IUP's Julian Sanders (left) and East Stroudsburg's Mike Tobin (right).
Three PSAC Men's Basketball Teams Set for NCAA Atlantic Regional
IUP's Tournament Central
West Liberty's Tournament Central
PSAC Men's Basketball Weekly Release (pdf)
PSAC East co-champion East Stroudsburg, PSAC West and Tournament champion IUP and this year's PSAC Tournament runner-up and last year's NCAA Atlantic Regional runner-up Kutztown will compete this weekend in the NCAA Atlantic Regional, which will be held at two different sites beginning Saturday with first round games. The second round will be contested on Sunday at the same two locations while the third round/regional championship game will be played on Tuesday at the home of the highest remaining seed.
No. 1 seed IUP will host one sub-regional while No. 2 seed West Liberty will host the other sub-regional. East Stroudsburg will take on WVIAC tournament champion West Virginia State in the first round while IUP will play Fairmont State on the IUP sub-regional while Kutztown will take on CIAA champion St. Augustine's in the first round of the West Liberty sub-regional.
PSAC Team Notes
East Stroudsburg Warriors
ESU, the No. 5 seed in the Atlantic Region, is in the NCAA Division II Tournament for the second time in school history and will play No. 4 WV State at IUP on Saturday at 5 p.m... A win would likely set up a rematch of the PSAC semifinal vs. IUP (L 67-63) last Saturday at Koehler Fieldhouse…ESU's first NCAA Tournament appearance was in 1989-90…Head coach Jeff Wilson was an assistant under Sal Mentesana on the 1989-90 team that beat Slippery Rock 99-98 (OT) before falling to Gannon, 72-63, in the regional held at Mercyhurst…ESU's 92 wins over the last five years are the most in school history…Sr. G Andy Heimbach enters NCAA's with school records for 3's in a season (75) and career (235)…Sr. G Robby Pines is 2nd in season assists (187) and 5th in season steals (67).
IUP Crimson Hawks
IUP won its sixth PSAC championship and moved up to the No. 1 spot for the NCAA Atlantic Regional when West Liberty lost in the WVIAC final...The Crimson Hawks also climbed three spots to No. 2 in the nation in the final NABC poll, the highest since being No. 1 early in the 1995-96 season...IUP is hosting an NCAA regional for the first time since defeating Charleston and Salem International to go to the Elite Eight in 2002...In addition to that title, IUP also won NCAA regional championships in 1994, 1995 and 2000...IUP plays Fairmont State in the first round on Saturday...The teams have not met since IUP won 79-73 in the opening round of the 2000 NCAA tournament...IUP is 15-0 at home this season and 29-2 the past two years...The Crimson Hawks are one win shy of tying the 1994-95 team's school record of 29, and IUP is 50-10 since the start of the 2008-09 season... Akida McLain, who missed the final two games of the PSAC tournament with a broken bone in his right (non-shooting) wrist, is expected to play this weekend.
Kutztown Golden Bears
Kutztown (23-7) is making its second consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division II tournament...The Golden Bears earned the No. 6 seed and will meet No. 3 seed Saint Augustine's of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA)...This is the first meeting between the two schools...Stephen Dennis continues to lead Division II in scoring (26.6 ppg.)...He has 2,386 career points, which is third on the PSAC scoring list. Dennis has scored in double figures in 45 straight games and 105 times in his outstanding career...The Golden Bears are 4-0 all-time in PSAC semifinal games and 0-4 in PSAC championship games...Julius Gray averaged 22.2 points in Kutztown's three PSAC tournament games last week...He made a career best six 3-pointers against IUP...Gray has scored 20 or more points in four of Kutztown's last six games...Last year, Kutztown defeated West Virginia State (99-88) and IUP (92-86) before falling to Gannon (84-73) in the NCAA tournament...Kutztown is 2-1 all-time in the NCAA tournament...Ryan Washington posted his 17th double-double of the season (14 points, 11 rebounds) and Tamir Johnson recorded his sixth double-double of the season against IUP (10 points, 15 rebounds).
NCAA Tournament Quick Hits
- This marks the third straight year and the sixth time in the last eight years that the PSAC has qualified at least three teams to the NCAA Tournament.
- This is only East Stroudsburg’s second-ever NCAA Tournament appearance, and its first since 1990.
- Both IUP and Kutztown are making their second straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Prior to last year, Kutztown had made the NCAA Tournament since 1988, while IUP had not made it since 2005.
- Of the three PSAC teams in the NCAA Tournament this year, only IUP has ever won a regional championship.
- Last year’s regional championship game was a rematch of the PSAC championship game between Gannon and Kutztown. With the way the bracket is set up this year, that possibility exists again, as does the possibility that IUP could face East Stroudsburg in the second round in what would be a rematch of the PSAC semifinal game.
- IUP has won its last two first round games in the NCAA Tournament, while East Stroudsburg won its only first round game in school history in 1990.
Past PSAC Regional Champions
2009 Gannon
2008 California
2002 IUP
2000 IUP
1996 California
1995 IUP
1994 IUP
1992 California
1989 Millersville
1986 Cheyney
1983 Bloomsburg
1982 Cheyney
1979 Cheyney
1978 Cheyney
1977 Cheyney
1976 Cheyney
1974 Bloomsburg
1971 Cheyney
1968 Cheyney
1967 Cheyney