Defense propelling IUP, the nation's top-ranked Division II men's basketball team

Just before Christmas, the Indiana University of Pennsylvania men’s basketball team moved into the No. 1 spot in the NCAA Division II rankings.

It looks like the Crimson Hawks intend to stay there.

As each opponent turns on a spit, IUP (17-0) continues to look like the best team in the country.

Defense is the catalyst for 17th-year coach Joe Lombardi’s group.

Consider: The Crimson Hawks were allowing just 58.5 points heading into the weekend, an average that rated third nationally.

Teams were shooting just 37.3% against them. That percentage was No. 2 in the country.

Offense, of course, is what the fans pay to see, and IUP can bring it. The Crimson Hawks have topped 80 points six times, including a 99-point output against Penn State Altoona and 97 vs. Mansfield.

Twelve opponents have scored 60 or fewer points.

Only Pitt-Johnstown (76-71) and New Haven (65-60) have managed to keep final margins in single digits against IUP.

Their 19.5-point margin ranks second in the PSAC behind East Stroudsburg.

1️⃣7️⃣-0️⃣#g2G | #TalonsUp pic.twitter.com/ti99evYmA7

— IUP Men’s Basketball (@IUP_MBB) January 21, 2023

The team is 9-0 at home.

A PSAC team ranked No. 1 nationally is a rarity.

IUP was the last to do it. They spent 11 straight weeks ranked No. 1 in 1994-95.

Since then, Cal (Pa.) was No. 1 for five weeks in 1992-93, and Millersville and Cheyney held the top spot briefly in the 1980s.

Individually, IUP features two of the top guards in the country in grad student Shawndale Jones and redshirt senior Dave Morris. Both are nominees for the Bevo Francis Award, which goes to the nation’s top small-college player.

Jones is averaging a PSAC-best 20.6 points. Morris is fifth at 17.1. Jones had 31 in Saturday’s win over Cal.

IUP reached the Elite Eight last year, falling to Augusta (Ga.), 76-61, to finish 33-3.

The Crimson Hawks took an 18-game winning streak into that game. IUP has been to the NCAA D-II Final Four 10 times and has played in the national championship twice, in 2010 and ‘15.

The Crimson Hawks also have 10 PSAC titles.