NABC Division II Basketball Poll | KU Game Notes | Video/Live Stats
KUTZTOWN, Pa. - The newly No. 10 ranked Kutztown University men's basketball team will get a chance at redemption this Wednesday, Feb. 1 at 8 p.m. when it faces off against No. 9 Shippensburg University inside of Heiges Field House in a clash of the top two teams in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division.
KU (12-2 PSAC, 16-2) and Shippensburg (14-1, 18-1) first met earlier in the season on Dec. 30 in Keystone Arena, with the Raiders coming away victorious in the contest by a score of 97-82.
Since that meeting, Kutztown has won eight games in a row, its longest win streak since Dec. 2011 – Feb. 2012. The Golden Bears' winning streak has vaulted them into the top-10 of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II Basketball Poll for the second time this season. KU was ranked as high as No. 8 earlier in the year.
Shippensburg is coming off its first loss of the season, a 65-82 setback at Millersville on Saturday, Jan. 28 that dropped the Raiders from No. 5 in last week's poll.
The top-four teams in this week's rankings remain unchanged, led by the two lone remaining unbeatens in Division II in No. 1 Northwest Missouri State and No. 2 Fairmont State. West Liberty and California Baptist are slotted third and fourth, respectively.
Indiana (Pa.), the only other team to beat Kutztown this season, replaced Shippensburg at No. 5.
Both KU and Shippensburg boast one of the best offenses in the PSAC, with the Maroon and Gold leading the conference at 88.3 points per game and the Raiders not far behind in the third slot at 86.0 points per game.
The Golden Bears and Raiders also have two of the top-three scoring margins in the PSAC as Shippensburg is outscoring opponents by a league-best 16.8 points per game, compared to to Kutztown's 12.1 points per game.
Individually, Kutztown has been led by all five of its starters all season long and will look for similar production against the Raiders.
Anthony Lee (Willow Grove, Pa./Abington) currently leads the Golden Bears with 16.4 points per game and is atop the NCAA with a 59.2 percent shooting percentage from beyond the arc.
Josh Johnson (Norristown, Pa./Norristown) is currently second on the team in scoring at 14.8 points per game and leads the Golden Bears with 6.3 rebounds per game. Johnson will have his hands full against Shippensburg, who is second the PSAC with 40.8 rebounds per game. Control of the paint will be a key factor in this matchup.
Ethan Ridgeway (West Chester, Pa./Bayard Rustin) has been arguably the most complete player for KU this year, as it seems he has near triple-double numbers every night. He currently averages 14 points, 4.3 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game, the latter of which ranks third in the NCAA.
Dan Cuevas (Stroudsburg, Pa./Stroudsburg) and
Ryan Connolly (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton Area) round out the starters for Kutztown and both have been consistent producers on both ends of the court. Cuevas is averaging 13.9 points per game as well as 5.1 rebounds, while Connolly is averaging 12.7 points per game and has been hitting consistently from deep, currently shooting 42.9 percent to rank fourth in the PSAC.
Shippensburg is led by Dustin Sleva, who leads the Raiders with averages of 20.5 points and 10.8 rebounds, which rank fourth and first in the PSAC, respectively.
Second to Sleva in scoring is Justin McCarthur, who averages 15.1 points per game. Abe Massaley has been the main distributor for the Raiders this season as he leads the team in assists at 5.1 per game.
Following this top-10 showdown, Kutztown returns to Keystone Arena on Saturday, Feb. 4 to host Lock Haven at 3 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the women. The contest will be KU's annual "Play4Kay" game. The first 150 students with ID will receive a free pink t-shirt.
