INDIANA, Pa. – IUP men's basketball begins its defense of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship on Wednesday, March 1 with a rematch against California (Pa.). Tipoff for the PSAC Quarterfinal round clash is slated for 7:00 p.m.
IUP (27-1) enters the 2023 conference tournament as the top seed in the PSAC West, winners of three consecutive conference championships. The Hawks are set for their third matchup this season against Cal U (15-13), with Wednesday's clash marking the second meeting between the two teams in a week.
Dating back to last season, IUP and Cal U will collide for the seventh time. The Hawks logged four wins against the Vulcans last season, including a 70-64 triumph in the 2022 PSAC Quarterfinals. More recently, IUP finished out the regular season on a high note with a hard-fought 80-77 road victory against Cal on February 25.
The win secured the best regular season in program history for IUP at 27-1, part of an unprecedented run of success for the Crimson Hawks across all of college basketball. IUP boasts the highest winning percentage in NCAA DII basketball since 2019-20, going 88-6 (.934) overall with marks of 28-2, 33-3 and 27-1, not counting the 2020-21 season where most schools did not play.
The winner of Wednesday's matchup advances to the PSAC Semifinals, held on Saturday, March 4 at the highest remaining East seed. Currently Shippensburg and West Chester are the top two seeds in the PSAC East, both in action on Wednesday night.
GAME INFORMATION – CAL U
- Game 29: (W1) IUP vs. (W4) Cal U (Pa.)
- What: PSAC Quarterfinals
- When: Wednesday, March 1 – 7:00 p.m.
- Where: KCAC – Indiana, Pa.
- Social Media Updates: Twitter (@IUP_MBB)
- Live Video: PSAC Digital Network (IUP-TV Sports)
- Live Audio: u92radio.com (U92.5 FM)
- Live Stats: StatBroadcast
- Season Stats: IUP | Cal U
TIPOFF NOTES
- IUP is making its 37th all-time PSAC tournament appearance and 15th straight since 2008.
- The Crimson Hawks are ranked third nationally in the NABC rankings and second in the D2SIDA listing. IUP enters the conference tournament first in the latest set of NCAA DII Atlantic Region Rankings, looking to soliidify its positioning to host the Atlantic Region Tournament.
- IUP is 45-24 (.636) all-time in PSAC tournament games dating back to 1960. The program has won 12 conference tournament championships, including six under HC Joe Lombardi (2010, 2011, 2013, 2019, 2020, 2022).
- Lombardi is 31-6 lifetime against Cal U, which includes 20 straight wins spanning back to 2013-14. Wednesday marks the seventh meeting between IUP and Cal U over the last two seasons.
- IUP is 27-7 in home PSAC tournament games, including 14-3 at the Kovalchick Complex.
- IUP held on down the stretch for a victory against Cal U in the regular season finale last Saturday, despite a second half surge from the Vulcans. Shawndale Jones dropped in 22 points with five assists and three steals, while Dave Morris added 20 points of his own.
- IUP went 8-for-13 from beyond the arc in the opening half last weekend, finishing the game with 10 triples.
- Ethan Porterfield continued his traditional success against Cal, posting 18 points and nine rebounds in 31 minutes of action. Over the last two seasons (six games), Porterfield has victimized the Vulcans with averages of 19.5 points and 7.8 rebounds during that span.
- Lombardi (395-107) continues to close in on 400 career victories at IUP, recently surpassing the 500-game milestone earlier this season.
- Keith Palek III and Cam Polak combined for 50 points as Cal U advanced to face IUP following an 84-69 victory against Seton Hill on Monday night.
- Morris surpassed Jim DeMark's career total of 372 assists on Saturday with three helpers, moving into ninth place in program history. Morris enters with 374 career assists at IUP, including 92 this season.
- IUP continues to lead the nation in field goal percentage defense (.382), ranking fifth nationally in scoring defense (59.1). The Hawks are also 16th in the country in steals/game (9.4), placing four student-athletes among the top 10 in the conference in steals.
- Tomiwa Sulaiman, the PSAC West Freshman of the Year last season, continues his outstanding season. Sulaiman is nearly averages a double-double (13.0 ppg, 9.3 rpg), adding 46 steals and 38 blocks.
- Jones dropped 31 points in the first meeting this season between IUP and Cal U, an 87-70 victory for the Hawks in late January at the KCAC. IUP asserted itself in the second half to pull away for the win earlier this season.
- IUP has won 25 games or more for the ninth time in the last 13 full seasons under Lombardi. IUP also has a streak of 14 straight seasons with 20 wins dating back to 2008-09.
- The Hawks have gone 14-0 at home this season, winning 29 consecutive home games dating back to last season, including the playoffs.
