* I do believe now that Joe will run with 8 guys. (Foster, Morris, Polce, Ethan, Tomiwa, Demo, Diller and Rhodes)
* Radford and Diop are on he outside looking in.
* Diop gets no time because he's just awful defensively. It showed at Gannon, watch the stretch of 3 fouls in less than a minute.
* As far as Demo offense for defense, who does he swap with? Ethan and Tomiwa are both better on both ends of the floor now. We can't say the 3 ball over Tomiwa b/c Demo hasn't hit any!
* Tomiwa will make Kronka's life hell on Saturday. He's much better suited for that match up than a weak knee Demo.
* I think Tomiwa will continue to get those looks because teams are more worried about Armoni, Ethan and David. That mid range jumper isn't an easy shot but Tomiwa has it nailed down.
* Who does Ethan guard Saturday? (Landis?) The UPJ smaller line up makes match up issues defensively for IUP.
* Who guards Mulbah? That kid is explosive with the ball.
* Not one senior on UPJ blows my mind. Seems like those guys have been there a decade.
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Last night was the perfect opportunity to try some things. For the first time in a very long time, IUP is pretty healthy right now. It seemed Joe was trying to get everybody some minutes last night -- and in some interesting lineup combinations. Polce came back. Demo and Radford are back. KJ still got some meaningful minutes. Dillard went back to the 6th man.Originally posted by IUPalum View Post
Everybody got some run except Diop, that is. Ousmane sat for 39 minutes. He comes in and has maybe the block of the year. How or why he's not getting at least 7-8 mpg is beyond me. I don't get it.
But, ... the easy games are done. I do not expect to see the constant subbing on Saturday. Joe typically likes to keep that rotation pretty small in big games.
It was good for Demo to get 17 minutes last night. He should be slowly getting his legs and endurance back. But, yes, I agree as good as he was on offense last night, the defense wasn't there. So, his role is going to be interesting moving forward. Joe could even start doing some offense/defense subbing with him like we've seen in the past.
Wonder how much longer teams are going to let Tomiwa shoot wide-open, mid-range jump shots? It makes me wonder if some of the teams actually watch film.
Tomiwa didn't play much in the first UPJ game. That was before Tommy went out. He'll obviously be a huge defensive boost. He'll have to be ... Kromka lit them up the first time.
I think they are better prepared for Kromka now that Tomiwa is entrenched in the starting lineup. He'll still get his points, but IUP will be better equipped to at least make it harder. The key will be who gets Mulbah. He also had a huge game against IUP.Leave a comment:
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Yes, their defense wasn't as good the second half but the offense also went into chuck mode/run and gun. The defense will break down more often when the offense does that. Also, Demo is a defensive liability. As good as he was on offense yesterday, he was just the opposite on D.Originally posted by IUPbigINDIANS View PostLeave a comment:
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If IUP plays D like they did tonight on Saturday ... they will be blown out of the KCAC.
The second half may have been their worst defensive performance of the season. U.G.L.Y.Leave a comment:
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IUP went 1-1 at the FT line.
All night.
Trivia:
Find me the last game IUP shot a single FT in a whole game.Leave a comment:
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Call that the tune-up. Some nice individual performances. Overall ... it's over with.
On to Saturday and nobody got hurt.
Joe's bench is much deeper now. Got the vibe he was experimenting tonight.
Side note: IUPAlum and I disagree, but if Gerald Jarmon hits the market ... Go get him, Joe.Leave a comment:
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Here's how the gate has broken down this year (14 homes games entering tonight):West Virginia Wesleyan 1,342 Concord 1,192 Le Moyne 1,487 Virginia State 812 Millersville 1,127 Shepherd 1,087 Shippensburg 1,608 Pitt-Greensburg 952 Mercyhurst 1,927 Edinboro 1,570 Gannon 1,022 Slippery Rock 0 California 0 Seton Hill 1,387
IUP has played (5) afternoon weekend games with an average gate of: 1,277 (The weekend afternoon games are bolded)
IUP has played (7) night games with fans permitted (various days of the week) with an average gate of: 1,304
The Seton Hill game this past Saturday was actually IUP's first Saturday night home game since Concord in Game 2. IUP blasted the Griffins by 40 in the first meeting so the game likely wasn't too appealing to the average fan. The gate reflected as much.
That gap would have been tremendously higher had the SRU and Cal night games permitted fans.
Some of it is obviously opponent-driven. Mercyhurst drew the largest crowd of the year for a 3 p.m. tip. Granted, at night, that game may have got another 500 or more.
If you take the last 5-7 years as an average, the SRU game, regardless of week night or weekend, typically draws an average of 2,500. The Cal game with no fans was a huge game for the season and would have got at least 1,600 on Wednesday night. I suspect tonight IUP will get about 1,200 for Clarion.
I think there are pros and cons to the afternoon weekend games. I guess we'll wait and see what they do next year.
By and large, however, IUP only drawing about 1,200 per game in a 4,000 seat venue -- down a hair more than 900 from the 2019-20 season. Sure, the averages would have been higher if it wasn't for Driscoll's decision.Leave a comment:
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Saturday is also a MASSIVE game for UPJ's NCAA hopes.
They have 7 losses and are jumbled up with ESU and Cal. They really need Saturday.Leave a comment:
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No, no, no. Far from meaningless. IUP will get passed in the Regional Rankings today largely because they are stuck in a 3-game stretch of SOS meatballs (Boro, SH, Clarion). A win Saturday is a nice resume boost.
If they want to host the Regional, they have to win Saturday and likely win the PSAC Tournament. And, hope for WL to lose a game in the MEC Tournament.
Also, just a guess, but I don't think IUP has forgot how UPJ acted like they won the D1 national title last month after their 2-point win in Johnstown. They've been waiting for this one. And, nobody wants to see Rukavina jumping up and down and dancing again. Good Lord, UPJ did everything but play One Shining Moment.
Oddly, UPJ is just 5-4 since they basically cut down the nets and bought rings.Leave a comment:
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I lost a few quarters in those TVs over the years because it was hard to find one that worked, yet I kept trying. Now that was good pizza and those big red cups filled with the small crushed ice balls for your drink were also iconic.Originally posted by IUPbigINDIANS View PostLeave a comment:
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