ABOUT THE GAMES

• The PSAC East has turned into a three-team race with the Millersville Marauders in the lead with five regular season games remaining. East Stroudsburg, which Millersville swept, sits a game out, and Shippensburg is even in the loss column but two out in wins as it has played two fewer games than Millersville. Three of Millersville’s final five games are at home and only one of those games is against a team with a winning record. Kutztown, meanwhile, is fighting for the sixth and final playoff spot, trailing Lock Haven by a half game. The Marauders, riding their first 10-game PSAC winning streak since 1993, have started to gain the attention of the pollsters. They moved up from No. 10 to No. 6 in the D2SIDA Atlantic Region Poll this week. It’s the team’s highest ranking of the season. 

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS

• Caden Najdawi is making his case for the PSAC East Defensive Player of the Year Award after scoring his fourth defensive player of the week honor on Monday. Najdawi’s rim protection and team-leading 8.2 boards per game are a big reason why the Marauders rank first in Division II in 3-point field goal defense, seventh in opponent field goal percentage, eighth in rebounds per game and 11th in rebounding margin. Among PSAC East players, Najdawi ranks first in blocked shots (1.8) and fourth in rebounding  (8.2). Najdawi has also been productive on the offensive end, scoring in double-figures in seven consecutive games. 
• After making three total field goals in a three-game stretch in January, Khari Williams has returned to form as an explosive scorer. Over the last eight games, he’s scored 17 or more points five times, and he’s shooting 45.3% from the field and 17-of-40 (42.5%) from three in that stretch.
• Since New Year’s Eve, Millersville is 12-1 and its defense has been outstanding in that stretch. The Marauders have not allowed more than 75 points in 13-straight games, and only one of the last 13 opponents has shot better than 45% from the field. Millersville has held eight of its last nine and each of the last four opponents to under 30% shooting from three, and none of the last 13 have shot better than Slippery Rock’s 34.3%. Millersville is 19-1 when holding teams under 35% shooting from three. 
   

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN BEARS

• Since pulling off a one-point upset of Shippensburg on Jan. 24, Kutztown has lost five in a row, and among the losses was a 15-point loss to Millersville on Jan. 31. After shooting over 42% from the field 10 times in the first 17 games, Kutztown has hit that mark just once in the recent five-game skid. It has also shot 31.8% or lower from three in four of the last five games. Kutztown ranks last in the PSAC in 3-pointers made per game (5.2). Wesley Butler is Kutztown’s top scorer, averaging 15.4 points per game, but he had his lowest point total of the season (six points on 2-of-10 shooting) against Millersville in the first meeting. While Millersville is among the top rebounding teams in the PSAC, Kutztown is better on the offensive glass, ranking fifth in the PSAC with 12.8 offensive boards per game. 
   

THE LAST TIME OUT

• Millersville: Millersville 82, East Stroudsburg 73 (Feb. 5, 2022) -  Behind 20 points from Khari Williams and a staunch defensive effort led by Caden Najdawi's career-high five blocks, Millersville topped East Stroudsburg, 82-73. Williams, who hit 3-of-4 from three and 7-of-8 from the line, got the Marauders going with eight-straight points after ESU jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead. Jaden Faulkner scored 18 points with his savvy finishing at the rim. Justin Nwosu recorded his second-consecutive double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. 
• Kutztown: East Stroudsburg 79, Kutztown 63 (Feb. 7 2022) - Kutztown, playing its fourth game in a week, could not hold up against ESU's press. Four Golden Bears finished in double figures scoring, including a team-high 16 points by Wesley Butler. The junior guard also had four assists and a career-high five steals. 
   

SERIES HISTORY VS. KUTZTOWN

• Millersville has won four of the last six games against Kutztown and two of the last three in Pucillo Gymnasium. Caden Najdawi scored 17 in the first meeting of the season, and he scored a career-high 28 points with 14 boards the last time the two teams played in Pucillo. Justin Nwosu has scored over 20 points in two of the last four match-ups. His 26 in the Feb.  5, 2020 72-68 loss was a career high. 
• The Last Meeting vs. Kutztown - Millersville 74, Kutztown 59 (Jan. 31, 2022):   Caden Najdawi converted a three-point play on the game’s first possession, and it was a sign of what was to come for the Millersville Marauders, who led wire-to-wire and routed Kutztown 74-59. Najdawi scored a game-high 17 points and adding 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season. Jaden Faulkner made 6-of-8 shots for 12 points, and Khari Williams scored 12 for an offense that shot 57.1% from the field and made 5-of-10 3-pointers.