West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

[Scrub]

I get it ... very hard to handicap your own team.

I tend to go all Lou Holtz on IUP lines. They could play Indiana High and I'd convince myself it would be a 6-point game.

Interesting line: Massey has Gannon as just a -2.5 tonight at Mercyhurst.

25.5 would have been the right line for the ladies game. Yuck.

[Scrub]

The house would be destroyed. WL -25.5 all day long.

The house ended up raking it in on my -12.5 line. Toppers nowhere near covering. My vision of shooting woes was pretty visionary. [facepalm]

[Scrub]

Tonight's version of the Hilltoppers will get run out of their own building by Concord on Saturday. Despite being a team averaging over 100 points per game, this is a team struggling to figure out where the scoring will come from right now.

[boatcapt]

The latest yuk in a season filled with yuks. But at least it was a W.

24, 15, 20, 43, 35, 19..Our three point shooting % in the last six games.

After an off season filled with lofty predictions of greatness, this is turning out to the the worst Topper team in at least 15 years.

The good news is that Saturday is a new day and the game vs Concord starts at 0-0.

[boatcapt]

WLU just has no answer for Diop and the rest of the Concord bigs. Diop has 10 points on 4-5 shooting with Concord bigs going 7-10 midway through the first half. Two of WLU's bigs are in early foul trouble with Korte and Sarson getting 2 early fouls.

WLU is hanging tough on the strength, so far, of their three point shooting (6-12 at this time).

[boatcapt]

THAT was a BALLSY win for the Toppers! 89-76 over Concord. Claim the season sweep of Concord and second place in the MEC (baring an upset in the final two games),

[boatcapt]

Senior Day is a pretty good indicator of which players are going to leave the program after the season. WLU had five players honored during the game (Korte, Rasile, Sarson, West and Hinds). When you add Montegue who came back for his grad season this year, thats our top five scorers (and 6 of our top 7), four of our top five assist getters, four of our top five rebounders, six of our top seven three point shot takers, and five of our top seven minute getters!!

29 starts among the returning six players who say time this year with Daugustina getting 25 of those. They averaged 15 minutes per game, 7 PPG, and collectively shot .225 from three.

Let's just say we are going to have to see not just good but probably great from at least three first years players:..And good first years from a few others.

First year players are:

Ryan Reesbeck (Wheeling xfer)
Andrew Shull (UPJ xfer)
Garson Kisner(RS Fr from Morgantown HS)
Terrance Pankey (RS Fr from Ursuline HS)
Machi Chester (Fr from Rock Creek Christian HS)
JP Dragas (Fr from Madison HS)
Kameron Tinsley (Fr from Cave Springs HS)

Not going to be able to tell the 2024-25 Toppers without a score card!

[Scrub]

Senior Day is a pretty good indicator of which players are going to leave the program after the season. WLU had five players honored during the game (Korte, Rasile, Sarson, West and Hinds). When you add Montegue who came back for his grad season this year, thats our top five scorers (and 6 of our top 7), four of our top five assist getters, four of our top five rebounders, six of our top seven three point shot takers, and five of our top seven minute getters!!

29 starts among the returning six players who say time this year with Daugustina getting 25 of those. They averaged 15 minutes per game, 7 PPG, and collectively shot .225 from three.

Let's just say we are going to have to see not just good but probably great from at least three first years players:..And good first years from a few others.

First year players are:

Ryan Reesbeck (Wheeling xfer)
Andrew Shull (UPJ xfer)
Garson Kisner(RS Fr from Morgantown HS)
Terrance Pankey (RS Fr from Ursuline HS)
Machi Chester (Fr from Rock Creek Christian HS)
JP Dragas (Fr from Madison HS)
Kameron Tinsley (Fr from Cave Springs HS)

Not going to be able to tell the 2024-25 Toppers without a score card!

