INDIANA, Pa. - The No. 9-ranked IUP men's basketball team (4-0, 0-0 PSAC) hosts a big regional showdown as the Crimson Hawks welcome Virginia State (3-1, 0-0 CIAA) to Indiana Saturday afternoon. Tipoff at the Kovalchick Complex is set for 3:30 p.m. IUP looks to remain undefeated after last Friday's 90-83 road victory at Bowie State. The Trojans were in action at Mt. Olive's Pickle Classic, beating the hosts 99-95 before falling to Barton 105-90. Originally a four-team, two-day classic, IUP will play just one game this weekend.

TIPOFF NOTES
>> Sr. G Shawndale Jones scored a career-high 37 points in the win at Bowie State, including 29 points in the second half. It was one of four 37-point performances by an IUP player this century.
>> 5th yr. F Tommy Demogerontas had a career-high 23 points to go along with 15 rebounds last Friday.
>> This will be IUP's final scheduled non-conference game of the regular season. 
>> The Hawks originally had two games on tap for the weekend, but Salem pulled out of the IUP Thanksgiving Classic. IUP now has 27 regular season games scheduled and can add one more to replace Salem. 
>> IUP and Virginia State met at the start of the 2017 and 2018 seasons in the IRMC/Hilton Garden Inn Classic. The Trojans won 69-64 in 2017 and the Hawks followed with a 70-67 win in 2018.  
>> IUP is 15-1 in regular season non-conference games since the 2018-19 season, including nine straight wins.
>> IUP leads the PSAC in scoring (95.3), field goal pct. (.529), 3FGs made/game (9.5), and rebound margin (+15.3). The Hawks are also 2nd in scoring margin (+23.0), 3FG pct. (.409), and steals/game (10.8). 
>> IUP moved up in both national polls this week - up nine spots to No. 9 in the NABC Coaches Poll and up two spots to No. 3 in the D2SIDA Media Poll. 

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE TROJANS
>> Virginia State is 3-1 overall and has not yet played a CIAA contest.
>> The Trojans are 7th in the D2SIDA Atlantic Region media poll. 
>> VSU defeated PSAC East opponents Mansfield (101-73) and Shippensburg (85-75) in its season-opening classic.
>> VSU is averaging 93.8 PPG and giving up 87.8 PPG.

IUP IN THE POLLS
>> The Crimson Hawks moved up nine spots in the NABC Coaches' Poll to No. 9 this week.
>> It's the 35th time in the last 37 polls the Hawks have been eligible for that they rank in the top-10, dating back to the 2019-20 preseason poll. 
>> IUP is also No. 3 in this week's D2SIDA Media Poll.
>> IUP spent the entire 2018-19 season in the top-5 of the media poll and all of 2019-20 in the top-10.

IUP OFF TO ANOTHER UNBEATEN START
>> The Crimson Hawks have won four straight to start the season. 
>> This is the ninth time in the last 12 seasons IUP has opened with four straight victories.
>> IUP's best start under Lombardi was 14-0 to open the 2017-18 and 2013-14 seasons.

HAWKS HOT OFFENSE PROVIDES FIREWORKS
>> IUP leads the PSAC and ranks 9th in Division II with a 95.2 scoring average.
>> The Hawks have scored at least 87 points all four games, including a season-high 106 against Le Moyne. 
>> IUP also leads the PSAC and ranks 18th in DII with a 52.9 FG%. The Hawks have shot better than 50.0 percent in three of their four games.
>> IUP leads the PSAC with 9.5 made 3s per game. 
>> The Hawks' 19.0 assists per game is 4th in the PSAC.
>> IUP had one of the most dominating performances of the Joe Lombardi Era against Le Moyne, scoring 106 points, shooting 63.5 percent while making 12 3-pointers.
>> All five starters are averaging better than 12.7 PPG. 
>> In 2019-20 IUP set Lombardi Era highs for points/game (84.4) and field goal pct. (.496). 

CRASHING THE GLASS
>> IUP leads the PSAC and ranks 5th in Division II with a rebound margin of +15.3 through four games. 
>> IUP has won the rebound battle in all four games by at least +8, including a 46-24 (+22) advantage in the win over Bowie State. 
>> 5th yr. F Tommy Demogerontas leads IUP and ranks 3rd in the PSAC with 11.5 RPG.
>> Led by Demogerontas, four Hawks average at least 5.5 rebounds.
>> Opponents are averaging 30.0 RPG, best in the PSAC.

IUP SUCCESSFUL AT HOME
>> The Crimson Hawks have won 21 straight home games dating back to the 2019-20 season, including games played last year. 
>> IUP's longest home win streak during the Lombardi Era is 30 straight victories. That streak ran from the 2008-09 season to the 2010-11 season.
>> IUP also won 22 straight home games under Lombardi between the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons.
>> IUP is 40-2 (.952) at home since 2018-19 and 126-16 (.887) since the 2012-13 season. 
>> IUP has two undefeated home seasons under Lombardi - 18-0 in 2009-10 and 16-0 in 2019-20. 

JONES AMONG NATION'S TOP SCORERS
>> Sr. G Shawndale Jones leads the PSAC and is tied for 6th in Division II with 25.8 PPG through four games. 
>> He has three 20-point games, including a career-high 37 points at Bowie State.
>> He's one of four IUP players this century to score at least 37 points in a game. 
>> Jones is 11th in the PSAC with a 52.8 FG%. He's shot at least 53 percent in three of four games.
>> Jones is tied for 10th in the PSAC with a 83.3 FT%. His 20 made free throws are tied for 4th in the conference and his 24 attempts are tied for 5th.
>> Jones was 4th on the team with 10.1 PPG in 2019-20 and was the PSAC Tournament MVP. 

FOSTER GETTING IT DONE ALL OVER THE COURT
>> Jr. G Armoni Foster is averaging 15.5 PPG, 7.3 RPG and 6.5 APG, to go along with 6 steals and 5 blocks. 
>> Foster has two double-doubles - and near triple-doubles - this year. He had 17 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists against Concord and 17 points, 10 assists and 8 rebounds against Le Moyne.
>> Foster has at least 1 block in all four games.
>> Foster has 907 career points, not including points scored in games games in 2020-21.
>> Foster was a 2020 Preseason All-American by the Basketball Times.  

DEMOGERONTAS A DOUBLE-DOUBLE THREAT
>> 5th yr. F Tommy Demogerontas is averaging 15.5 PPG and a team-best 11.5 RPG this year.
>> He has two double-doubles this season - 16/15 against WV Wesleyan and 23/15 against Bowie State.
>> The 15 boards against Wesleyan and Bowie is a career-high. 
>> Through eight career games in an IUP uniform, Demogerontas has four double-doubles.
>> Demogerontas is 2nd in the PSAC and tied or 25th in Division II with a 66.7 FG%. 
>> He's also a threat from 3-point range, going 4-4 in the win over Bowie State.