped IUP to a 104-17 (.860) overall record over the last four seasons with four straight PSAC West regular season titles, two NCAA tournament appearances, and a 2019 PSAC tournament championship.
>> The Crimson Hawks already have the outright PSAC West regular season title locked up. This marks their 10th divisional title in the last 11 years, including five straight for the second time in HC Joe Lombardi's tenure. 
>> The Crimson Hawks are also looking to strengthen their grip on their No. 1 NCAA Atlantic Region ranking. The rankings determine the NCAA tournament field with the top seed earning regional hosting rights. 
>> The Crimson Hawks are one of seven teams in Division II with 2 or fewer losses this season. 
>> IUP is looking for its sixth regular season sweep of Pitt-Johnstown in the last seven years. R-So. G Armoni Foster scored 26 points and IUP shot 56 percent with 13 3-pointers in a 100-93 win in Johnstown on Jan. 22. 
>> Lombardi is 16-3 lifetime against UPJ, including a 15-1 mark since they joined the conference in 2013. 
>> The Mountain Cats only win during that time came at the KCAC during the 2017-18 season (65-63). 
>> The Hawks are 33-2 at home since the start of last year, including a 14-0 mark this year. IUP has a +22.1 coring margin in those 14 wins, including seven by more than 20 points.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE MOUNTAIN CATS
>> Pitt-Johnstown is 21-7 overall and will be the third seed in the PSAC West with a 15-6 league record.
>> The Mountain Cats will play either Gannon or Slippery Rock in the first round of the PSAC tournament Monday.
>> After starting 14-2, UPJ is 7-4 over its last 11. 
>> The Mountain Cats are 7-4 in true road games, but have lost three straight (GU, SRU, Mercyhurst).  

IUP NO. 1 IN NCAA ATLANTIC REGION RANKINGS
>> The Crimson Hawks are No. 1 in the NCAA Atlantic Region rankings for the second straight week. 
>> The top seed in each of Division II's eight regions will serve as the host for its respective region championships.
>> The last in-season ranking will be released next Wednesday before the Division II field of 64 is announced March 8. 

IUP IN THE RANKINGS
>> The Crimson Hawks moved up one more spot to No. 7 in this week's NABC Top 25 coaches' poll.  
>> It marks the 14th 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 32nd straight poll release that the Crimson Hawks have been in the top 25. 

OFFENSE COULD BE BEST IN LOMBARDI ERA
>> The Crimson Hawks are 2nd in the PSAC and 29th in Division II with an 84.4 scoring average.
>> It's the best scoring mark in Lombardi's 14 seasons.
>> IUP has seven 90-point games this season, the most by any Lombardi team. 
>> In 16 games since the break, IUP has 12 80-point outings, including a run of six straight in January. 
>> IUP is 2nd in the league in FG% (.490), FT% (.764), and assists (16.0 APG), and 3rd made 3s (9.2 PG).
>> IUP is the only PSAC school with two players averaging over 18 points per game in R-So. G Armoni Foster (18.9) and Sr. G Malik Miller (18.6). 

DEFENSE IS ROCK SOLID
>> IUP is 8th in Division II allowing just 64.8 PPG. 
>> IUP has held opponents under 70 points 17 times, including 15 times in 21 PSAC games. 
>> IUP is also among national leaders in defensive FG% (.396 - 5th), defensive 3FG% (.303 - 3rd), and blocks per game (4.2 - 27th).  
>> Fr. F Ethan Porterfield (45) and Sr. F Chucky Humphries (24) rank 2nd and 8th, respectively, in the PSAC in blocks. 
>> R-So. G Dave Morris (53) and Foster (48) are 2nd and 6th, respectively, in the PSAC in steals. 

CLUTCH AT THE FOUL LINE
>> The Crimson Hawks are 2nd in the PSAC shooting 76.4 percent from the foul line. 
>> IUP has been hot of late, converting 80.3 percent (184-229) from the charity stripe over the last 10 games. 
>> Five Hawks have made at least 14 free throws during that span with all of them converting at least 76 percent.
>> Foster is 70-84 (.833) in the last 10 games. 

MILLER ON A HOT STREAK
>> Sr. G Malik Miller earned PSAC West Athlete of the Week on the strength of his triple-double (20/11/10) against Edinboro. 
>> He averaged 18.5 PPG, 7.5 APG and 7.0 RPG last week.
>> The triple-double was the first by an IUP player since Yancey Taylor in the 1995 regional finals. 
>> Miller has also had 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 13 20-point performances this year, with nine of those coming in the last 12 games. 
>> Miller is currently 13th in IUP history with 1,454 career points. He's 56 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 13 20-point performances, including five in the last eight games (20.8 PPG). 
>> He's one of the top shooting guards in the conference, ranking 6th overall with a 49.1 FG% (163-332).
>> Foster is averaging 8.4 trips to the foul line over the last 10 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's 19 starts this year are 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. 
>> He's been heating up since mid-January, averaging 12.7 PPG and 5.3 RPG with a 59.4 FG% and 27 blocks in this last 12 games.
>> Porterfield is 2nd in the PSAC with 45 blocks and leads IUP with a 57.5 FG% and 42.3 3FG%. 
>> He posted his first career double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds at Edinboro. 

MORRIS ONE OF TOP POINT GUARDS IN PSAC
>> R-So. G Dave Morris is putting up numbers on both ends of the court, averaging 11.0 PPG with a 54.3 FG%, 60 assists and 36 steals in the last 13 games. 
>> He has 10 double-figure scoring games and five outings of 7+ assists. 
>> The Erie native scored a career-high 19 points in the Jan. 11 win at Gannon. 
>> His 54 steals are 2nd in the PSAC.