KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The No. 10 and fifth-seeded Kutztown University men's basketball team heads to Fairmont, W.V. to begin play in its second-consecutive NCAA Tournament, and fifth in program history, on Saturday, March 11, when it will face off against fourth-seeded and No. 8 Indiana (PA) in the First Round of the Atlantic Regional at 8:30 p.m.
 
KU (26-3) enters this weekend with one top-10 matchup in program history - Feb. 1 at then-No. 9 Shippensburg. The Golden Bears will make it two in its First Round matchup with IUP and could potentially have three this weekend alone in a loaded Atlantic Region that also features top-seed and No. 3 Fairmont State, two-seed and No. 8 Shippensburg and three-seed and No. 7 West Liberty.
 
The winner of Saturday's First Round game will advance to the Second Round on Sunday, March 12 at 7:30 p.m. The regional final will take place on Tuesday, March 14 at 7 p.m.
 
A trip for Kutztown to a third Atlantic Region final in program history would match the 2008-09 team for the most wins in a single season in KU history (28).
 
In the midst of a season where a 100-year-old 18-game winning streak was tied, KU clinched its second-straight Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East title and would go on to place runner-up to Shippensburg in its first PSAC Championship appearance since 2010.
 
Kutztown previously faced Indiana on Dec. 9, when the Crimson Hawks (27-3) handed the Maroon and Gold their first defeat of the 2016-17 season, 77-76. Neck-and-neck for the final 10:06 of regulation as neither team led by more than three points, a layup with 0.1 seconds to spare gave IUP a close, one-point advantage on the afternoon.
 
IUP had won 18 in a row, the second-longest streak in the NCAA, prior to falling in the PSAC Semifinal to Shippensburg in overtime. PSAC West Athlete of the Year Jacobo Diaz leads the Crimson Hawks, averaging 14.4 points and 9.9 rebounds per game, the latter of which ranks second in the league. Dante Lombardi (First-Team) and Anthony Glover (Second-Team) were also named All-PSAC. Lombardi is top-10 in the conference in assists per game, steals per game and free throw percentage, while Glover is 12th in 3-pointers per game.
 
Kutztown boasts four All-PSAC selections of its own, highlighted by PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Year Josh Johnson (Norristown, Pa./Norristown), who after winning PSAC East Athlete of the Year in 2016, earned the distinction as the first athlete in PSAC history to win both awards in a career. In addition to ranking among the league leaders in blocks (30) and steals (45), the senior is shooting a PSAC-leading 63.1 percent from the field and averaging 15.3 points per game and 7.3 rebounds, the latter of which ranks eighth in the conference.
 
Ethan Ridgeway (West Chester, Pa./Bayard Rustin) is another leader for the Golden Bears, impressively earning First Team accolades in his first season as a starter. Already the KU record holder in single-season assists and career assists, his 257 assists this season are away from the top-five in PSAC single-season history and 16 away from second all-time. He ranks second in the NCAA at 8.9 assists per game. The junior is ninth all-time in the program's single-season annals with 131 made free throws and is fifth in the league at 1.9 steals per contest.
 
Second Team selection Anthony Lee (Willow Grove, Pa./Abington) leads the team at 16.0 points per game, good for 12th in the PSAC.  He is also top-14 in the conference in field goal percentage (.559), steals per game (1.8), blocks per game (1.0) and 3-pionters per game (2.3). The redshirt-sophomore is currently ninth in Kutztown's single-season history with 66 3-pointers, six away from moving into second all-time. His .516 3-point percentage would lead the NCAA if he qualified (min 2.5 per game) and is currently on pace to smash the previous Kutztown record (.443).
 
Fellow Second Teamer Ryan Connolly (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton Area) is the only player Lee would trail in the program annals should he move into second for 3-pointers in a season, as Connolly enters the weekend with 76 triples. He also became the program's all-time leader in career 3-pointers earlier in the season and currently has made 228 during his time at KU. He is eighth in the PSAC at 2.6 3-pointers per game and fourth with a .415 3-point percentage. Meanwhile, his .903 free throw percentage is on pace to break the school record.
 
Rounding out Kutztown's starting five is Dan Cuevas (Stroudsburg, Pa./Stroudsburg), who is third in the PSAC with a .615 field goal percentage. He is averaging 14.5 points per game, 22nd in the conference, and has scored at least 13 points in 16 of the last 19 games.
 
Notably, sixth-man Austin Beidelman (Schnecksville, Pa./Parkland) moved into fifth in KU history with his 356th career assist in the PSAC Championship.