Iup basketball

[EyeoftheHawk]

Word is they've sold 'significantly' more tickets for tomorrow than they did through Friday for last year's Round 1.

I always wonder what the night game must be like. Tomorrow there will be in the neighborhood of 3,000 for the IUP game. It ends. Poof. Empty arena. That has to be strange to play in the big KCAC with 38 people in the stands.

BTW, they've again added that 'press row' across the court from the benches -- full length of the court. So, what is normally Row 1 is gone. The first (6) games last year had about 3 of the 40 chairs occupied in said Press Row. It was much more filled for the Final.

I just picked up tickets this afternoon for tomorrow only. I never buy further than that because if IUP loses I’ll feel like it was my fault, LOL.

Tomorrow is going to be fun. A lot of great basketball in the backyard and for $5 per game if you go to all four. Let’s hope IUP makes it to Tuesday to keep things hopping in Indiana for a while. An empty KCAC would be a sad sight. Thinking of that, there’s all the energy that the regionals bring and then when you get to Evansville it’s a completely different vibe. I’m not saying that as someone looking ahead. Regardless of who gets there it’s an odd feel as you’d expect the energy to be higher once you’re in the Elite 8. The final is usually pretty good but it can be pretty empty for the first couple rounds.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Word is they've sold 'significantly' more tickets for tomorrow than they did through Friday for last year's Round 1.

I always wonder what the night game must be like. Tomorrow there will be in the neighborhood of 3,000 for the IUP game. It ends. Poof. Empty arena. That has to be strange to play in the big KCAC with 38 people in the stands.

BTW, they've again added that 'press row' across the court from the benches -- full length of the court. So, what is normally Row 1 is gone. The first (6) games last year had about 3 of the 40 chairs occupied in said Press Row. It was much more filled for the Final.

[IUPalum]

Home court is certainly an advantage (especially with IUP's rabid fan base). But I suspect the PG's broken wrist may be the actual X factor here. You can't hope to succeed against IUP's relentless ball pressure with an untested ball-handler up top.

The replacement PG is a senior that got a lot of minutes. May not be as big a factor as you think.

[Scrub]

This is definitely the classic Reilly vs Manchel slug fest. I'm going on a limb and saying which ever team gets to 45 first will win. This WSSU team is different than in November.

Advantage IUP due to home court. Other than that, it will be a dog fight.

Home court is certainly an advantage (especially with IUP's rabid fan base). But I suspect the PG's broken wrist may be the actual X factor here. You can't hope to succeed against IUP's relentless ball pressure with an untested ball-handler up top.

[IUPalum]

Tale of the Tape -- IUP vs Winston-Salem State

	RECORD	PPG	PPG ALLOWED	FG%	3PT%	FT%	RPG	RBND MARG	APG	A TO T RATION	STEALS	BLOCKS	TO
IUP	30-1	75.2	59.9	.459	.334	.735	37.7	4.4	14.9	1.2	9.2	3.5	12.1
WSSU	21-8	69.6	62.1	.448	.329	.676	34.6	4.3	11.9	0.9	6.9	2.3	13.8

-

Observations from an IUP standpoint:

* Neither teams gives up many points. In fact, these are two of the lowest in the country in points allowed per game.

-- This is going to resemble an old school PSAC West game ... not the modern West games with lineups such as Cal, UPJ and Mercyhurst launching bombs from all over. I doubt either team cracks 70 points.

* Both teams defend the deep shot well. Opponents have shot just 32% against WSSU from beyond the arc and 29% against IUP

* WSSU has won its past 5 games -- and not scored more than 65 points in any of them. They are comfortable in grind-it-out affairs. The Rams knocked off Virginia Union in the CIAA Final Four, 45-44. If that isn't an old-school PSAC West score, I don't know what is.

* Injury-wise
- IUP's Kyle Polce tweaked his ankle last Sunday in the PSAC Championship. He is expected to play.
- WSSU's Isaac Parson (starting PG) broke his wrist in the CIAA Tournament and is out.

* Looking at WSSU losses: (3) were by (3) points or less

* All-Time Series: IUP leads 1-0 (67-50 win this year on a neutral floor at Clarion)

* These two teams were set to play in Round 1 of the Covid-cancelled Regional a couple years ago. WSSU made the trip to Indiana, practiced, and then, well, the world shut down.

This is definitely the classic Reilly vs Manchel slug fest. I'm going on a limb and saying which ever team gets to 45 first will win. This WSSU team is different than in November.

