INDIANA, Pa. – The IUP men's basketball team opens the exhibition season on Tuesday, October 25, taking on Syracuse from the JMA Wireless Dome. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m.
IUP is coming off a 33-3 season a year ago that included a PSAC and Atlantic Region championship, culminating with a trip to the NCAA DII Final Four. Head coach
Joe Lombardi (367-106) and the Crimson Hawks have won the last three PSAC championships, amassing 91 victories over the last three full seasons.
Syracuse slotted eighth in the 2022 ACC Preseason Poll. The Orange are led by head coach Jim Boehim, winningest active coach in the Division I ranks (998-426), in his 47th season at the helm of his alma mater. The Orange are coming off a 2021-22 season where they went 16-17 and finished ninth in the ACC with 9-11 league record.
GAME INFORMATION
- What: IUP at Syracuse (Exhibition)
- When: Tuesday, October 25 – 7:00 p.m.
- Where: JMA Wireless Dome – Syracuse, N.Y.
- Tickets: Here
- Live Video: ACC Network Extra (ESPN+)
- Live Stats: Here
- Live Updates: Twitter (@IUP_MBB)
- Season Stats (2021-22): IUP | Syracuse
TIPOFF NOTES
- IUP annually challenges itself in exhibitions against top-flight Division I schools, including Illinois (2021), Kentucky (2018), Villanova and Syracuse (2016), Pittsburgh (2012 and 2014), South Florida (2014), Michigan State (2013), La Salle (2013), Maryland (2012), Florida State (2011) and Georgia Tech (2010).
- The Crimson Hawks played a closed-door preseason scrimmage against Niagra on Sunday before finishing up the trip to New York at Syracuse.
- The Crimson Hawks were picked second in the 2022 NCAA DII preseason power rankings.
- Head coach Joe Lombardi is IUP's all-time winningest coach with a 367-106 (.776) record in 16 seasons. Those 367 wins are most among active PSAC coaches and fifth in conference history.
- Lombardi was named the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II Atlantic District Coach of the Year for the third time in the last three seasons (2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22).
- IUP welcomes back four starts from last year's conference and regional championship squad, including a pair of All-PSAC West First team selections in Dave Morris and Ethan Porterfield.
- Porterfield provides a dynamic inside/outside presence for IUP, earning MVP honors for both the PSAC Tournament and NCAA Atlantic Region Tournament.
- Shawndale Jones also returns to the IUP lineup for the 2022-23 campaign after missing most of the season due to injury. Jones was averaging a whopping 25.0 points/game before going down in the seventh game of the 2021-22 season.
- Reigning PSAC West Rookie of the Year Tomiwa Sulaiman returns for his sophomore season after playing in all 36 games for the Crimson Hawks in 2021-22.
- Morris had a pair of double-doubles last season as a dynamic two-way point guard, amassing 10 or more points in 21 contests last season.
- Kyle Polce and Dallis Dillard also spent time in the starting lineup for much of the 2021-22 season, looking to continue progressing as sophomores.
UP NEXT
IUP finishes out the exhibition schedule with another ACC opponent, traveling to Miami on Sunday, October 30 for a 2:00 p.m. matchup.
FOLLOW
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP Men's Basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_MBB.
