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It's not the most appealing lineup of crossovers we've ever seen but there are some interesting games today/tonight. The students are long gone. It's townie season in the bleachers for the next month.
3 p.m.
Millersville at Edinboro - The Marauders are the best team nobody is talking about. Millersville enters tonight with a 6-2 record and recently lost to undefeated California by a single basket. As expected, Edinboro is struggling. The Scots are 2-6 and have taken some beatings. Biggest prop bet today is will Millersville score more points than fans in the McComb bleachers? Millersville should overpower Edinboro in this one. The 'Ville -17.5
East Stroudsburg at Clarion - The Golden Eagles (4-4) aren't a pushover -- especially not inside Tippin. Clarion is fresh off an overtime loss at Winston-Salem, and have been playing pretty well the past several weeks. Their one weakness -- and, it's a big one today, is depth. Clarion's starting unit will play with most in the league but there's a huge drop-off when the subs start entering. East Stroudsburg is much deeper and its style of play should eventually tire out the Eagles. This isn't a 'gimme' and Clarion may put a scare in to ESU. But, depth wins. ESU -10.5
West Chester at Mercyhurst - In a normal year, this would be a blockbuster. Times have changed a bit. The host Lakers enter with a 5-5 record. The Rams are up to a 5-3 mark after starting the season 1-3. Both began with a ton of new faces -- and played fairly tough non-conference schedules. West Chester was also dealing with some injuries in November. The Lakers seem to be figuring some things out and have won their past two. This matchup is also intriguing in that the two couldn't be more opposite. The Rams love to get out and run, and 'muddy' things up. Mercyhurst wants to control the tempo and win in the low 60s. Tough call. A lot of good teams struggle in the MAC - and, that's a long bus ride. Take the (more) desperate Mercyhurst squad to win what may be an ugly statisical performance. Lakers -2.5
5 p.m.
Shepherd at Slippery Rock - The absolute one thing that could not happen for this Slippery Rock team was a bad start. The Rock is 1-6. However, SRU has played a very strong non-conference schedule -- including its past (6) games on the road. There seems to be some lineup issues. The talent on the roster was never questioned - said talent playing together was the question. Shepherd (3-4) is probably the East's version of SRU. They can look incredible one night. Awful the next. Slippery Rock desperately needs a win. If the losses keep mounting, it's going to be very difficult for Ian Grady to hold this group together. That said, there could be the 'flip the switch' moment and this team goes on a big run. Due to the inconsistency of both teams, this is probably the toughest bet on the board today. SRU hasn't played a home game in more than a month. Look for a little Morrow Magic. Rock -3.5
7:30 p.m.
Bloomsburg at Pitt-Johnstown - UPJ is fresh off a rare non-conference game against power U-Indy. It didn't go well. Both teams are 2-6 and in major rebuilds. The Mountain Cats have hung around in several losses but have a drastic depth issue. The Huskies are really struggling. UPJ is typically tough in Johnstown and should light it up from outside. Mountain Cats -12.5
Lock Haven at Seton Hill - The Griffins are off to a surprising 6-2 start, and, like Millersville in the East, have stayed under the radar. Lock Haven (3-4) isn't a great team, but it is capable of catching some off guard. The Bald Eagles pull a couple big upsets each year. This is a fairly even match-up. The McKenna Center is claustrophobic and usually throws off visitors. That shouldn't bother Lock Haven much. Home team wins a tight one. SH -5.5
Shippensburg at California - The Vulcans' (8-0) lineup is different nearly every game. Some get healthy. Others get hurt. California hasn't played at full-strength yet this season, but, so far, it hasn't mattered. Shippensburg has had its ups and downs - typical of a young team. The Raiders can play pretty well in stretches. Tonight, however, is a tall task -- even with some Vulcans out. Cal's size is going to cause all sorts of problems, and Ship is likely going to really struggle with Jermaine Hall. Tough two-day span for Fite and Company. Vulcans win fairly comfortable. Cal -12.5
Kutztown at Gannon - The (mostly) freshmen Golden Bears are in for a long, long night. Kutztown has lost 7 straight. Gannon is 8-0 and will score as much as it wants to in this one. This could be very, very ugly. Knights -35
Mansfield at IUP - The Mounties make the somewhat rare visit to the KCAC and enter with a 3-4 record. They are, however, a couple buckets away from a much different mark. The hightlight so far was taking a very strong Dominican (NY) to OT before losing. Mansfield also gave Virginia Union all it could handle in another tight loss. IUP has won four straight and has gotten much better after finally settling on a lineup, ending suspensions, etc. In a very surprising move, Bryce Radford has also rejoined the team as a mid-year transfer. This won't be an easy game. The Mounties are a scrappy bunch. Few, in fact, will be easy for IUP this year. But, it's a big one. With three losses, IUP can't afford to lose -- especially at home. Hawks -7.5
3 p.m.
