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Valentine's Day has brought with it a pretty strong lineup tonight. There are some very important games and some very interesting rematches from a month ago. As always, you degenerates, happy gambling.
Shippensburg at Mansfield - The race for the final PSAC Tournament spot in the East is a mess. Directly in the center of said mess sits these two teams. The Top 6 teams make it. Four have already clinched, and Shepherd enters tonight snug in the 5-hole - up 3 games on both Shippensburg and Mansfield. So, the odds are looking pretty good that one of these two teams is not getting invited to the mini-dance. The first meeting, while lacking fanfare, may have been one of the most entertaining games of the season thus far. The Raiders hammered the Mounties in the first half -- then got hammered in the second half. Mansfield eventually won the OT session, 16-5, and secured a wild 98-87 victory. Interesting stat of the game: Mansfield went 0-9 from deep in the first half, and then hit a whopping 10-14 in the second. Of note, Mansfield star sophomore forward Saraj Ali didn't play in the first meeting. He's back now. However, a once-somewhat promising season has gone off the rails for the Mounties, who have lost 7 straight. Both teams can play fairly well in stretches -- and not so well in other stretches. Very tough game to pick. The home team gets a slight edge, bolstered by the return of Ali. Mounties -3.5
Millersville at Shepherd - Round 1 ended in a knockout. The Rams were down just 6 points at halftime but then got blitzed in the second half, ultimately losing 69-44. Whatever adjustments Millersville made at the break worked, as the Rams scored just 16 points in the final 20 minutes. Shepherd tends to live and die with the trey, and, well, it wasn't falling on that night. Perhaps things will be different tonight in Shepherdstown. But, probably not. Millersville is a legit NCAA team. This shouldn't be another 25-point laugher, but the end result will be another win for the 'Ville. Millersville -12.5
East Stroudsburg at Lock Haven - Aside from being a huge game in the East race, this meeting will play a huge role in the upcoming NCAA discussions. ESU is still in the mix to host the Regional. Lock Haven is currently on the NCAA bubble, packed with several similar-record teams. The Bald Eagles pulled an upset last month on the road, beating the Warriors, 75-70. This should have a playoff atmosphere inside Thomas Fieldhouse -- a pretty rare occurence. Logic says in a big game to take the more experienced team. ESU has played in a lot of high-pressure games over the years. Lock Haven has not. Add in the revenge factor, and the smart money goes on the road team. But, buyer beware. The Bald Eagles are built to play against the pressure and have a slew of strong guards. Warriors -5.5
Kutztown at West Chester - Well, if you had Kutztown +41.5 at Shippensburg this past Saturday, you had a good day. Chances are you didn't -- considering the Golden Bears beat the Raiders by 12 in January. Kutztown is now 3-20, and the total egg it laid in Shippensburg is perhaps a sign this young team is throwing in the towel. The Rams remain an enigma. They'll be a scary bunch in the tournament. They have their moments, and, at times, look like an elite team. Other times, however, they look like a 9-loss team. One sure bet is they'll look good tonight. This should be a run-away. West Chester was sloppy in the first meeting, winning by just 9 points. At home tonight it shouldnt be close. WCU -15.5
Pitt-Johnstown at IUP - The Mountain Cats ended their 10-game losing streak by defeating Edinboro. IUP is on a two-game skid, albeit having lost in 2 OT at Mercyhurst and losing to powerful Gannon by just 2 points. Gannon, in fact, will play more players tonight than these two teams combined. Scorekeepers' Delight. One thing for certain when these two neighbors play is the final score will likely be in single digits. Joe Lombardi is 21-4 against Bob Rukavina, but this series has produced nail-biter after nail-biter. Tonight will be no different. Some think Rukavina knows Lombardi's offense and defense better than the long-time IUP head coach does. UPJ used an interesting tactic in the first meeting (a narrow 73-72 IUP win). The Mountain Cats totally ignored IUP's small forward ... as in they didn't cover him at all. Instead, they hammered Ethan Porterfield all night with double teams. IUP was caught off guard and really struggled to get any offensive flow. It will be interesting to see if UPJ does the same tonight - and how IUP will attack it. UPJ is also now without star PG Andrew Shull, who ironically played his last game against IUP. Don't expect fireworks. It won't be pretty. Look for IUP to win in the range of 70-62. Crimson Hawks -7.5
Clarion at California - Golden Eagles' star power forward Jayson Harris recently returned after missing several weeks. Clarion is struggling with a 7-16 record and is on the brink of being eliminated from the conference tournament. However, this isn't a team to take lightly. The Golden Eagles have lost a ton of close games against good teams -- common for a team full of talented freshmen and sophomores. This year Clarion has taken ESU, IUP and Calfiornia to the wire. Eventually, they are going to get somebody. Will it be tonight in Angelo's Dome? Unlikely. Cal hasn't been playing its best basketball of late, but continues winning. The Vulcans have been in some real street fights the past couple weeks with teams they should in reality be blowing out. Clarion has the size and playmakers to hang around with the Vulcans. Cal just has more experience and more depth. Vulcans -9.5
