Iup basketball

[EyeoftheHawk]

Yeah, IUP had a bad half, but as you allude to, ESU could have done a lot better as well. I think it was six minutes into the game before they scored, and they were throwing the ball all over the place the first half — 13 turnovers at halftime I believe. IUP certainly forced some of them, but several of them were basically unforced poor passes. The Warriors basically had the game there for the taking and couldn't pull it in.

Both teams came out shaky and that’s the nice way to put it. I was starting to think the final was going to be in the 40’s for a while!

Sometimes the champ gets knocked down and you have to make sure he doesn’t get back up. Unfortunately for ESU the champ got back up off the mat just before halftime and at that point you just knew IUP was going to find a way. Great teams have moments like this and it’s part of what makes them great. Other teams start to believe they can’t win so they find a way to lose. Mercyhurst won’t be one of those teams. They’ve been the one team to consistently prove they can beat IUP and they’ll come into today’s game expecting to win. I think ESU came in hoping to win, which is a very different thing.

[Ship69]

Shawndale said in the post game that was the worst half he's ever seen by an IUP team.

I'd agree with him.

However, getting it to 5 (amazingly) at half was massive. ESU probably should have been up 12-14 at halftime.

IUP literally couldn't make a shot in the first half and had open looks. They also must have missed 5-6 layups in the first 20 minutes. What was sickening was they forced a ton of turnovers and didn't cash them in.

I suspect they'll shoot it much better tomorrow. That court takes some adjustment with the sight-lines, etc.

Yeah, IUP had a bad half, but as you allude to, ESU could have done a lot better as well. I think it was six minutes into the game before they scored, and they were throwing the ball all over the place the first half — 13 turnovers at halftime I believe. IUP certainly forced some of them, but several of them were basically unforced poor passes. The Warriors basically had the game there for the taking and couldn't pull it in.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Lot of IUP people out and about in Shippensburg. I suspect many more will make the trip tomorrow.

It's about 4.5 hours each way from Erie which is a major haul for a day trip. The gym tomorrow should be about 98 percent IUP.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Luckily Ship gave them a battle today so they had to work.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Mercyhurst had next to no fans at the game. It will be a very pro IUP game tomorrow.

[Scrub]

Agreed, ESU never really tried to press and trap. They were content in just pressuring the ball handler. Interesting, although, the first match up they did trap. IUP scored a lot of easy buckets when they trapped the first match up. Maybe that had something to do with it.

Undoubtedly, the results of the first match-up were the reason Wilson avoided pushing pace. But as a coach, I suspect you're playing with fire when you try to be/do something different than your bread and butter. Kudos to ESU for making a run at it. But that game isn't that close if IUP plays even a halfway decent first half.

[ironmaniup]

Shawndale said in the post game that was the worst half he's ever seen by an IUP team.

I'd agree with him.

However, getting it to 5 (amazingly) at half was massive. ESU probably should have been up 12-14 at halftime.

IUP literally couldn't make a shot in the first half and had open looks. They also must have missed 5-6 layups in the first 20 minutes. What was sickening was they forced a ton of turnovers and didn't cash them in.

I suspect they'll shoot it much better tomorrow. That court takes some adjustment with the sight-lines, etc.

Well currently hurst is shooting over 50% , well up 8 on ship

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Shawndale said in the post game that was the worst half he's ever seen by an IUP team.

I'd agree with him.

However, getting it to 5 (amazingly) at half was massive. ESU probably should have been up 12-14 at halftime.

IUP literally couldn't make a shot in the first half and had open looks. They also must have missed 5-6 layups in the first 20 minutes. What was sickening was they forced a ton of turnovers and didn't cash them in.

I suspect they'll shoot it much better tomorrow. That court takes some adjustment with the sight-lines, etc.

[IUPalum]

Speaking of the pace, it almost looked like ESU was content to play this game at IUP's pace. It really never seemed like they put their foot on the gas. That's an interesting approach from Wilson to try to beat IUP at IUP's game. And it almost worked. But it seems like it was as close as it was due to IUP's own offensive inefficiency rather than ESU's defense per se. That first half, it looked like IUP was purposefully playing "chuck and chase" so Tomiwa could get boards and buckets down low. Weird game all around, but as Eye said above, games played "off pace" will always favor IUP. That's why I found it so weird that Wilson never even seemed to try to force the pace.

No question ESU is a quality team that has the potential to be somebody's nightmare on the #6 or #7 line next week if they manage to get a bid.

IUP's defense is smothering, so even lacking offensive flow, they can manage to pick up a grinder win. That will play well for them next week. Defense never "goes cold" in March.

Agreed, ESU never really tried to press and trap. They were content in just pressuring the ball handler. Interesting, although, the first match up they did trap. IUP scored a lot of easy buckets when they trapped the first match up. Maybe that had something to do with it.

[Ship69]

IUP survives 67-64. PSAC refs do what they do and completely destroy any flow in the 2nd half. IUP missed a ton of free throws that could’ve made things less tense at the end. But it’s March, so survive and advance

As someone who has no real skin in the game, most of those calls in the second half looked legitimate. There was a lot of contact under the boards. It did not look like a game for the faint of heart.

[Scrub]

Speaking of the pace, it almost looked like ESU was content to play this game at IUP's pace. It really never seemed like they put their foot on the gas. That's an interesting approach from Wilson to try to beat IUP at IUP's game. And it almost worked. But it seems like it was as close as it was due to IUP's own offensive inefficiency rather than ESU's defense per se. That first half, it looked like IUP was purposefully playing "chuck and chase" so Tomiwa could get boards and buckets down low. Weird game all around, but as Eye said above, games played "off pace" will always favor IUP. That's why I found it so weird that Wilson never even seemed to try to force the pace.

No question ESU is a quality team that has the potential to be somebody's nightmare on the #6 or #7 line next week if they manage to get a bid.

IUP's defense is smothering, so even lacking offensive flow, they can manage to pick up a grinder win. That will play well for them next week. Defense never "goes cold" in March.

[IUPalum]

Believe me, ESU's bigs are a major handful. That's a good team.

Correct! IUP shooting bad in the first half didn’t help.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Believe me, ESU's bigs are a major handful. That's a good team.

[EyeoftheHawk]

IUP definitely left a lot of meat on the bone today. I think they were so focused on slowing the tempo that it killed their own rhythm. At no point was there any flow to the game. It was partly the way the teams were trading turnovers and also how the officials called the game. Those types of slug rests are always going to favor IUP. I give ESU credit for playing about as good of half court offense as they can play. I also give their coaching staff credit for not trying to press. I think that caught IUP off guard a little.

Foul shooting was bad. No question it has to get better or not only will they not win tomorrow, but they’ll also be watching the Elite 8 from home. Way too many offensive rebounds given up, and that’s just an energy thing. That’s why I say IUP slowed things down too much. They looked lethargic at times. Tomiwa did have 11 boards, but he gave up a bunch of second chance opportunities too. He never really factored in offensively. Ethan bailed them out on offense by going 4-5 from deep. Dallis hit a big three, as he does. All it all it was just enough and in March, that’s all that matters.

All wins at this stage are good wins.

[IUPalum]

IUP survives 67-64. PSAC refs do what they do and completely destroy any flow in the 2nd half. IUP missed a ton of free throws that could’ve made things less tense at the end. But it’s March, so survive and advance

I can’t fathom that crew is one of the PSAC’s best. Wow, can’t believe they’d be on a game that big.