PSAC WEST

[Fightingscot82]

Most of the scores in the PSAC Wednesday night weren't especiallly "defense-minded." After watching a couple of NBA games this year, I've become a big fan of defense. Hard to believe Ship took down that Seton Hill team before the break. The fortunes of the two teams have certainly diverged since then.

I'm in Portland for work and only a couple blocks from Moda Center so I caught some of last night's Blazers-Bucks game. I was so bored. I was also unaware that the NBA added instant replay challenges.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I'm in Portland for work and only a couple blocks from Moda Center so I caught some of last night's Blazers-Bucks game. I was so bored. I was also unaware that the NBA added instant replay challenges.

I wouldn't watch an NBA game if the tickets were free. I guess I've gotten old.

I loved it in the 80s when they had the Sunday game if the week, etc. imagine what Michael's teams would have done to these teams.

[Scrub]

imagine what Michael's teams would have done to these teams.

I imagine they would foul out.

Just can't play the way they did in today's NBA (which is partly why it's so dang unwatchable).

[Ship69]

I imagine they would foul out.

Just can't play the way they did in today's NBA (which is partly why it's so dang unwatchable).

The 24-second clock and lack of defense. And there actually have been some who want to take the college clock to that, which likely would turn me off on the college game. I was fine with the college clock at 35 seconds, which I thought was a great compromise between plodding offense and playground run-and-gun. With a 24-second clock, I'd certainly try to recruit myself a team that could press. Make the other team take 12-13 seconds to get into their offense, and they wouldn't have time to run much.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

The lines are out a day early. Tough games. Round 2 of PSAC divisional play is always tricky. How will coaches adjust? Happy gambling, you degenerates.


Seton Hill at Slippery Rock - The Rock has finally reached the .500 mark. Currently 10-10, this is quite a feat considering its abysmal start. All in all, ... a fairly even match-up. The Grffins won in Greensburg, 70-63. SRU struggled against the zone. The sequel, however, moves to Morrow Field House, where the Rock is 8-1. Seton Hill is fresh off a strong showing against Gannon -- losing by a slim 83-79 margin. Both teams have some injury issues under the basket, so that should wash itself out. A team has to shoot well from outside to beat Seton Hill. SRU is a bit shaky in that area. However, in the land of phantom scoreboard malfunctions, etc., always take the home team when in doubt. SRU wins -- in a very close one. Rock -3.5

California at Gannon - Round 1 was a bust. The Vulcans hammered Gannon in Angelo's Dome. The Knights' vaunted pressure was sliced and diced, and a California dunk show became the highlight of the day. Perhaps further bad news for Gannon, Cal was really short-handed that day. Not anymore. The Vulcans are now playing with just about a full deck. Times do change, of course, over the span of a long season. The Knights haven't lost since that day. Meanwhile, California has had some shaky games - highlighted by getting blown out at Slippery Rock. The Vulcans also did not play well against a very undermanned IUP team. Knights' coach Jordan Fee said they saw a lot of glitches in watching the first meeting that have since been corrected. How will Part 2 play out? The Vulcans have a massive size advantage. Danny Sancomb is overly familiar with playing against this style. The Knights should be pretty hungry and are at home in the rent-a-gym. The stakes are high. The winner likely takes over the top spot in the Atlantic Region. The sports book says take the home team. Gannon gets its revenge. Knights -3.5

Mercyhurst at Pitt-Johnstown - Things are bad in the Dirty J. How bad? UPJ has lost 8 in a row -- and sits dead last in the West. Even worse, star sophomore PG Andrew Shull is no longer on the team -- making a small rotation even smaller. Things aren't much better for the visiting team. The Lakers are an astonishing 10-12. The first game was pretty close -- a 64-57 Lakers' win. The Mountain Cats are known for some magic in Johnstown. That said, Bob Rukavina is now down to a rotation so small it would make Joe Lombardi smile. Take the Lake Show on the road. It won't be a pretty game to watch. But, it just may be close. Mercyhurst -6.5

Edinboro at Clarion - The Golden Eagles may be the best 6-14 team in the country. Clarion, nearly every game, plays very well for about 28 minutes. They play average for another 5 minutes. But, they play awful for the extra 7 minutes. This is normal for a team full of nearly all freshmen and sophomores. That 7-minute strech of chaos is just killing them. The Golden Eagles have also been without star PF Jayson Harris for a couple weeks. Nonetheless, as their resume shows, they aren't an easy out. Clarion plays nearly everybody tough. They are extremely athletic, fast and big (even without the 6'9" Harris in the lineup). The Fighting Scots are similar. Edinboro plays hard, but isn't quite there yet under its first-year head coach. The Scots won the first meeting in McComb. This won't be the cleanest of games tomorrow but should be one of the more entertaining. Edinboro is just 2-8 on the road this year. A visit to Tippin isn't likely to help that mark. Golden Eagles even the series. Clarion -4.5

