Iup basketball

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Mansfield has a really good announcing crew.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Skilled , guard heavy lineups pose their own set of problems for opponents. Sounds like iup is an entertaining team to watch this year!

It's been a fun, emotional season so far. Oddly, I see them as kind of playing with house money now. After the injury the expectations changed (Joe said so himself). Who knows. In some odd way that seemed to motivate the team.

I don't know how long it is sustainable. They have already lost two players to season-ending injuries (Demo and freshman PG Bryce Radford). Two more are taking redshirts. If they can somehow keep this current roster (what's left of it) intact, they should still be a tournament team. If healthy they can still win the PSAC. Or, at least have a legit shot.

[Columbuseer]

They are certainly a different style IUP team than anybody has seen under Joe Lombardi. In D1, you'd never get away with playing such a guard heavy lineup, but D2 is different.

When they have four big, dynamic guards and Chucky on the floor together ... that is a difficult match-up for anybody to defend. That's an incredibly fast, skilled lineup. All five can score from all over the court.

The lack of post size can also be off-set by running those traditional bigs tired. Believe me, they aren't replacing Demo, but they now have to play the hand dealt. The season goes on. With Shawndale's strength he can bang down under the basket on defense and they get a mismatch when a big has to cover him on offense.

Most of us knew Anthony White (6'3") should have been playing all along. It's his chance to shine now. In the two games post-Demo, White has scored 16 and 11 points. He can play all three guard positions and is a tough defender. He's a prototype Lombardi sixth-man. Porterfield has also gone for 14 and 7 in the past two games. He's taking deep shots now which he wasn't in the first four games. He's getting more aggressive with each game. Ulrich has now played 8 minutes in each of the past three games. I'd like to see him get up to 12 mpg. Wait and see on this guy ... he's a little more talented than many are giving credit. He's a banger, but he's a skilled banger. Lastly, David Morris is a different player from the first three games to the last three games. He's getting more comfortable. The night is coming he completely takes over a game.

I don't see another 30-3 coming. But, if this group can stay healthy, it should be a fun ride. Health right now is the single most important thing. They can't survive another injury. I still wish Joe would activate Ousmane and I'll never understand the logic. Ready or not, he's 6'10" and a solid 245 lbs. By default he can go in there and make some things happen in short spurts. I know ... talking to the wall again.

Skilled , guard heavy lineups pose their own set of problems for opponents. Sounds like iup is an entertaining team to watch this year!

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Interesting numbers, But I get the feeling that this team is no where near peaking, while last years team peaked early for whatever reason. Like everyone says, it a shame Demo is out, since they are a better team with him, but maybe it will give the current team more opportunities to develop, maybe be less predictable, and surprise some people.

They are certainly a different style IUP team than anybody has seen under Joe Lombardi. In D1, you'd never get away with playing such a guard heavy lineup, but D2 is different.

When they have four big, dynamic guards and Chucky on the floor together ... that is a difficult match-up for anybody to defend. That's an incredibly fast, skilled lineup. All five can score from all over the court.

The lack of post size can also be off-set by running those traditional bigs tired. Believe me, they aren't replacing Demo, but they now have to play the hand dealt. The season goes on. With Shawndale's strength he can bang down under the basket on defense and they get a mismatch when a big has to cover him on offense.

Most of us knew Anthony White (6'3") should have been playing all along. It's his chance to shine now. In the two games post-Demo, White has scored 16 and 11 points. He can play all three guard positions and is a tough defender. He's a prototype Lombardi sixth-man. Porterfield has also gone for 14 and 7 in the past two games. He's taking deep shots now which he wasn't in the first four games. He's getting more aggressive with each game. Ulrich has now played 8 minutes in each of the past three games. I'd like to see him get up to 12 mpg. Wait and see on this guy ... he's a little more talented than many are giving credit. He's a banger, but he's a skilled banger. Lastly, David Morris is a different player from the first three games to the last three games. He's getting more comfortable. The night is coming he completely takes over a game.

I don't see another 30-3 coming. But, if this group can stay healthy, it should be a fun ride. Health right now is the single most important thing. They can't survive another injury. I still wish Joe would activate Ousmane and I'll never understand the logic. Ready or not, he's 6'10" and a solid 245 lbs. By default he can go in there and make some things happen in short spurts. I know ... talking to the wall again.

[ironmaniup]

Chalk this up to too much time sitting in an airport, but, nevertheless, some of you will find these stats interesting.

These are numbers for Joe's team based on the past (5) years (starting with 2014-15 season) -- including the first (6) games of this season.

The two best records of this stretch:

2016-17: 28-4 (eliminated in Round 2 of NCAAs by Fairmont State, which eventually lost in the national title game)
2018-19: 30-3 (eliminated in Round 2 of NCAAs by Mercyhurst)

The two worst records of this stretch:

2015-16: 21-8 (missed NCAAs largely because of regular season-ending loss at Seton Hill)
2017-18: 22-8 (missed NCAAs - this was the snakebitten team with injuries and the infamous Glover suspension / Dante broken wrist at Seton Hill)

Not the best record but the team that went the deepest:

2014-15: 31-7 (lost in national title game)

Interesting numbers, But I get the feeling that this team is no where near peaking, while last years team peaked early for whatever reason. Like everyone says, it a shame Demo is out, since they are a better team with him, but maybe it will give the current team more opportunities to develop, maybe be less predictable, and surprise some people.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Chalk this up to too much time sitting in an airport, but, nevertheless, some of you will find these stats interesting.

