Iup basketball

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Although I can’t imagine many of the same kids are still around, Hurst has shown an ability to win in Indiana. I was at both games in the 18-19 season when it happened. Even when IUP has gotten leads that other opponents would have succumbed to, Hurst has shown an ability to stay in the game and somehow be within striking distance until the bitter end. The regular season game in 18-19 was very much like that when it seemed like IUP had the game in hand only to inexplicably leave their 6th man sharpshooter wide open for a game winning three at the buzzer.

Per your earlier post, I think the bench gets shortened a bit today. I’m confident that IUP has the better overall material, but Hurst is showing up with a proven system and a group of kids that won’t be intimidated. It’s not often you get a chance to take down the #1 team in the country in its own building. We should get our moneys worth today.

The '18-'19 regular season loss was awful. Cobo blew the inbound coverage (out of a timeout) and then IUP left Porzinkas (sp) wide open in the corner when the entire building knew who was taking the last shot.

They split 4 games that year. Obviously Mercyhurst won the biggest of the four and then won the Region two days later. That was Gary's best team up there.

[EyeoftheHawk]

Last 11 meetings in the IUP vs Mercyhurst series:

YEAR	VENUE	SCORE	NOTES
21-22	MAC	70-67 IUP
21-22	KCAC	60-51 IUP
21-22	KCAC	58-55 IUP	ROUND 2 NCAAs
19-20	KCAC	71-56 IUP
19-20	MAC	68-62 MER
18-19	MAC	77-66 IUP
18-19	KCAC	64-63 MER
18-19	KCAC	56-49 IUP	PSAC FINAL
18-19	KCAC	75-65 MERC	ROUND 2 NCAAs
17-18	KCAC	67-57 IUP
17-18	MAC	67-55 IUP

In the past 11 games, IUP has:

* Gone 8-3 (including three straight wins)
* Averaged 65.09 ppg
* Given up 60.27 ppg
* Reached 77 points just once

Here's an even crazier stat from this series:

If you go all the way back to the 2010-11 season, these two have played 27 times. An '80' was put on the scoreboard just once -- in IUP's win in the MAC in 2016-17 (80-69). During this stretch, there have been numerous games where the winner scored in the mid-50s.

Does the matchup zone get easier as the season moves along? The numbers say the opposite. Last year, in order, IUP scored 70, 60 and then 58 against Mercyhurst.

The last meeting, of course, in Round 2 of the NCAAs, was one of the instant classics -- straight down to the controversial ending (Dallis Dillard drew a charge on a made bucket that was waived off). Ethan Porterfield was also pure ice at the line in the second half -- hitting 11 of 12 when IUP couldn't buy a bucket. IUP stormed out to a 13-1 lead and lead 30-22 at the half, but the Lakers came soaring back in the second.

Although I can’t imagine many of the same kids are still around, Hurst has shown an ability to win in Indiana. I was at both games in the 18-19 season when it happened. Even when IUP has gotten leads that other opponents would have succumbed to, Hurst has shown an ability to stay in the game and somehow be within striking distance until the bitter end. The regular season game in 18-19 was very much like that when it seemed like IUP had the game in hand only to inexplicably leave their 6th man sharpshooter wide open for a game winning three at the buzzer.

Per your earlier post, I think the bench gets shortened a bit today. I’m confident that IUP has the better overall material, but Hurst is showing up with a proven system and a group of kids that won’t be intimidated. It’s not often you get a chance to take down the #1 team in the country in its own building. We should get our moneys worth today.

[Ship69]

Those are legit thoughts, Chuck. I've talked to a couple people who also follow the program and their theory also was he's trying to go all in for this year. It wasn't an eligibility issue. He's a very good student from what I've heard. You can tell watching Stewart that he's still in the 'thinking' rather than 'playing' mode ... but that will slowly wear off. It would have been great to activate him prior to PSU-Altoona. He then could have played 30 minutes.