Lock Haven at West Chester - Tough week for the Bald Eagles. Fresh of a controversial finish in a loss at Millersville, Lock Haven now has to play at West Chester. The Bald Eagles won a thriller in the first meeting, 74-71. Recall that was right after the Rams won at California. Were they perhaps feeling a little too good about themselves? Tomorrow should see a different result. Hollinger is a tough place for visitors. It's a huge game in the East. Look for West Chester to take care of business. Rams -5.5

Shepherd at East Stroudsburg - If you haven't noticed, these up-and-down Rams have won 3 straight. ESU has reeled off its past 5 -- however the Warriors barely escaped Mansfield the other night. Shepherd is a capable bunch -- at times. The first meeting was a blowout. ESU won in Shepherdstown, 66-47. It was tight at the half but the Warriors pulled away in the second stanza. Shepherd shot an abysmal 2-19 from deep and missed a ton of FTs. This should be a little closer tomorrow. The Rams appear to be playing with some confidence. The question is can Shepherd's small rotation keep up for 40 minutes? Most would say it cannot. ESU -12.5

Mansfield at Kutztown - The Mounties came up one basket short Wednesday of pulling one of the biggest upsets of the season. Both teams are on losing streaks -- Mansfield has dropped 4 straight and Kutztown has lost its past 5 games. The Mounties won the first meeting, 78-74. Expect another close one tomororw. Mansfield seems to play well one night but not so hot the next. Mounties -6.5

Bloomsburg at Shippensburg - The loser of this game is in trouble (yes, they are both already in trouble). The winner will at least keep some faint hopes alive of making the conference tournament. Shippensburg snapped it's long losing streak by defeating Cheyney in a non-conference game. The Huskies have dropped thier past 5 games. The first game between these two was a wild affair. Bloomsburg was blowing Shippensburg out with about 7 minutes to play -- up 23 points. The Raiders switched to a full-court press and the Huskies imploded before barely holding on for the win. Will Chris Fite go back to that press tomorrow -- perhaps much earlier? These are probably -- aside from Shepherd -- the two toughest teams to forecast from game to game. This one doesn't mean a thing in the East race, but it will be entertaining -- and, it's nearly a Pick 'Em. Bloomsburg -2.5

[IUP24]

#psaction

[TheMadLibs]

Lols at rent-a-gym. Can only hope the horrible colors play with both cal teams' depth perception.

You covered most of my feelings on this match-up. Wednesdays tight game against Seton Hill may be the best thing to happen to Gannon. Since that Cal game is, the freshmen have nearly all stepped up, Tipton is less tiptoeing for a drive in the post when available, they've had a comeback win at Clarion, a lost lead, and OT win at the Rock, and held on to a lead at home with Seton Hill. I'm still concerned about the height but this system is not worried about that as much as I. Fee has experimented with rotations and learned more about the style of play in the division and his new to him team. He pretty much had stopped playing a few long wings around the Millersville loss and they started to reenter his rotation at the Rock. That said, Cals health is greatly improved and obviously that helps. Impressed with their returners and ability to hit a deep shot and drive, speed in transition, and post defense.

Big question for me is will a 3rd game in 8 days with a fast paced game be to Gannon another advantage to Cals 4th game? Here's hoping. This one could be as critical a game remaining in the regular season, given the West hosts this season and GU still plays IUP with Clark on the road.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

GU in a brawl. Steve Murray already destroying tapes lol

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Palek played the role of moron. Ejected.

[TheMadLibs]

That was so gd classless by Collins and the fact he did it tells me more about his coach. Palek is gonna find himself in **** with officials soon. What a punk. Officials absolutely lost control near the end and that ending was partially on them. Soured my mood so gd much.

[TheMadLibs]

Palek played the role of moron. Ejected.

I don't think he was ejected. Gannon didn't shoot free throws but Cal did.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

That was so gd classless by Collins and the fact he did it tells me more about his coach. Palek is gonna find himself in **** with officials soon. What a punk. Officials absolutely lost control near the end and that ending was partially on them. Soured my mood so gd much.

As always, speed of the captain, speed of the crew.

[IUPalum]

I don't think he was ejected. Gannon didn't shoot free throws but Cal did.

2 T's is an ejection.

[IUPalum]

That was so gd classless by Collins and the fact he did it tells me more about his coach. Palek is gonna find himself in **** with officials soon. What a punk. Officials absolutely lost control near the end and that ending was partially on them. Soured my mood so gd much.

Officials didn't lose control at the end. They had zero control the whole game which is why that mess ended up happening. Palek, Collins, Omojafo and Hobbs were douche rags the whole game. It just finally boiled over at the end.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Officials didn't lose control at the end. They had zero control the whole game which is why that mess ended up happening. Palek, Collins, Omojafo and Hobbs were douche rags the whole game. It just finally boiled over at the end.

Maybe those jackas$es get it out of their systems. They all need humbled eventually.

That ghetto playground crap they pulled today doesn't fly in March.