These are numbers for Joe's team based on the past (5) years (starting with 2014-15 season) -- including the first (6) games of this season.

OVERALL	CONFERENCE	HOME	AWAY	NEUTRAL
138-30	94-17	82-12	50-15	6-3

The two best records of this stretch:

2016-17: 28-4 (eliminated in Round 2 of NCAAs by Fairmont State, which eventually lost in the national title game)
2018-19: 30-3 (eliminated in Round 2 of NCAAs by Mercyhurst)

The two worst records of this stretch:

2015-16: 21-8 (missed NCAAs largely because of regular season-ending loss at Seton Hill)
2017-18: 22-8 (missed NCAAs - this was the snakebitten team with injuries and the infamous Glover suspension / Dante broken wrist at Seton Hill)

Not the best record but the team that went the deepest:

2014-15: 31-7 (lost in national title game)




Last (5) years against PSAC West opponents (including all postseason meetings)

California	10-0
Clarion	10-0
UPJ	12-1
Seton Hill	9-1
Edinboro	9-2
Gannon	8-3
Slippery Rock	8-3
Mercyhurst	9-5

[IUPbigINDIANS]

What's crazy, is that I don't even think they were scratching the surface with Demo. Only a hand full of games and practice so I'm sure they were going to do more with him.

Yep ... such a tough loss. Hopefully for us fans he takes the medical redshirt and comes back next year. In a short glimpse he was one of the better all-around players I've seen at this level.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Some comparisons of stats for this year's team versus last year's team (keep in mind these averages are based on 33 games last year and just 6 this year):

	2018-19	2019-20
Points per game	79.6	82.7
Scoring margin	14.2	15.7
FG %	.478	.491
3PT %	.373	.322
FT %	.704	.763
Rebounds per game	37.3	38.5
Rebounding margin	+4.0	+6.7
Assists per game	15.3	14.5
Turnovers per game	13.2	14.3
Points off turnovers per game	19.2	21.3
Blocks per game	3.0	4.7
Steals per game	8.4	7.8
3PT attempts per game	24.36	24.83
Home attendance average	1,503	1,199
Points allowed per game	65.4	67.0

[IUPalum]

What's crazy, is that I don't even think they were scratching the surface with Demo. Only a hand full of games and practice so I'm sure they were going to do more with him.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

No video feed so it was hard to judge Felician. I knew they had one good shooter and he showed that first half. Joe said they didn't guard well in the first half. Anthony White is making the most of his minutes right now. I hate the schedule right now. One home game in December against a D3 team, 2 lay ups then Shep/Ship battles on the road. Not easy to stay sharp.

Felician's No. 5 is a very legit guard. He'd play for anybody. He had 17 in the first half (4-4 from deep). But, they smothered him in the second half (2 points). If he was on a team with more scoring options he'd be insane. Their problem is, as Joe did in the second half, he can be focused on since there isn't any other real scoring threats.

Morris got most of the pub in the paper today. He deserved it. The day is coming he's going to explode for a 30-point game. His defense has improved dramatically from Game 1 to Game 6 as well as his transformation to a true PG.

One advantage for the fans of having like 8 people in the KCAC yesterday was being able to hear everything. Shawndale is a really strong floor leader and communicator.

Chucky was really in the shooting zone yesterday. He nailed three treys ... none of them touched rim. He has a really nice shot. Joe needs to let him shoot a bit more. All Anthony White does is perform. Joe is VERY fortunate he had him stuffed away on the bench.

I agree Ulrich needed more minutes yesterday. The night is coming when somebody is in foul trouble, etc., and he's going to have to play heavy minutes.

The next two weeks are pretty light. IUP heads up to Mansfield this weekend before taking another week off and then hosts a, well, not good D3 Bethany team. Mansfield does have a monster under the basket ... old school PSAC big. In some ways I think this light stretch of games had good timing post Tommy Demo. They had to find a way to basically start over with new lineups, combinations, etc.

[IUPalum]

No video feed so it was hard to judge Felician. I knew they had one good shooter and he showed that first half. Joe said they didn't guard well in the first half. Anthony White is making the most of his minutes right now. I hate the schedule right now. One home game in December against a D3 team, 2 lay ups then Shep/Ship battles on the road. Not easy to stay sharp.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I figured he would. Had to learn the offense and get comfortable. I just hope Porterfield and Ulrich start to grow as players. They will need that size down the stretch!

Felician was the oddest team. They didn't come out to warm up (at all) until 18 minutes pre-tip. I didn't think they were coming. Very quiet team ... Like no emotion at all. They do have a couple nice players.

[IUPalum]

I figured he would. Had to learn the offense and get comfortable. I just hope Porterfield and Ulrich start to grow as players. They will need that size down the stretch!

[IUPbigINDIANS]

David Morris had a real strong game. He looks better each game. Overall it was pretty clean for the dreaded after holiday return game. Anthony White played well, too.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

That wasn't a very highly touted game to attract the average fan.

I couldn't imagine drawing that type of crowd all year. That's like the Angelo Dome or the relic up at Morrow Field House.

I don't think many even knew they had a game today.