Iup basketball

[IUPbigINDIANS]

What an ending

[EyeoftheHawk]

What an ending

I just knew Seton Hill was going to make it a one possession game late. Credit to them for making several comebacks in that game. Saying all that, Merraro scored on IUP’s last two possessions including that buzzer beater to win it. That’s a nice night for the true freshman.

IUP has shown improvement over the last two games following the Edinboro blowout loss. That shows some character that they didn’t go the other direction. All things considered I thought they handled the zone pretty well and played with a lot of hustle. In the end, it was just enough.

[IUPHawks24]

Merraro is gonna be a good one.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Well, Joe's young guys are going to experience Morrow Field House at full force tonight.

It's White Out Night at SRU. The students are there.

This will be IUP's first -- and likely only -- game all year in what I'd call a 'hostile' environment.

Joe's best teams would go in to White Out night and instantly shut the crowd up. His so-so teams would start slow and get that place rocking.

Joe's in the .500 neighborhood, career, up there. It's certainly been his house of horror.

He's dealing with the crowd, phantom scoreboard malfunctions (nearly every year during big IUP runs), trigger-happy clock operators, etc. Historically, the Rock really rises up and plays incredible in this game. Put it this way ... if it's close at the end, IUP isn't winning. He's not getting any calls in that building tonight.

There was a stretch of years Joe was filing league complaints after every visit to SRU. I think most of the shenanigans have been cleaned up under the new AD. They still do the petty crap. During player introductions they'll announce IUP's entire starting lineup in one breath.

The obvious questions tonight:

1) How will this very young team handle the environment? SRU averages about 150 a game all year. Some IUP visits have nearly sold the place out.

2) Will SRU star Maceo Austin play? With him, SRU is very good. Without him, their record is quite different. Austin is an all-league level player. He's a matchup nightmare at 6'5" as he shoots well from outside, has PG ball skills and is also an excellent rebounder.

3) IUP has really struggled, offensively, in the first 10 minutes of most games. If that happens tonight, they'll likely get blasted. Ironically, last year IUP started really well up there -- and then got completely crushed the next 30 minutes.

4) Ike Herster didin't do much (when it mattered) in SRU's loss in Indiana a year ago but he lit up IUP at SRU. Joe loves to let people bomb away. Herster can crush you if you allow it.


If Austin plays tonight, IUP is probably a 6-7 point underdog. If he doesn't play, it's probably pretty much a PICK 'EM.

Redshirt Joe needs to be Timeout Joe tonight. Getting him to call a TO and break momentum is an Act of God. It has to be an ego thing. Tonight, he needs to keep that place quiet.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Gotta love the Indiana Gazette's 'gameday coverage' now being a cut/paste of the SID release. Good Lord.

[EyeoftheHawk]

Gotta love the Indiana Gazette's 'gameday coverage' now being a cut/paste of the SID release. Good Lord.

It’s really a shame how bad it has gotten with the Gazette.

This game is hitting at an interesting time for IUP. They’re as confident as they’ve looked all season and that goes a long way. I think Joe’s best work so far this year was keeping the team from going off the deep end after Edinboro. They’ve responded with two big wins including one in dramatic fashion. I wouldn’t be surprised if they lost a close game tonight but also wouldn’t be surprised if they went up there and came out with a win. IUP has certainly gone up there with teams far superior than SRU and got beat, and that’s what has me leaning a little bit that direction. If IUP can get a win it would be pretty impressive and a nice springboard down the stretch.

[TheBigCat2192]

2) Will SRU star Maceo Austin play? With him, SRU is very good. Without him, their record is quite different. Austin is an all-league level player. He's a matchup nightmare at 6'5" as he shoots well from outside, has PG ball skills and is also an excellent rebounder.

It’s true that Maceo is a good rebounder but:

1. He’s not a good outside shooter; he’s gone 25.2% from deep on 143 attempts at SRU and went 30.6% on 98 attempts during his career at Duquesne.
2. He might be a dribbler but he’s not an especially productive passer or careful with the ball; in his time at SRU he has an A:TO of 110:105 and when he was at Duquesne he had an A:TO of 54:50.

1/3 of your assertions are supported by evidence so you’re actually shooting better than him.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

It’s true that Maceo is a good rebounder but:

1. He’s not a good outside shooter; he’s gone 25.2% from deep on 143 attempts at SRU and went 30.6% on 98 attempts during his career at Duquesne.
2. He might be a dribbler but he’s not an especially productive passer or careful with the ball; in his time at SRU he has an A:TO of 110:105 and when he was at Duquesne he had an A:TO of 54:50.

