Mocs Set to Face Indiana (Pa.) Saturday for National Championship

National Championship Game Notes vs. Indiana (Pa.)

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EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Forty minutes is all that remains in the Division II basketball season as top-ranked Florida Southern and 25th-ranked Indiana (Pa.) will face each other in Saturday's NCAA Division II National Championship Game at the Ford Center.

Tip-off for Saturday's national championship game is slated for 3:06 p.m. Eastern and will be aired live on national television by CBS (Bright House Channel 10 in Lakeland) and can also be heard live on Westwood One. 

Saturday's meeting will be the first-ever between the two schools and the first time since 1993 that a team from the South Region will play in the national championship game, which is the longest drought of any region of a national finalist. Prior to Saturday, the last team to play for a national title from the South Region was Troy State as the Trojans fell 85-72 to Cal State-Bakersfield. IUP is the second straight school from the Atlantic Region to play in the national title game as West Liberty represented the region in last year's title game as the Hilltoppers fell to Central Missouri, 86-83 in Evansville. 

The Moccasins, who have won a school record 24 consecutive games and are sporting a 35-1 overall record on the season, earned its third-ever spot in the National Championship game following its 79-76 win over third-ranked Bellarmine in Thursday's Final Four. The Mocs are 1-1 all-time in championship games as they claimed the national title in 1981 with a 73-68 win over Mount St. Mary's in Springfield, Mass. and finished as the runner-up in 1982 as they lost 73-63 to District of Columbia. 

FSC is looking to win its second ever national championship in men's basketball and its 28th all-time national title in school history. The Mocs most recent team national title came in 2010 as the men's golf team took home its record 12th national championship.

"We're excited to get to continue our season and to play for a national championship on Saturday," Moccasin head coach Linc Darner said at Friday's pre championship press conference. "IUP is a very good team that plays great defense. We'll need to be ready to play on Saturday as we have a tremendous challenge awaiting us."

Meanwhile, IUP comes into Saturday's national title game having won five consecutive games and 11 of 12 overall to move its record to 31-6 on the season. The Crimson Hawks, who are making its second-ever appearance in the national championship game and first since to Cal Poly-Pomona (65-53) in the 2010 championship game, earned its spot in the national championship game following its 72-68 win in Thursday's Final Four against seventh-ranked Tarleton State. 

IUP, who is 29-13 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, finished tied for second in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference with a 17-5 record and defeated West Liberty, 77-74 in the Atlantic Region final to make its first trip to the Elite Eight since 2010. 

"I know a lot of people felt like Thursday night's game between Bellarmine and Florida Southern was the championship game," IUP head coach Joe Lombardi said in Friday's press conference. "Hopefully we can get in there and be competitive with a really good Florida Southern team."

Darner said that the Crimson Hawks are a very good team that will present a challenge to his team.

"The biggest thing that worries me is how good they are at the guard position because one thing we've been able to do this season is turn people over," said Darner. "They've got two experienced guards that have played a lot of college basketball games. We've relied on turnovers so much this year. Are we going to be able to pressure their guards?"

Lombardi said that Saturday's game could come down to which team is allowed to play their tempo.

"I think it's going to be a tempo game," said Lombardi, who is in his ninth season at the helm of the Crimson Hawks. "If the game gets into the 80s and 90s, then it really slants to them. We've got to make sure we don't fall into a trap of trying to play their game at their pace."

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME NOTES: Florida Southern is the 14th team to be ranked No. 1 in the final national poll to play in the championship game and the first since Findlay played in the national title game in 2009... The No. 1 ranked team is 8-5 in previous title games, including Findlay picking up an overtime win over Cal Poly Pomona in 2009... FSC and IUP have combined for 66 wins heading into Saturday's game and that marks the most ever combined wins for two teams playing each other in the national championship game... The previous high was 65 in 2007 as Winona State (35) faced Barton (30)... The South Region hasn't had a national championship game winner since North Alabama took home the 1991 title... The Atlantic Region hasn't had a team win a national championship since Barton defeated Winona State in a thrilling 77-75 win in 2007... FSC and IUP are a combined 10-1 against nationally ranked teams and went a combined 22-6 against this year's NCAA Tournament field... The Mocs are the only team from the Sunshine State Conference to ever play in a national championship game... John Ebeling, who is the all-time leading scorer in Moccasin history with 2,514 points, was named the MOP of the 1981 NCAA Championship.