I wouldn't count out Rasile & Sarson to return (in the same way Mont did this year). But, yes, it's going to be a year that tests Howlett/Harr's recruiting ability for sure.

Reasbeck & Shull are both excellent shooters (something the Toppers could use for sure). But neither has a reputation as particularly stout defender, so I'm not 100% sure what role they will play.

[boatcapt]

I wouldn't count out Rasile & Sarson to return (in the same way Mont did this year). But, yes, it's going to be a year that tests Howlett/Harr's recruiting ability for sure.

Reasbeck & Shull are both excellent shooters (something the Toppers could use for sure). But neither has a reputation as particularly stout defender, so I'm not 100% sure what role they will play.

Rasile and Sarson (either or) returning would be helpful. Just guessing but I wouldn't give it more than a 25% chance. If neither return, that would give us one returning starter from a team that has underperformed. We are putting tremendous pressure on our first year players to not just play, but to produce at a very high level.

[Scrub]

Hilltoppers need to take care of business tonight in South Euclid.

This one has all the makings of a classic trap game. The Toppers are probably feeling a bit safer in their quest to get back to the big dance after a gritty win against Concord on Saturday, and they always look forward to the rivalry game with Wheeling. But in between, they have to go to that really strange gym in South Euclid where they rarely play particularly well and face a scrappy NDC bunch.

Gotta find a way to stay focused for tonight.

[Scrub]

What a wild ending on a night when NDC seemed like they couldn't miss and had the Hilltoppers dead in the water.

That final sequence was crazy--Zach Rasile went from dog to hero in about 8 seconds. With the game tied at 85, Rasile--thinking WLU was down--commits the stop-the-clock hand-check foul on the ballhandler (who appeared to be about to call a timeout anyway) to try to "extend the game" with about 9 seconds to go. He's obviously devastated when he discovers that it was actually tied and was, therefore, a no-foul situation. NDC shooter makes both putting NDC up 87-85. Rasile then hits a contested fading 3 with 1 second left to seal the win. What a crazy finish to save the season.

When WLU was down 8 with 4 to go, it sure looked like the bubble had burst.

Hats off to Rasile for hitting when it counts--nice moment for him to get that game winner.

[boatcapt]

What a wild ending on a night when NDC seemed like they couldn't miss and had the Hilltoppers dead in the water.

That final sequence was crazy--Zach Rasile went from dog to hero in about 8 seconds. With the game tied at 85, Rasile--thinking WLU was down--commits the stop-the-clock hand-check foul on the ballhandler (who appeared to be about to call a timeout anyway) to try to "extend the game" with about 9 seconds to go. He's obviously devastated when he discovers that it was actually tied and was, therefore, a no-foul situation. NDC shooter makes both putting NDC up 87-85. Rasile then hits a contested fading 3 with 1 second left to seal the win. What a crazy finish to save the season.

When WLU was down 8 with 4 to go, it sure looked like the bubble had burst.

Hats off to Rasile for hitting when it counts--nice moment for him to get that game winner.

I'm a believer in a team having a limited number of "gut it out wins" during a given season. :Last two games have been gut it out W's. Don't know if WLU has enough gut W's left to win through the NC game.

[Scrub]

I'm a believer in a team having a limited number of "gut it out wins" during a given season. :Last two games have been gut it out W's. Don't know if WLU has enough gut W's left to win through the NC game.

I also kinda can't wait to get outside the conference (if WLU is lucky enough to finish strong and make the field). I feel like the coaches in the conference who have been here awhile (May, Poore, Richmond, Koenig, etc.) have figured out so many ways to challenge what WLU tries to do. But a guy like, say for a random example, Casey Sitzel at Millersville would only have film (rather than years of experience) to go on. I feel like some of these gutty wins WLU has had to pull out the last month or two are partly a product of being so familiar to conference coaches.

