Gameday has arrived for IUP as the second seeded Crimson Hawks face a Final Four national semifinal game against number three Augusta, the Southeast Region champion. In the Elite Eight, 33-2 IUP beat Hillsdale, 67-55, while Augusta survived Chico State, 67-55 in overtime.
The 32-3 Jaguars are led by 7-foot-1 center Tyshaun Crawford, who this week was named to the Bevo Francis Award Top 25 Watch List. He’s averaging 17.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, and he not only scores from the post, he passes out of the post to teammates who lead the nation in three-point field goal percentage, at 43 percent. Augusta also leads the nation in free throws made. They average 83.3 points per game and give up only 65.3.
5-foot-10 inch junior guard Miguel Arnold averages 14.2 points per game and is a 48 percent three-point shooter. 6-4 grad student Troy Cracknell scores 12.7 per game and shoots 42 percent from beyond the arc and 6-6 freshman Ja’Queze Kirby averages 10.9 per game and shoots 52 percent from downtown.
IUP coach Joe Lombardi says the Crimson Hawks will be facing a team that plays a different sort of game than they are used to seeing.
Lombardi says, from his standpoint, IUP is David to Augusta’s Goliath.
The coach says he’s concerned with his team’s youth and inexperience in the Final Four atmosphere.
33-2 IUP is 2-2 all-time in national semifinal games, and Lombardi is 2-0, winning in 2010 and 2015.
Like Augusta, IUP has four players averaging in double figures, led by junior All-American Armoni Foster, at 18 points per game, and sophomore forward Ethan Porterfield, who scores 17 per game. He scored 14 in the Elite Eight game against Hillsdale. Junior guard Dave Morris scores 12.2 per game and led IUP with 21 against Hillsdale. Senior forward Tommy Demogerontis average 10. Rising freshman forward Tomiwa Sulaimon scores 7.1 per game, but scored 18 against Hillsdale.
Augusta coach Dip Metress says IUP’s rugged defense, influenced by Lombardi’s years as an assistant at Pitt, is going to make for a tough night.
The Sheesley Electric Pregame Show begins at 5:30 on 92.5 FM U92 and the U92 Sportschannel. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30.
DIVISION I
The Division One Sweet 16 gets underway tonight with four games. In the West Region in San Francisco, top seed Gonzaga plays number four Arkansas, followed by number two Duke and number three Texas Tech. In the South Region at San Antonio, it’s two seed Villanova against number eleven Michigan, followed by top seed Arizona battling number five Houston.
PITT
For the second straight season, Pitt basketball coach Jeff Capel is watching his roster fall apart. Troubled guard Ithiel Horton entered the transfer portal yesterday. Reserves Dan Oladapo, Noah Collier, Chris Payton, and Onyebuchi Ezeakudo are also in the portal. Center John Hughley announced this week that he is staying at Pitt.
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