As for winning it all this year ... I'm not sold yet. This team has some flaws. Well, maybe not flaws, but things that make me a little nervous. For instance, I think they need to spread the scoring around more. Polce and Dillard are legit players. They need a bigger leash / role. Tomiwa had 19 and 11 last night and they don't run a single play for him. That was 19 points the hard way. The overall 3-point shooting is alarming, but this could be a prolonged funk of sorts. I don't think they are getting Ethan enough outside shots -- something that was key a year ago. He's only taken 33 attempts. Conversely, Shawndale has put up 48 but is hitting just 27%. Knit picking, perhaps, but some of these things will be more visible against better opponents.

I'm trying not to think about Ethan and Tomiwa yet. I don't 'think' either is going to leave. If they both say, yes, business as usual next year. If they leave, along with Morris and Shawndale graduating, yes, massive rebuild. Thankfully we have a couple months until that comes up.

Big test awaits. One of the Mercyhurst players mentioned last night that IUP got them last year (IUP won all 3 meetings) and they are eager to redeem themselves. This is a really big game. Obviously it won't define either teams' season but the winner gets a real nice boost. Gotta win the big ones at home. And, as always, you have to start strong against Mercyhurst. They are extremely difficult to come back against.

At least you guys can hope for a somewhat intact roster next year. Ship has a guaranteed massive rebuild. It probably will be Fite's most pivotal recruiting season since his first two years at the helm.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Last 11 meetings in the IUP vs Mercyhurst series:

YEAR	VENUE	SCORE	NOTES
21-22	MAC	70-67 IUP
21-22	KCAC	60-51 IUP
21-22	KCAC	58-55 IUP	ROUND 2 NCAAs
19-20	KCAC	71-56 IUP
19-20	MAC	68-62 MER
18-19	MAC	77-66 IUP
18-19	KCAC	64-63 MER
18-19	KCAC	56-49 IUP	PSAC FINAL
18-19	KCAC	75-65 MERC	ROUND 2 NCAAs
17-18	KCAC	67-57 IUP
17-18	MAC	67-55 IUP

In the past 11 games, IUP has:

* Gone 8-3 (including three straight wins)
* Averaged 65.09 ppg
* Given up 60.27 ppg
* Reached 77 points just once

Here's an even crazier stat from this series:

If you go all the way back to the 2010-11 season, these two have played 27 times. An '80' was put on the scoreboard just once -- in IUP's win in the MAC in 2016-17 (80-69). During this stretch, there have been numerous games where the winner scored in the mid-50s.

Does the matchup zone get easier as the season moves along? The numbers say the opposite. Last year, in order, IUP scored 70, 60 and then 58 against Mercyhurst.

The last meeting, of course, in Round 2 of the NCAAs, was one of the instant classics -- straight down to the controversial ending (Dallis Dillard drew a charge on a made bucket that was waived off). Ethan Porterfield was also pure ice at the line in the second half -- hitting 11 of 12 when IUP couldn't buy a bucket. IUP stormed out to a 13-1 lead and lead 30-22 at the half, but the Lakers came soaring back in the second.

[Chuck Norris]

Those are legit thoughts, Chuck. I've talked to a couple people who also follow the program and their theory also was he's trying to go all in for this year. It wasn't an eligibility issue. He's a very good student from what I've heard. You can tell watching Stewart that he's still in the 'thinking' rather than 'playing' mode ... but that will slowly wear off. It would have been great to activate him prior to PSU-Altoona. He then could have played 30 minutes.

As for winning it all this year ... I'm not sold yet. This team has some flaws. Well, maybe not flaws, but things that make me a little nervous. For instance, I think they need to spread the scoring around more. Polce and Dillard are legit players. They need a bigger leash / role. Tomiwa had 19 and 11 last night and they don't run a single play for him. That was 19 points the hard way. The overall 3-point shooting is alarming, but this could be a prolonged funk of sorts. I don't think they are getting Ethan enough outside shots -- something that was key a year ago. He's only taken 33 attempts. Conversely, Shawndale has put up 48 but is hitting just 27%. Knit picking, perhaps, but some of these things will be more visible against better opponents.

