Men's Basketball Faces IUP in NCAA Opener Saturday at ESU

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WEST CHESTER, Pa - West Chester University's men's basketball squad will open up the Atlantic Regional of the NCAA Division II Tournament on Saturday at 12 p.m. against PSAC West rival No.15 Indiana University of Pennsylvania at Koehler Fieldhouse on the campus of East Stroudsburg University.
 
West Chester, 20-9, received an at-large bid and is seeded sixth in the Atlantic Region, after reaching the PSAC Championship game on Sunday, before falling at No.2 East Stroudsburg in the final. No. 15 IUP, who has been ranked as high as No. 5 this season, also received an at-large bid Sunday night. The Crimson Hawks are the third seed with a 23-4 record on the year and fell to Mercyhurst in the PSAC quarterfinals.
 
Tickets for the NCAA Atlantic Regional can be purchased on-line at http://quantum.esu.edu/athletics/. You may also purchase tickets at Koehler Fieldhouse starting at 11 a.m. on Saturday morning.
 
Tickets are available for all four sessions of the regional, including the four quarterfinal contests (two sessions – afternoon and evening), the semifinals on Sunday, and final on Tuesday for $50 for adults and $40 for students and senior citizens. Individual session tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for students and senior citizens, and tickets for the regional final are $15 for adults and $12 for students and senior citizens.
 
The game will be broadcast on IUP-TV Channel 6 and will also be online at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/west-liberty-university-television.
 
West Chester will be making its seventh trip to the big dance, but its first since 2003. It marks the initial invitation for the Golden Rams under the tutelage of head coach Damien Blair in the midst of his sixth year. The Golden Rams are looking for its first victory in an NCAA tournament game, having gone 0-7 in six previous trips. The Crimson Hawks are making their sixth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament under head coach Joe Lombardi, including a national title game appearance in 2010. IUP is 23-12 all-time in NCAA Tournament action and is making its 13th appearance overall.
 
The Golden Rams and Crimson Hawks met in the PSAC semifinals in 2012 and 2013 with the home squad coming away with the victory on each occasion. The two teams did not meet during the regular season in 2013-14 and have never met in the NCAAs.
 
West Chester defeated Gannon 77-76 in overtime on Saturday to advance to the PSAC Championship Game, before falling to host East Stroudsburg, 92-80. The Golden Rams are traveling to the Pocono's for the third week in a row, after finishing the regular season at Koehler, and then again this past weekend for the PSAC semifinals. IUP has not played since falling to Mercyhurst at home on March 4.
 
Troy Hockaday has been clutch in the postseason, averaging over 21 points per game in West Chester's three contests. The senior co-captain has been "Mr. Consistent" for West Chester this season, scoring in double figures in all but two games. He is the teams' leading scorer at 16.8 points per outing.
 
West Chester has four players averaging in double figures. Cory Blake scores almost 13 ppg while grabbing six rebounds; Shannon Givens averages 12 points and dishes out a team-leading three assists per contest; R.J. Griffin hits nearly 40 percent of his 3-point attempts and averages 10.5 points per game.
The Golden Rams were the second-highest scoring team in the PSAC in 2013-14, but may find it difficult to put up points on Saturday. IUP boasts the nation's second-ranked defense, averaging just 59.1 points per game allowed, while limiting opponents to shooting just 39.2 percent from the floor – a mark that's good for sixth in the country. The Crimson Hawks also defend the 3-point line extremely well, allowing opponents to shoot only 28.4 percent from beyond the arc, which is good for third in the nation.
 
IUP is led by two senior's, forward Marcel Souberbielle, who leads the way averaging 15.8 points per game and adds 5.4 boards per game with a field goal percentage of 48.3, and Mathis Keita, who also averages over 15 points per game, a team-high 5.6 rebounds and a field goal percentage of 49.3. Both Souberbielle and Keita earned first-team PSAC West honors. The Crimson Hawks shoot almost 47 percent from the field, but only 31 percent from beyond the arc. Junior point guard Devonte Chance averages 11 points and 4.4 assists per game and was a second-team PSAC West selection.
 
A key to the game may be West Chester's ability to get to the free-throw line. The Golden Rams average over 30 attempts at the line, while allowing opponents to get to the line over 31 times a game. In contrast, IUP's opponents attempt only 16.5 free-throws on average, and the Crimson Hawks toe line on average 20.5 times a game.
 
Turnovers could also be a determining factor. IUP only turns the ball over 12 times per game while West Chester forces nearly 17 a game and is ninth in the nation in steals at over nine thefts a contest.
 
The winner will play on Sunday at 5 p.m. against the survivor of the game between the second seed and seventh-ranked West Liberty and Glenville State, who is seeded seventh.
 
On the other side of the bracket, host and top seeded No.2 East Stroudsburg faces eighth seeded Livingstone. Fourth seeded Charleston (W.V.), does battle with fifth-seeded Gannon, with the victor's tipping off on Sunday night at 7:30 p.m.
 
The Regional final is slated for a 7 p.m. tipoff Tuesday night with the winner advancing to the Elite Eight in Evansville, Ind., on March 26. The NCAA DII Tournament semifinals will be held on March 27 with the national championship game slated for March 29.