INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The IUP men's basketball programs enters the final week of regular season action ranked first in the latest set of NCAA DII Atlantic Region rankings, released Wednesday.
IUP has already locked up the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West regular season crown, securing the top seed in the Western division for the upcoming conference tournament. The Crimson Hawks are 26-1 and 20-1 in the league, winners of four consecutive contests.
IUP has won 12 of the last 13 PSAC West regular season titles and has posted the highest winning percentage of any NCAA DII men's basketball program since 2019-20. The Hawks took control in a 73-60 Senior Day win against Slippery Rock on February 18.
IUP continues to set the tone on the defensive end, leading the nation in field goal percentage defense (.381), while ranking fourth nationally in scoring defense (58.8) Last week, IUP was among the 10 teams the NCAA released as "under consideration" in alphabetical order.
Earlier this week, IUP was ranked third in the NABC Coaches Poll and second in the D2SIDA listing. Accounting games through February 19, IUP has a 25-1 record against DII opponents.
West Liberty was second, followed by Mercyhurst, Virginia Union and Fairmont State in the top five.
IUP has its bye on Wednesday before closing out the regular season slate at California (Pa.) on Saturday, February 25 at 3:00 p.m.
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For up-to-date information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP men's basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_MBB.
| Ranking |
School |
Overall DII Record |
In-Region Record |
| 1 |
IUP |
25-1 |
25-1 |
| 2 |
West Liberty |
23-3 |
21-2 |
| 3 |
Mercyhurst |
20-4 |
18-4 |
| 4 |
Virginia Union |
21-6 |
19-6 |
| 5 |
Fairmont St. |
19-6 |
17-5 |
| 6 |
Pitt.-Johnstown |
18-7 |
16-5 |
| 7 |
West Chester |
19-7 |
17-7 |
| 8 |
East Stroudsburg |
20-7 |
19-6 |
| 9 |
Millersville |
15-9 |
15-9 |
| 10 |
Charleston (WV) |
18-9 |
17-8 |
