ABOUT THE GAME

• Millersville has started with four consecutive wins at home for the third season in a row, and opens PSAC action this weekend with back-to-back home games. Friday’s game is a match-up of teams ranked in the top-10 of D2CSC Atlantic Region Poll as Cal U is third and Millersville is tied for ninth. Millersville and Cal U are two of just four teams in the entire PSAC with four wins. Cal U is road tested as its first four games have all been played away from home. Slippery Rock is also no stranger to the road as its last three games have been on the road, and The Rock travels to West Chester Friday before visiting Millersville on Saturday. 

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS

• Jaden Faulkner turned in a 28-point performance in leading Millersville to a win over Jefferson last week. Faulkner leads the PSAC in assists and also ranks fifth in scoring average. Since scoring nine points in the season opener, Faulkner has scored at least 17 points in each of the last four games. Faulkner averages 6.2 assists per game and is the only players in the PSAC averaging more than 5.0 per game. Faulkner also ranks ninth in the PSAC in steals at 2.2 per game. Faulkner and IUP’s Ethan Porterfield are the only players in the PSAC averaging at least 16.0 points and 3.0 assists per game. 
• Matt Dade has been the model of consistency for the Marauders. Averaging 16 points per game, Dade has scored in double-figures in all five games and has scored 17 or more three times. He’s also grabbed six or more rebounds four times. Dade is closing in on 1,000 career points. He enters the weekend with 928. He’s averaged 13.3 points per game in 33 games as a Marauder. Dade ranks seventh in the PSAC in field goal percentage, and teammate Drew Stover leads the PSAC in that category, converting 77.3% of his shots. No other player is shooting better than 65%. 
• For Millersville, success comes down to defense and taking care of the ball. The Marauders are 4-0 when shooting a higher percentage than their opponent and 4-0 when committing fewer turnovers. Millersville ranks sixth in the PSAC in scoring defense but 15th in field goal percentage defense. The Marauders have offset that by ranking third in offensive field goal percentage. Millersville is fourth in turnover margin. and assist/turnover ratio.
   

SCOUTING THE VULCANS

• Cal U was picked as the preseason favorite in the PSAC West, and the Vulcans have played the part so far. K.J. McClurg is second in the PSAC in scoring, averaging 21.8 points per game. He can score from anywhere, hitting 56.3% of his shots from the field, 54.5% from three and 84% from the line. Zyan Collins is the team's No. 2 scorer and ranks ninth in the PSAC in assists per game and fourth in steals per game. 
• Cal U boasts an efficient offense, ranking fourth in the PSAC in scoring (81.3) while ranking second in field goal percentage (51.3) and second in 3-point shooting (39.2). Cal U is also tough on the defensive end, holding opponents to 37.6% shooting--a mark that ranks first in the PSAC. 
   

SCOUTING THE ROCK

• Slippery Rock spent the weekend after Thanksgiving in Hawaii, and there, The Rock suffered a pair of close losses, losing by two to Hawaii Pacific and by eight to Chaminade. The Rock has shot under 40% from the field in two of four games and has shot under 30% from three in each of the last three. The last three opponents have totaled 45 assists to Slippery Rock's 20. 
• Five Slippery Rock players average double figures, led by Austin Maceo's 16 points per game. Maceo scored 25 points with seven assists in the season opening win over West Virginia Wesleyan. Lashon Lindsey has five blocks in the last three games, and has two double-doubles on the young season. He leads the team with 9.8 rebounds per game. 

SERIES HISTORY

• Millersville is 22-11 all-time against The Rock, but Slippery Rock has won seven of the last nine going back to 2009. The most recent meeting between the teams came on Jan. 26, 2022 when the Marauders won at home 77-69 behind 25 points from James Sullivan. Jaden Faulkner was limited to seven points and five turnovers in that game. Slippery Rock has won four of six games in Pucillo Gymnasium since 2009. Millersville is 1-0 at home under Casey Stitzel, however. 
• Cal U holds a slight 9-8 edge in the series since 2003-04 and has won the last two match-ups. Stitzel is 2-2 against the Vulcans. Six of the last eight meetings have been decided by single digits and two have gone into overtime. Cal U won both of those overtime games (2011 and 2019). The last game at Pucillo Gymnasium was a 106-102 Cal U win in double overtime.