Obviously, there's no guarantee that a Millersville, ESU, Fayetteville, etc. is an easy win for WLU. That's not at all what I'm saying. Those teams pose their own kind of match-up problems for WLU. But I do feel like the familiarity in-conference creates these grinder games that seem to happen less frequently out-of-conference.

Danny & Fee, of course, are the big wild cards. They're out-of-conference coaches with MUCH familiarity with what WLU does.

At this point, as they say, it's all about the match-ups.

For now, it's on to Wheeling to try to finish this thing out!

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I also kinda can't wait to get outside the conference (if WLU is lucky enough to finish strong and make the field). I feel like the coaches in the conference who have been here awhile (May, Poore, Richmond, Koenig, etc.) have figured out so many ways to challenge what WLU tries to do. But a guy like, say for a random example, Casey Sitzel at Millersville would only have film (rather than years of experience) to go on. I feel like some of these gutty wins WLU has had to pull out the last month or two are partly a product of being so familiar to conference coaches.

Obviously, there's no guarantee that a Millersville, ESU, Fayetteville, etc. is an easy win for WLU. That's not at all what I'm saying. Those teams pose their own kind of match-up problems for WLU. But I do feel like the familiarity in-conference creates these grinder games that seem to happen less frequently out-of-conference.

Danny & Fee, of course, are the big wild cards. They're out-of-conference coaches with MUCH familiarity with what WLU does.

At this point, as they say, it's all about the match-ups.

For now, it's on to Wheeling to try to finish this thing out!

I was pretty high on Cal but after seeing them in person twice I'm not so sure.

Two different times now they've really struggled against a very depleted IUP team.

Part of that is IUP is still (usually) pretty strong defensively and has really taken Cal out of its rythem both games. To be honest, if IUP had any offense aside from two guys they'd have probably won both games.

The last four IUP teams would have lit this Cal team up. It could also be IUP had to really muck these games up and forced Cal to play extremely slow (way out of their comfort zone).

Don't get me wrong. Cal is very strong. They are big, deep, very athletic and can shoot. They have a swagger.

I'm just not sure anymore what to expect from them in the Regional. Lombardi had a great plan against them. He was just a horse short to win the race.

I wouldn't be shocked if they go out in Round 1 or if they cut down the nets on Tuesday night. They can run and bang, which makes them a very difficult matchup. They don't even start Keith Palek. He's a 6'8" matchup nightmare off the bench. The two starting bigs, Hall and Lucas, are as much guards as they are forwards.

[Scrub]

I was pretty high on Cal but after seeing them in person twice I'm not so sure.

Two different times now they've really struggled against a very depleted IUP team.

Part of that is IUP is still (usually) pretty strong defensively and has really taken Cal out of its rythem both games. To be honest, if IUP had any offense aside from two guys they'd have probably won both games.

The last four IUP teams would have lit this Cal team up. It could also be IUP had to really muck these games up and forced Cal to play extremely slow (way out of their comfort zone).

Don't get me wrong. Cal is very strong. They are big, deep, very athletic and can shoot. They have a swagger.

I'm just not sure anymore what to expect from them in the Regional. Lombardi had a great plan against them. He was just a horse short to win the race.

I wouldn't be shocked if they go out in Round 1 or if they cut down the nets on Tuesday night. They can run and bang, which makes them a very difficult matchup. They don't even start Keith Palek. He's a 6'8" matchup nightmare off the bench. The two starting bigs, Hall and Lucas, are as much guards as they are forwards.

But even in the instances you cite, it's possible that in-conference familiarity plays a role. IUP & Cal know each other so well. Cal has been able to handle most other teams much more easily. And imagine if Cal gets matched up with a Concord, Fayetteville, Claflin, or whomever. Those teams won't know Cal like IUP knows Cal, and I'd bet Cal would have their way.

You're actually sorta supporting my point that these late-season conference grinders seem to be happening all around the leagues (and seem to prompted by extreme familiarity). But it almost feels like a whole new game once you get to the dance and out of your own conference.