INDIANA, Pa. – The IUP men's basketball program reached the number one spot in the D2SIDA rankings, released on Wednesday afternoon. The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) did not release a poll for the week of December 19.
It marks the first number one ranking for the IUP men's program since the early portions of the 1995-96 season. IUP spent 11 consecutive weeks ranked first during the 1994-95 season.
The Crimson Hawks, now 10-0 going into the holiday break, have consistently been ranked in the top five over the last few seasons under head coach
Joe Lombardi. IUP, which extended its regular season winning streak to 21 games dating back to last season, is believed to be just the fourth men's basketball program in the history of the PSAC to achieve a number one national ranking.
Defending national champions Northwest Missouri State had its 21-game winning streak snapped in a 74-65 loss to No. 22 Emporia State on December 19. Nova Southeastern moved to the second spot in the D2SIDA rankings, followed by Black Hills State, Northwest Missouri State and Hillsdale rounding out the top five.
The Crimson Hawks were the last PSAC school ranked first in both 1994-95 and 1995-96. Prior to that, California (Pa.) was ranked atop the national poll for five weeks in 1992-93, with Millersville and Cheyney earning the number one spot in the 1980s.
IUP posted a pair of Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) crossover wins against Kutztown and West Chester at the KCAC. The Hawks knocked off the Golden Bears, 83-72, before toppling the Golden Rams, 69-55.
Both
Dave Morris and
Shawndale Jones surpassed 1,000 points in their collegiate careers, coming on consecutive days. Jones earned PSAC West Athlete of the Week honors for the second time this season as the leading scorer in the PSAC.
The Hawks lead NCAA DII in field goal percentage defense (35.2) and rank third nationally in scoring defense (57.6).
IUP also earned all six first-place votes to remain atop the D2SIDA Atlantic Region Poll.
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For up-to-date information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP men's basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_MBB.