I'm trying not to think about Ethan and Tomiwa yet. I don't 'think' either is going to leave. If they both say, yes, business as usual next year. If they leave, along with Morris and Shawndale graduating, yes, massive rebuild. Thankfully we have a couple months until that comes up.

Big test awaits. One of the Mercyhurst players mentioned last night that IUP got them last year (IUP won all 3 meetings) and they are eager to redeem themselves. This is a really big game. Obviously it won't define either teams' season but the winner gets a real nice boost. Gotta win the big ones at home. And, as always, you have to start strong against Mercyhurst. They are extremely difficult to come back against.

Good info, thanks. I didn’t mean to necessarily imply poor grades with Stewart. I know sometimes with transfers there’s other red tape that needs worked out.

[EyeoftheHawk]

Apologies if this was already addressed, but is it possible Stewart wasn’t eligible for the fall semester for any reason? If not and Joe did just suddenly change his mind, could he be looking at this as a legit chance to win it all, perhaps his last best one at his age and he wanted to leave no stone unturned in putting out the best possible team to get that done? And Stewart having more collegiate experience than Bethea gives him the edge?

It was brought up briefly at the end of last year the possibility that Ethan and Tomiwa could look to finish their careers at D1 after this year. That would mean a pretty heavy reload job in store next year for Joe. While I don’t think IUP would ever fall too far under his leadership, it may still take some time to have a team this capable of winning the whole thing. And Joe’s in his 60s now. I don’t know, just a few thoughts I had.

When we’re not getting answers to questions we have, it’s easy to overthink things and even create scenarios that aren’t there. I’ve run a few of them through my mind as well. Stewart coming on may be as simple as Joe not being satisfied with Bethea’s development. When I look at Bethea and Brooks, I would say Brooks is quite a bit further ahead in his development and can contribute. We aren’t at practice but it may have just become clear that Stewart is the better and more experienced choice in a year when winning it all is possible.

As for Dilliard and Diop sitting out the other night, maybe they were serving some type of one game suspension for doing something stupid. It could have been something that was minor in the grand scheme of things but major enough that Joe wanted to send a message.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Apologies if this was already addressed, but is it possible Stewart wasn’t eligible for the fall semester for any reason? If not and Joe did just suddenly change his mind, could he be looking at this as a legit chance to win it all, perhaps his last best one at his age and he wanted to leave no stone unturned in putting out the best possible team to get that done? And Stewart having more collegiate experience than Bethea gives him the edge?

It was brought up briefly at the end of last year the possibility that Ethan and Tomiwa could look to finish their careers at D1 after this year. That would mean a pretty heavy reload job in store next year for Joe. While I don’t think IUP would ever fall too far under his leadership, it may still take some time to have a team this capable of winning the whole thing. And Joe’s in his 60s now. I don’t know, just a few thoughts I had.

Those are legit thoughts, Chuck. I've talked to a couple people who also follow the program and their theory also was he's trying to go all in for this year. It wasn't an eligibility issue. He's a very good student from what I've heard. You can tell watching Stewart that he's still in the 'thinking' rather than 'playing' mode ... but that will slowly wear off. It would have been great to activate him prior to PSU-Altoona. He then could have played 30 minutes.

As for winning it all this year ... I'm not sold yet. This team has some flaws. Well, maybe not flaws, but things that make me a little nervous. For instance, I think they need to spread the scoring around more. Polce and Dillard are legit players. They need a bigger leash / role. Tomiwa had 19 and 11 last night and they don't run a single play for him. That was 19 points the hard way. The overall 3-point shooting is alarming, but this could be a prolonged funk of sorts. I don't think they are getting Ethan enough outside shots -- something that was key a year ago. He's only taken 33 attempts. Conversely, Shawndale has put up 48 but is hitting just 27%. Knit picking, perhaps, but some of these things will be more visible against better opponents.

