Iup basketball

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Can't beleive the ending ... but, in three decades of watching IUP basketball ... Malik Miller is on my First Team.

We never got to see his final act, but make no mistake, he's one of the best players to ever play here. That says a lot.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

He does have some really good moves there. Is that the actual music he was swaying to or was it Lady In Red? LOL.

-

They save Lady in Red for the Big Dance.

I'm just hoping they don't feel the need to set up the secondary press row again across from the bleachers. They ran that the whole length of the court last year and it sat largely empty all three days. It makes the court too claustrophobic.

[IUP CRIMSON HAWKS]

Lombardi dancing in the locker room after the game is one of the greatest things I've seen. Watch it on Twitter with volume. Awesome moment.

He does have some really good moves there. Is that the actual music he was swaying to or was it Lady In Red? LOL.

-

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Virginia State and Virginia Union are notorious for having big body big men.

If it was on a neutral floor (as it should be) ... I'd give Virginia State a bit of a chance in Round 1. But, on the Hilltop, ... it's likely a death sentence.

[krober34]

They had four big studs in front and got both Castello and Nedrow in foul trouble when we played them. It was the second game of the year, a 58-54 grinder won by VSU, and I didn't think either team played exceptionally well. It was Ship's worst shooting performance in something like nine years. Some of that was good VSU defense, but the Raiders just missed tons of shots. What I remember is a lot of the VSU guys had big bodies. Most of Ship's guys other than Nedrow are pretty lean, and they had a hard time keeping the VSU forwards away from the hoop.

Virginia State and Virginia Union are notorious for having big body big men.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Lombardi dancing in the locker room after the game is one of the greatest things I've seen. Watch it on Twitter with volume. Awesome moment.

[Ship69]

Virginia State impressed me in their game against WL in the tournament last year. Although, I doubt they will sneak up on WL this year (even though I don't think they did that last year - I doubt that game was a fluke).

They had four big studs in front and got both Castello and Nedrow in foul trouble when we played them. It was the second game of the year, a 58-54 grinder won by VSU, and I didn't think either team played exceptionally well. It was Ship's worst shooting performance in something like nine years. Some of that was good VSU defense, but the Raiders just missed tons of shots. What I remember is a lot of the VSU guys had big bodies. Most of Ship's guys other than Nedrow are pretty lean, and they had a hard time keeping the VSU forwards away from the hoop.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Confirmed. IUP men are playing Friday at 6 p.m.


Tom is playing at 2:30 p.m.

[Scrub]

The 1 and 2 both losing happened on the women's side. Lubbock Christian hosted the women's regional final as the 3.

Thanks for the update, Ink. I knew I didn't recall it on the men's side, but I have admittedly paid less attention to the women's tourney in recent years since WLU hasn't been a factor recently.

[Inkblot]

Wow. Maybe so. It did happen last year in the Southwest when West Texas A&M earned hosting rights on both men's and women's sides, so half the men's bracket shifted to St. Ed's. That's when the precedent was set. But I didn't realize that it played out that both WTAMU & St. Ed's LOST before the final.

The 1 and 2 both losing happened on the women's side. Lubbock Christian hosted the women's regional final as the 3.

[IUP24]

You're right. For an out-of-conference foe that doesn't see the WLU system very often, they were pretty unfazed by the pace/chaos of it in last year's tourney. And if I recall correctly, Brandon Holley (hope I'm remembering the young man's name correctly) had a 3 from the corner rim off at the buzzer, which would have won it if it had gone. That was an amazing game last year, and there's no question about it that VSU is a scary team to have to face in a first-round match-up.

Also goes back to what I said a few weeks ago about the fear-factor or the "mystique" of playing West Liberty being worn off. That's not to say they aren't a great team or won't run roughshod through the Regional. That can happen. They used to kill teams in the NCAA tournament in somewhat of the same manner that they did in the regular season. You just don't see that really anymore.

As I've said, the Atlantic Region is vastly different than it was as recent as 3-4 years ago. That said, teams just look more prepared to play West Liberty. Heck, they look more prepared to play IUP too. You don't exactly see them run teams off the floor other than the bottom dwellers.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Our losses to Virginia State were earlier in the season when we were not playing that well. We are a tough team defensively ranking #7 in the nation. Best of luck!

WSSU is No. 7 in defense (64.4 ppg allowed) and IUP is No. 9 (65.3 ppg allowed).

[krober34]

Taking a look at Winston-Salem State:

* WSSU has 10 losses -- by a combined 40 points. Their largest margin of defeat was 9 points. They had losses by 2, 1, 1, 2 and 3 points. So, they are a couple buckets here and there away from having a much different record.

* 11-4 at home, 3-0 neutral and 5-6 in true road games.

* Stats:
PPG - 69.6
FG% - 42.5
3PT% - 31.8 (about 19 attempts per game)
FT% - 68.5
Rebounds - 37.9 per game (+3.7 for season)
Defense - 64.2 ppg allowed

* Leading scorer - Senior guard Robert Colon (17 ppg)

* If you go by the season stats, WSSU likes to play a heavy guard lineup. In the regular rotation, only one post player (Mason Harrell) seems to play heavy minutes. He averages 22.2 mpg. They have a lot of nice-size guards in the 6'4" range -- very athletic. Lots of speed.

* Of note, former Pitt point guard Justice Kithcart is listed on the WSSU roster. After being dismissed at Pitt, he went to Old Dominion. From there, he landed at WSSU. He comes off the bench and is playing about 21 mpg and averaging 7.5 points.

* Nine players average double digit minutes

* Against stronger teams:
- 0-2 vs. Virginia State
- 1-1 vs. Bowie State
- 3-0 vs. Fayetteville State
- 1-1 vs. Virginia Union
- 1-1 vs. Johnson C. Smith

Our losses to Virginia State were earlier in the season when we were not playing that well. We are a tough team defensively ranking #7 in the nation. Best of luck!

[Scrub]

Virginia State impressed me in their game against WL in the tournament last year. Although, I doubt they will sneak up on WL this year (even though I don't think they did that last year - I doubt that game was a fluke).

You're right. For an out-of-conference foe that doesn't see the WLU system very often, they were pretty unfazed by the pace/chaos of it in last year's tourney. And if I recall correctly, Brandon Holley (hope I'm remembering the young man's name correctly) had a 3 from the corner rim off at the buzzer, which would have won it if it had gone. That was an amazing game last year, and there's no question about it that VSU is a scary team to have to face in a first-round match-up.

[IUP24]

Virginia State impressed me in their game against WL in the tournament last year. Although, I doubt they will sneak up on WL this year (even though I don't think they did that last year - I doubt that game was a fluke).