Iup basketball

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Conspiracy theory: The same way Jamie Dixon recruited heavily out of New York City, where the Big East Tournament was played giving his players a home-court advantage of sorts, during his time at Pitt ... Joe Lombardi is stacking his team with studs from District 10 giving him an advantage whenever we play tough road games at Mercyhurst or Gannon (or forget our uniforms at Edinboro).

It's a huge help. I bet IUP had 200+ at SRU.

And, people who travel are actually engaged fans. The crowd made a huge difference up there.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Sounds like Polce had a 'sore knee' per the game story in today's IG. I get the impression it was a day of rest. Luckily, they are off tonight so by this year's standards that's a nice little break between games.

Giving him the day off also gave them the chance to get Radford back in to the flow. He was obviously rusty but that needed to happen at some point.

[IUPalum]

Sounds like Polce had a 'sore knee' per the game story in today's IG. I get the impression it was a day of rest. Luckily, they are off tonight so by this year's standards that's a nice little break between games.

Giving him the day off also gave them the chance to get Radford back in to the flow. He was obviously rusty but that needed to happen at some point.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

The KCAC re-opens tonight as the ladies host Slippery Rock in a make-up game.

Joe returns home Saturday night for Seton Hill's visit.

[EyeoftheHawk]

The KCAC re-opens tonight as the ladies host Slippery Rock in a make-up game.

Joe returns home Saturday night for Seton Hill's visit.

[Ship69]

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I don't watch every women's game -- not even close, actually. But, I've seen enough to understand what is going on this season.

As bad as it has seemed (and looked) at (many) times this year, IUP is 18-6 and right in the mix for an NCAA bid. Diving deeper, (4) of their losses came with Courtney Alexander injured and unavailable. Add to it they totally blew that California game last week. That was total self-destruction -- by Tom and the players.

The women's game is different than the men's game this year. You have the top teams -- and, well, most of the bottom teams stand no chance. So, you have to look at IUP's performance against top teams. It's been mixed. One night they look like a top team in the Region (as they did at Gannon this past Saturday) or when they blew out Kutztown ... and the next night they blow a 14-pont lead and need two OT's to beat a pretty average at best SRU team. IUP never should have won last night. Slippery Rock blew that game at least 7 different ways. That was also the Rock's 10th straight loss.

As for the much-discussed Junior class ... yeah, it's looking like a bust. It was hailed several years ago as perhaps Tom's best class, but aside from Rajah Fink they aren't getting much out of it. So, because of that, Tom has elected to go younger. With youth comes youthful play. The decision to go with freshman Kiera Baughman at PG a few weeks ago was the right decision. She brings much more on both ends of the floor. Gina Adams, another freshman, will be a very solid player for IUP down the road. I'd actually like to see the mid-year addition, Grace Mangapora, get more time.

It's hard to pinpoint the exact issue. I agree they look slow and lethargic on way too many nights this season. Some of Tom's past teams would have hung 25-burgers on this edition. They have long stretches of very sloppy play. I've never seen an IUP women's team miss more layups and 'bunnies' than this group. Every. Single. Game. I'd guess more than half of their turnovers are self-inflicted. The frustrating thing is they play lights-out the next quarter. Then they look lost again the following quarter. It's a strange dynamic.

Yet, this could be a very dangerous team in the PSAC Tournament and beyond (if there is a beyond). When Alexander is hot, they can play like an elite team -- for stretches.

Tom has to figure out how to stop blowing big leads. Last night was 3 or 4 straight games they let a big, double digit lead get decimated. That obviously ties right in to playing great one quarter and awful the next. I also don't think he's managing the minutes well. Fink is the best athlete on the team. She needs way more than 26 mpg. I'm not saying to go all Joe Lombardi and Armoni Foster, but she needs 35 minutes. He's also been swapping PGs for very long stretches. That's odd and I question if it's busting up the flow and continuity.

As for his next recruiting class, it's already signed and sealed. He got them all in the early signing period. I do agree he's going to need to add a proven transfer this off-season.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

IUP tweeted out today Ethan Porterfield is leading the NCAA (all divisions) in 3PT percentage at 50.4 percent (60-119)

That's a nice luxury out of your 6'9" center.

[EyeoftheHawk]

[EyeoftheHawk]

IUP tweeted out today Ethan Porterfield is leading the NCAA (all divisions) in 3PT percentage at 50.4 percent (60-119)

That's a nice luxury out of your 6'9" center.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Keep in mind he's down about 30 lbs from the start of the season. Whatever that illness he had (why he was throwing up every game) really took a toll on him. Luckily the past two weeks he looks to have finally shaken it off. Hopefully the weight starts coming back.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Shepherd looked like a Final Four team that day.

[Ship69]

With Jones out, I've felt he's IUP's most dangerous player. Hard to guard a guy that size who has both a decent inside game and can hit from behind the line as well.

[EyeoftheHawk]

With Jones out, I've felt he's IUP's most dangerous player. Hard to guard a guy that size who has both a decent inside game and can hit from behind the line as well.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Not sure what to expect tonight. Edinboro (6-11, 8-14) has been extremely sporadic this year.

In the Scots' 10 toughest games, they are 1-9. The lone win came against East Stroudsburg (101-87) in McComb. They've also played California, IUP and Slippery Rock tough. However, in those 10 games, they've been blown out of the building 6 times -- all 20+ point losses. Most recently, in a Round 2 match-up, California blasted Edinboro, 88-62.

The Scots have also dealt with a wrath of injuries and Covid this year. It appears they are pretty close to full strength tonight. They also enter this game on a three-game winning streak -- a sweep of Clarion and a hard-fought win against an extremely depleted Gannon team.

Two key players missed the game in Indiana (Cyrie Coates and Dom Keyes). Coates is a dynamic, big (6'6") guard who averages 14 ppg. Keyes, who spent two years in Indiana but never dressed for IUP (long story), is averaging 11 points and 9 rebounds. So, those two alone add a lot more firepower to the roster. I also assume Keyes will be pretty excited for this game.

The first meeting was IUP's worst performance of the season by a mile, despite hanging on to win, 76-67. It was the only game all year IUP looked totally disinterested -- and they sure heard about it afterward by the big guy.

IUP is 19-2 in the past 21 meetings with Edinboro, and has won 5 straight.

Health-wise for IUP, ... we'll see. Starter Kyle Polce missed the past game with a sore knee, but IUP was off Monday so he should be good to go. No word on Tommy Demogerontas. His two-week 'shutdown' is well expired. If he does suit up tonight, I'd expect him to play 6-8 mintues. Demo's last start, in fact, was against Edinboro -- he finished with 2 points in 26 minutes. He was injured in that game and probably shouldn't have played. Tomiwa Sulaiman took over the following game and IUP's defense has been stellar since. But, they need a healthy Demo back. That bench is pretty thin. Even at 75%, he'd be a big boost.

I suspect a tight one tonight. They are going to get Edinboro's best shot. A loss tonight will pretty much end the Scots' season. Desperate teams are tricky.