I'm trying not to think about Ethan and Tomiwa yet. I don't 'think' either is going to leave. If they both say, yes, business as usual next year. If they leave, along with Morris and Shawndale graduating, yes, massive rebuild. Thankfully we have a couple months until that comes up.

Big test awaits. One of the Mercyhurst players mentioned last night that IUP got them last year (IUP won all 3 meetings) and they are eager to redeem themselves. This is a really big game. Obviously it won't define either teams' season but the winner gets a real nice boost. Gotta win the big ones at home. And, as always, you have to start strong against Mercyhurst. They are extremely difficult to come back against.

[Chuck Norris]

Stewart nailed 4 treys in one game against IUP last year so he can definitely shoot. However, it appears he has a red light.

These whacky lineups aren't going to work Saturday.

I kind of suspect he plays 7-8 guys Saturday and that's it.

Apologies if this was already addressed, but is it possible Stewart wasn’t eligible for the fall semester for any reason? If not and Joe did just suddenly change his mind, could he be looking at this as a legit chance to win it all, perhaps his last best one at his age and he wanted to leave no stone unturned in putting out the best possible team to get that done? And Stewart having more collegiate experience than Bethea gives him the edge?

It was brought up briefly at the end of last year the possibility that Ethan and Tomiwa could look to finish their careers at D1 after this year. That would mean a pretty heavy reload job in store next year for Joe. While I don’t think IUP would ever fall too far under his leadership, it may still take some time to have a team this capable of winning the whole thing. And Joe’s in his 60s now. I don’t know, just a few thoughts I had.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I'm definitely on the train of not knowing why Stewart was activated. He seems like a good player but definitely the timing is odd. Can Stewart shoot?

Bethea getting no minutes baffles me. He was starting to adapt well on both ends. He has a lot of work to do shooting but what freshman doesn't.

Diop officially is just a big body Joe will use in dire need. He seems like he'll never have a role. If he ever was, last night would've been it with Tomiwa in foul trouble.

KJ... I just don't get Joe's love for him.

Brooks is very athletic but still raw on both ends. I understand him only getting 8 minutes.

IUP seeing zone yesterday will help Saturday BUT Hurst runs some very different zones compared to SH. That will be a war against Hurst.

Shawndale better start shooting better or stop shooting from deep.

Seems like we're kind of being left in the dark on several items -- the roster situation (Stewart), Dallis and Diop missing last week, etc.

Joe isn't doing his show this year and Tony hasn't written anything about these items.

That program has always kept things close to the vest but this is extreme this year.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I'm definitely on the train of not knowing why Stewart was activated. He seems like a good player but definitely the timing is odd. Can Stewart shoot?

Bethea getting no minutes baffles me. He was starting to adapt well on both ends. He has a lot of work to do shooting but what freshman doesn't.

Diop officially is just a big body Joe will use in dire need. He seems like he'll never have a role. If he ever was, last night would've been it with Tomiwa in foul trouble.

KJ... I just don't get Joe's love for him.

Brooks is very athletic but still raw on both ends. I understand him only getting 8 minutes.

IUP seeing zone yesterday will help Saturday BUT Hurst runs some very different zones compared to SH. That will be a war against Hurst.

Shawndale better start shooting better or stop shooting from deep.

Stewart nailed 4 treys in one game against IUP last year so he can definitely shoot. However, it appears he has a red light.

These whacky lineups aren't going to work Saturday.

I kind of suspect he plays 7-8 guys Saturday and that's it.

[IUPalum]

I'm definitely on the train of not knowing why Stewart was activated. He seems like a good player but definitely the timing is odd. Can Stewart shoot?

Bethea getting no minutes baffles me. He was starting to adapt well on both ends. He has a lot of work to do shooting but what freshman doesn't.

Diop officially is just a big body Joe will use in dire need. He seems like he'll never have a role. If he ever was, last night would've been it with Tomiwa in foul trouble.

KJ... I just don't get Joe's love for him.

Brooks is very athletic but still raw on both ends. I understand him only getting 8 minutes.