1/3 of your assertions are supported by evidence so you’re actually shooting better than him.

I'm shocked his numbers are that low. Every game I've watched him (albeit not a whole lot) he shoots the ball pretty well. I'd guess he's had some real clunker nights. By 'PG skills' I was referring more to him handing the ball (which again he's been been very strong every game I've watched him).

One way or another, they are a much, much different team when he's on the floor.

[TheBigCat2192]

I'm shocked his numbers are that low. Every game I've watched him (albeit not a whole lot) he shoots the ball pretty well. I'd guess he's had some real clunker nights. By 'PG skills' I was referring more to him handing the ball (which again he's been been very strong every game I've watched him).

One way or another, they are a much, much different team when he's on the floor.

He’s been an unfathomably bad 6-40 from deep so far this year which works out to 15%; some of that is probably bad luck but even last season he shot 29.1% from three which is roughly in line with his numbers at Duquesne. There’s a decent-sized body of 3P work to suggest that Maceo may be a shot taker from out there but not a shot maker.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Hard to watch

IUP defense is having a rough night

[tonyc]

In response to the earlier comment about the Gazette: It is a shame Sample Media ruined something my staff and I built. Sample doesn't care about its readers or its employees. I'll post my substack story shortly.

[tonyc]

IUP-Slippery Rock game story: https://open.substack.com/pub/tonyco...meOnShare=true

[EyeoftheHawk]

In response to the earlier comment about the Gazette: It is a shame Sample Media ruined something my staff and I built. Sample doesn't care about its readers or its employees. I'll post my substack story shortly.

We could see the writing on the wall, Tony. I’m barely holding on as a subscriber at this point and I have to imagine a lot of other people feel the same. There have been/are a lot of good people who have worked at the Gazette and it has to be hard for them to take. When the paper was clicking on all cylinders it was outstanding. Sports coverage in particular was amazing and every local game was covered and the IUP coverage was among the best in the country for D2 sports.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Last night is the game that's going to haunt this IUP team.

No excuse in the world to lose that game - and Joe was firing them out faster than he could talk last night.

SRU was severely short-handed -- stars Maceo Austin and Jomo Goings weren't dressed. That's 33.5 ppg in tracksuits. Goings is also arguably their best defender.

IUP played a fairly decent first half (offensively) and held a 5-point lead at halftime. They had the big crowd fairly subdued.

Then, of course, all hell broke loose. Joe's defense (if you want to call it that) collapsed in the final 20 minutes. They had absolutely no answer for Ike Herster (again).

When IUP would get a stop or force a turnover, they'd simply give it right back.

Joe's lineup configurations continue to baffle. Sarp Furtun played 34 of the least-productive minutes (on both ends) that one could draw up. He finished with (3) points and was abused on the defensive end. SRU could drive the ball at will last night. Luke Triggs played just (5) minutes. Tyler Grove only got 21 minutes. Alfonso Pickens, clearly one of IUP's top defenders, got a measly (11) minutes.

Joe's team went a blistering 6-for-25 from outside. They were approaching 'can't hit the side of a barn' territory yet they kept firing. Instead of feeding Damir Brooks all night they just kept launching. Brooks was scoring or getting fouled every time he touched the ball. SRU didn't have much of an answer for him. Yet ...

It was a terribly coached game. Joe's defense was being shredded yet they rarely came out of it. Their offense wasn't working in the second half and they just kept running the same things. Lapse after lapse. Missed assignments. Step too late. It was bad.

We all know by now this team is going to have good nights and bad nights. Last night, in particular, was an awful night.

For starters, it's just not a typical IUP team. That's no secret. It could, however, be much better. Joe isn't playing his best lineups/combinations. This group still isn't clicking. After 18 games they are far too often out of position, late, early, missing layups, etc.

Ian Herring should just about never come off the floor. Sarp is playing WAY too much. If he's getting 34 minutes his production on both ends should be much, much better. Joe needs to let Triggs play. He's micro-managing the crap out of him. Pickens should be playing substantially more minutes.

This season is almost over. It's time to take the diapers off some of these kids and let them learn to swim.

Last night was the 'low point' of the season thus far -- and probably Joe's worst-coached game in a decade. I fully suspect a much better defensive effort/performance Saturday. Clarion is far from a pushover. If we see the same IUP team we saw last night, Clarion will blow them out.

[IUPalum]

Why is Dante's boy Sarp getting 30 plus minutes every game?