Advantage IUP due to home court. Other than that, it will be a dog fight.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Tale of the Tape -- IUP vs Winston-Salem State

	RECORD	PPG	PPG ALLOWED	FG%	3PT%	FT%	RPG	RBND MARG	APG	A TO T RATION	STEALS	BLOCKS	TO
IUP	30-1	75.2	59.9	.459	.334	.735	37.7	4.4	14.9	1.2	9.2	3.5	12.1
WSSU	21-8	69.6	62.1	.448	.329	.676	34.6	4.3	11.9	0.9	6.9	2.3	13.8

-

Observations from an IUP standpoint:

* Neither teams gives up many points. In fact, these are two of the lowest in the country in points allowed per game.

-- This is going to resemble an old school PSAC West game ... not the modern West games with lineups such as Cal, UPJ and Mercyhurst launching bombs from all over. I doubt either team cracks 70 points.

* Both teams defend the deep shot well. Opponents have shot just 32% against WSSU from beyond the arc and 29% against IUP

* WSSU has won its past 5 games -- and not scored more than 65 points in any of them. They are comfortable in grind-it-out affairs. The Rams knocked off Virginia Union in the CIAA Final Four, 45-44. If that isn't an old-school PSAC West score, I don't know what is.

* Injury-wise
- IUP's Kyle Polce tweaked his ankle last Sunday in the PSAC Championship. He is expected to play.
- WSSU's Isaac Parson (starting PG) broke his wrist in the CIAA Tournament and is out.

* Looking at WSSU losses: (3) were by (3) points or less

* All-Time Series: IUP leads 1-0 (67-50 win this year on a neutral floor at Clarion)

* These two teams were set to play in Round 1 of the Covid-cancelled Regional a couple years ago. WSSU made the trip to Indiana, practiced, and then, well, the world shut down.

[Ship69]

Way overdue. These guys stay around (are allowed to stay around) way too long and then the exit is ugly. Was never a fan of Boeheim as it is and the way he’s behaved over this hasn’t changed my opinion.

You can get away with having a big mouth and being persnickety if you're winning as he was for much of his career — not so much when the winning stops.

[EyeoftheHawk]

AKA, you’re fired

Way overdue. These guys stay around (are allowed to stay around) way too long and then the exit is ugly. Was never a fan of Boeheim as it is and the way he’s behaved over this hasn’t changed my opinion.

[IUPNation]

He basically said he was leaving it up to the school, and the AD said thanks, we're moving on.

Some coaches don't know when it is time to go and all they do is drag down a program. See Paterno, Joe.

[IUPalum]

He basically said he was leaving it up to the school, and the AD said thanks, we're moving on.

AKA, you’re fired

[Ship69]

It does sound like he wanted to come back for his final contract year, but they fired him.

He basically said he was leaving it up to the school, and the AD said thanks, we're moving on.

[Bart]

Retired is a nice way of putting it.

It does sound like he wanted to come back for his final contract year, but they fired him.

[IUPalum]

Joe will talk with the best of them. You just aren't getting the answer to your question. Every once in a while Jack will bait him and he slips.

The Amir Hinton transfer was the best example.

The biggest jerk of them all (to the media) 'retired' yesterday up at Syracuse.

Retired is a nice way of putting it.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Quite a few coaches have become masters of using a lot of words to say nothing. Sports reporters get criticized, sometimes fairly, for asking dumb questions, but interviewing coaches over a number of years can be extremely frustrating. On the few occasions I was in a D1 pressroom, the multimillionaire coaches were great at treating the press as a lower form of life, especially if you worked for a small print publication. Coaches at the D2 and D3 level aren't as full of themselves and usually are more fun to talk with. Jim Phelan at Mount St. Mary's was one of my favorite guys I interviewed.

Joe will talk with the best of them. You just aren't getting the answer to your question. Every once in a while Jack will bait him and he slips.

The Amir Hinton transfer was the best example.

The biggest jerk of them all (to the media) 'retired' yesterday up at Syracuse.

[Ship69]

No. First show of the year. He's been saving up cliches all season lol.

Nobody in the profession is better at avoiding a question with a 4-minute, off-topic answer than Joe Lombardi. He makes it sound great. Then you realize that it had nothing to do with the question lol.

Quite a few coaches have become masters of using a lot of words to say nothing. Sports reporters get criticized, sometimes fairly, for asking dumb questions, but interviewing coaches over a number of years can be extremely frustrating. On the few occasions I was in a D1 pressroom, the multimillionaire coaches were great at treating the press as a lower form of life, especially if you worked for a small print publication. Coaches at the D2 and D3 level aren't as full of themselves and usually are more fun to talk with. Jim Phelan at Mount St. Mary's was one of my favorite guys I interviewed.