IUP seeing zone yesterday will help Saturday BUT Hurst runs some very different zones compared to SH. That will be a war against Hurst.

Shawndale better start shooting better or stop shooting from deep.

[Ship69]

Not a stellar performance last night but nonetheless it was a nice win. That game was pretty even, overall, for the the first 30 minutes.

IUP had a chance to really hammer SH in the first half but didn't capitalize. I thought IUP lost a lot of steam from the 10-minute mark of the first half through the 10-minute mark of the second half. The Griffins got some really fluke buckets in the first half which got them going.

While different, seeing at least a version of a 40-minute zone last night will help on Saturday.

IUP's outside shooting was off again last night. This is a problem area that has been a largely covered up by strong transition basketball. When you look at the stats they've only had two strong games from deep. They've had a couple average showings and a few awful ones. IUP shot an abysmal 6-27 last night -- which is the only reason that game stayed close much longer than it ever should have.

I can guarantee one thing ... the return game in Greensburg isn't going to be easy. Seton Hill, despite the final margin, left here with some confidence. They'll have the McKenna Center jam-packed for that game.

Switching gears, I'm still not clear on the Jaylen Stewart activation. The timing is odd. Nobody is injured. At most he's probably going to play 12-13 minutes. Don't get me wrong. It's a big help ... this is just very unlike anything we've ever seen from Joe in the past. Even stranger, Jaheim Bethea didn't play at all. Ousmane Diop also returned last night but didn't play. KJ logged 10 minutes and Brooks got just 8.

The minutes have been a strange bird this year. I suppose on one hand you could say Joe isn't used to having (now) 11 guys he can play. It makes the Stewart thing all the more perplexing -- especially since Bethea seemed to be coming on strong.

Yeah, the three-pointers can hurt you, especially if you meet a hot opponent as Ship did last night. East Stroud at one point was 9 of 12 from long-range land in the second half. At one point I think they made 5 or 6 in a row, almost all by different players. When Pepin, who killed Ship around the basket most of the night, went out and hit a couple of 3s it almost seemed unfair.

Interesting that Seton Hill used a zone for a while. Fite, of course, is a man-to-man disciple and that's worked for him, but I didn't think a zone look or two would have hurt against ESU last night, even if just to give them something else to think about a little bit. Ship usually has been able to overcome matchup problems in the past, but Pepin was just a step too far last night.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Not a stellar performance last night but nonetheless it was a nice win. That game was pretty even, overall, for the the first 30 minutes.

IUP had a chance to really hammer SH in the first half but didn't capitalize. I thought IUP lost a lot of steam from the 10-minute mark of the first half through the 10-minute mark of the second half. The Griffins got some really fluke buckets in the first half which got them going.

While different, seeing at least a version of a 40-minute zone last night will help on Saturday.

IUP's outside shooting was off again last night. This is a problem area that has been a largely covered up by strong transition basketball. When you look at the stats they've only had two strong games from deep. They've had a couple average showings and a few awful ones. IUP shot an abysmal 6-27 last night -- which is the only reason that game stayed close much longer than it ever should have.

I can guarantee one thing ... the return game in Greensburg isn't going to be easy. Seton Hill, despite the final margin, left here with some confidence. They'll have the McKenna Center jam-packed for that game.

Switching gears, I'm still not clear on the Jaylen Stewart activation. The timing is odd. Nobody is injured. At most he's probably going to play 12-13 minutes. Don't get me wrong. It's a big help ... this is just very unlike anything we've ever seen from Joe in the past. Even stranger, Jaheim Bethea didn't play at all. Ousmane Diop also returned last night but didn't play. KJ logged 10 minutes and Brooks got just 8.

The minutes have been a strange bird this year. I suppose on one hand you could say Joe isn't used to having (now) 11 guys he can play. It makes the Stewart thing all the more perplexing -- especially since Bethea seemed to be coming on strong.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I wouldn't call it pretty, but, nonetheless IUP hammered SH by 20+ and completely smothered its offense.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Seton Hill is a good team. Respect given.