This Week: Notre Dame College men's basketball begins the season with a trip to Indiana University of Pennsylvania. On Nov. 10, the Falcons battle the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown, at 5:30 p.m. NDC meets the host No. 4 ranked Indiana (Pa.) on Nov. 11, with a tip-off time of 7:30 p.m.

Records: Last season, NDC had a record of 17-13 and were 7-9 away from home. The Falcons won their first postseason game since 2019 when they took down West Virginia State in the Mountain East Conference Quarterfinals. Pitt-Johnstown went 20-11 in the 2022-23 season. They lost in the Quarterfinals of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Tournament, but still earned a bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament. There, the Mountain Cats lost to West Liberty, 112-88. Indiana (Pa.) went 32-2 last season, winning the PSAC Championship and two national tournament games before losing to West Liberty in the Regional Final.
 
Coaches Corner: Mark Richmond enters year five on the sideline for the Falcons. He has a coaching record of 49-56 (39-43 MEC). Bob Rukavina is entering year 35 with Pitt-Johnstown, while Joe Lombardi is in his 18th season with Indiana (Pa.), currently sitting at 400 wins.
 
Rankings: Indiana is ranked No. 4 in the National Basketball Association of America top 25 preseason poll. IUP was picked to win the PSAC Western Division, while Pitt-Johnstown was selected fifth in the West in the PSAC preseason poll. The Falcons were placed seventh in the MEC preseason poll.
 
Series History: The Falcons played IUP one time, during the 2013-14 season, losing 87-70. They have never faced Pitt-Johnstown.

Noting the Falcons: Notre Dame men's basketball will look different this season, with Jaedon Willis no longer leading the way. Willis was one of the best scorers in the conference, averaging 21 points per game in 2022-23. The Falcons will ask their returners to step into bigger roles this season, with Gbolahan Adio, Jevontae Jones, Kaleb Torrence, Andre Harris and Jamarr Talbert Jr. back on the roster. All of those players saw action in at least 27 games last season, except for Harris, who led the team in rebounding average (7.1) and was third in scoring average (10.1) in just 15 games.
 
Notre Dame has improved its win percentage every season over the past four years, under head coach Mark Richmond. Last season, NDC won 17 games, which is the most wins by the program since the 2018-19 campaign. The Falcons began the 2022-23 season with a victory over Division I opponent Cleveland State and then stepped up in March with an upset victory against West Virginia State in the MEC Tournament.
 
Last season, Notre Dame averaged 81.1 points per game. On the defensive end, the Falcons ranked second in the Mountain East Conference by allowing an average of 77.3 points per game. They were also tied for second in opponent field goal percentage (.433) and led the league in opponent three-point percentage (.308). NDC ranked top five in free throw percentage (.753 – 2nd) and team rebounding (38.6 – 5th).

Noting the Mountain Cats: Pitt-Johnstown has had at least 20 wins in each of the last three seasons. However, last year was the first time the program was in the NCAA Division II Tournament since 2009. The Mountain Cats were 13-2 at home, but went 7-9 away from Johnstown.
 
UPJ did lose some offensive firepower from last season, as three of its top four scorers from 2022-23 graduated. UPJ's Andrew Shull returns and was second on the team last year with 11.3 points per game. He also averaged 3.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.
 
Last season, the Mountain Cats led the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference with a field goal percentage of 50.3-percent and a three-point percentage of 42.1-percent, while ranking third in free throw percentage, at 77.2-percent. They also ranked second in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.27) and assist average (16.3). However, the team was last in the conference after pulling down just 32.3 rebounds per game.
 
Noting the Crimson Hawks: Last year, Indiana (Pa.) posted its fifth 30-win season since 2009-10. The Crimson Hawks became the first team in the PSAC to achieve a number one ranking in the NABC poll since the mid-1990s. West Liberty snapped IUP's 32-game winning streak with a 70-53 victory in the NCAA Regional Championship Game.
 
IUP went 17-1 at home last season and holds a 176-20 record in home games since the Kovalchick Convention & Athletic Complex opened in 2011-12. Indiana has qualified for the NCAA D2 Tournament in each of the last four seasons and advanced to the Elite Eight in 2022.
 
The Crimson Hawks lost its top three scorers from 2022-23, but Ethan Porterfield (12.5 points per game, six rebounds per game), Dallis Dillard (5.4 ppg, 4 rpg) and Jaylen Stewart (5 ppg) all return.
 
IUP held opponents to 59.5 points per game last season, leading the PSAC and finishing inside the top 10 nationally in that category. Along with opponent scoring, IUP also led the conference in opponent field goal percentage (38.6-percent) and opponent three-point percentage (29.8-percent). The Crimson Hawks were third in the PSAC with a turnover margin of plus-2.4 per game and ranked second in steals at 9.2.