Millersville at Edinboro - The Marauders are the best team nobody is talking about. Millersville enters tonight with a 6-2 record and recently lost to undefeated California by a single basket. As expected, Edinboro is struggling. The Scots are 2-6 and have taken some beatings. Biggest prop bet today is will Millersville score more points than fans in the McComb bleachers? Millersville should overpower Edinboro in this one. The 'Ville -17.5
East Stroudsburg at Clarion - The Golden Eagles (4-4) aren't a pushover -- especially not inside Tippin. Clarion is fresh off an overtime loss at Winston-Salem, and have been playing pretty well the past several weeks. Their one weakness -- and, it's a big one today, is depth. Clarion's starting unit will play with most in the league but there's a huge drop-off when the subs start entering. East Stroudsburg is much deeper and its style of play should eventually tire out the Eagles. This isn't a 'gimme' and Clarion may put a scare in to ESU. But, depth wins. ESU -10.5
West Chester at Mercyhurst - In a normal year, this would be a blockbuster. Times have changed a bit. The host Lakers enter with a 5-5 record. The Rams are up to a 5-3 mark after starting the season 1-3. Both began with a ton of new faces -- and played fairly tough non-conference schedules. West Chester was also dealing with some injuries in November. The Lakers seem to be figuring some things out and have won their past two. This matchup is also intriguing in that the two couldn't be more opposite. The Rams love to get out and run, and 'muddy' things up. Mercyhurst wants to control the tempo and win in the low 60s. Tough call. A lot of good teams struggle in the MAC - and, that's a long bus ride. Take the (more) desperate Mercyhurst squad to win what may be an ugly statisical performance. Lakers -2.5
5 p.m.
Shepherd at Slippery Rock - The absolute one thing that could not happen for this Slippery Rock team was a bad start. The Rock is 1-6. However, SRU has played a very strong non-conference schedule -- including its past (6) games on the road. There seems to be some lineup issues. The talent on the roster was never questioned - said talent playing together was the question. Shepherd (3-4) is probably the East's version of SRU. They can look incredible one night. Awful the next. Slippery Rock desperately needs a win. If the losses keep mounting, it's going to be very difficult for Ian Grady to hold this group together. That said, there could be the 'flip the switch' moment and this team goes on a big run. Due to the inconsistency of both teams, this is probably the toughest bet on the board today. SRU hasn't played a home game in more than a month. Look for a little Morrow Magic. Rock -3.5
7:30 p.m.
Bloomsburg at Pitt-Johnstown - UPJ is fresh off a rare non-conference game against power U-Indy. It didn't go well. Both teams are 2-6 and in major rebuilds. The Mountain Cats have hung around in several losses but have a drastic depth issue. The Huskies are really struggling. UPJ is typically tough in Johnstown and should light it up from outside. Mountain Cats -12.5
Lock Haven at Seton Hill - The Griffins are off to a surprising 6-2 start, and, like Millersville in the East, have stayed under the radar. Lock Haven (3-4) isn't a great team, but it is capable of catching some off guard. The Bald Eagles pull a couple big upsets each year. This is a fairly even match-up. The McKenna Center is claustrophobic and usually throws off visitors. That shouldn't bother Lock Haven much. Home team wins a tight one. SH -5.5
Shippensburg at California - The Vulcans' (8-0) lineup is different nearly every game. Some get healthy. Others get hurt. California hasn't played at full-strength yet this season, but, so far, it hasn't mattered. Shippensburg has had its ups and downs - typical of a young team. The Raiders can play pretty well in stretches. Tonight, however, is a tall task -- even with some Vulcans out. Cal's size is going to cause all sorts of problems, and Ship is likely going to really struggle with Jermaine Hall. Tough two-day span for Fite and Company. Vulcans win fairly comfortable. Cal -12.5
Kutztown at Gannon - The (mostly) freshmen Golden Bears are in for a long, long night. Kutztown has lost 7 straight. Gannon is 8-0 and will score as much as it wants to in this one. This could be very, very ugly. Knights -35
Mansfield at IUP - The Mounties make the somewhat rare visit to the KCAC and enter with a 3-4 record. They are, however, a couple buckets away from a much different mark. The hightlight so far was taking a very strong Dominican (NY) to OT before losing. Mansfield also gave Virginia Union all it could handle in another tight loss. IUP has won four straight and has gotten much better after finally settling on a lineup, ending suspensions, etc. In a very surprising move, Bryce Radford has also rejoined the team as a mid-year transfer. This won't be an easy game. The Mounties are a scrappy bunch. Few, in fact, will be easy for IUP this year. But, it's a big one. With three losses, IUP can't afford to lose -- especially at home. Hawks -7.5
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