Mercyhurst at Edinboro - It's time for Round 2. The Fighting Scots won last month in Erie for the first time in forever. New head coach Justin Jennings found a crack in Mercyhurst's famous match-up zone, and left the MAC with a very rare, 75-69 victory. The first meeting was an extremely chippy game between these two local rivals. Expect more of the same tonight. That said, don't expect the same result. The Lakers are playing well and should be a force in the PSAC Tournament. Mercyhurst gets revenge. Lakers -7.5
Slippery Rock at Gannon - There are two versions of Slippery Rock. The home edition is very good. The Rock is 9-1 in Morrow Fieldhouse. The lone loss came against Gannon (in OT). The other version, however, isn't very good. Slippery Rock is 2-10 on the road. Figure that out for yourself. Gannon returns (kind of) home fresh off a narrow win in Indiana. The first meeting had a lot of fireworks. SRU has the athletes and size to hang around in this game. But, the stats are the facts -- 9-1 at home and 2-10 on the road. This is on the road. Gannon -9.5
Shippensburg at Mansfield - The race for the final PSAC Tournament spot in the East is a mess. Directly in the center of said mess sits these two teams. The Top 6 teams make it. Four have already clinched, and Shepherd enters tonight snug in the 5-hole - up 3 games on both Shippensburg and Mansfield. So, the odds are looking pretty good that one of these two teams is not getting invited to the mini-dance. The first meeting, while lacking fanfare, may have been one of the most entertaining games of the season thus far. The Raiders hammered the Mounties in the first half -- then got hammered in the second half. Mansfield eventually won the OT session, 16-5, and secured a wild 98-87 victory. Interesting stat of the game: Mansfield went 0-9 from deep in the first half, and then hit a whopping 10-14 in the second. Of note, Mansfield star sophomore forward Saraj Ali didn't play in the first meeting. He's back now. However, a once-somewhat promising season has gone off the rails for the Mounties, who have lost 7 straight. Both teams can play fairly well in stretches -- and not so well in other stretches. Very tough game to pick. The home team gets a slight edge, bolstered by the return of Ali. Mounties -3.5
Millersville at Shepherd - Round 1 ended in a knockout. The Rams were down just 6 points at halftime but then got blitzed in the second half, ultimately losing 69-44. Whatever adjustments Millersville made at the break worked, as the Rams scored just 16 points in the final 20 minutes. Shepherd tends to live and die with the trey, and, well, it wasn't falling on that night. Perhaps things will be different tonight in Shepherdstown. But, probably not. Millersville is a legit NCAA team. This shouldn't be another 25-point laugher, but the end result will be another win for the 'Ville. Millersville -12.5
East Stroudsburg at Lock Haven - Aside from being a huge game in the East race, this meeting will play a huge role in the upcoming NCAA discussions. ESU is still in the mix to host the Regional. Lock Haven is currently on the NCAA bubble, packed with several similar-record teams. The Bald Eagles pulled an upset last month on the road, beating the Warriors, 75-70. This should have a playoff atmosphere inside Thomas Fieldhouse -- a pretty rare occurence. Logic says in a big game to take the more experienced team. ESU has played in a lot of high-pressure games over the years. Lock Haven has not. Add in the revenge factor, and the smart money goes on the road team. But, buyer beware. The Bald Eagles are built to play against the pressure and have a slew of strong guards. Warriors -5.5
Kutztown at West Chester - Well, if you had Kutztown +41.5 at Shippensburg this past Saturday, you had a good day. Chances are you didn't -- considering the Golden Bears beat the Raiders by 12 in January. Kutztown is now 3-20, and the total egg it laid in Shippensburg is perhaps a sign this young team is throwing in the towel. The Rams remain an enigma. They'll be a scary bunch in the tournament. They have their moments, and, at times, look like an elite team. Other times, however, they look like a 9-loss team. One sure bet is they'll look good tonight. This should be a run-away. West Chester was sloppy in the first meeting, winning by just 9 points. At home tonight it shouldnt be close. WCU -15.5
Pitt-Johnstown at IUP - The Mountain Cats ended their 10-game losing streak by defeating Edinboro. IUP is on a two-game skid, albeit having lost in 2 OT at Mercyhurst and losing to powerful Gannon by just 2 points. Gannon, in fact, will play more players tonight than these two teams combined. Scorekeepers' Delight. One thing for certain when these two neighbors play is the final score will likely be in single digits. Joe Lombardi is 21-4 against Bob Rukavina, but this series has produced nail-biter after nail-biter. Tonight will be no different. Some think Rukavina knows Lombardi's offense and defense better than the long-time IUP head coach does. UPJ used an interesting tactic in the first meeting (a narrow 73-72 IUP win). The Mountain Cats totally ignored IUP's small forward ... as in they didn't cover him at all. Instead, they hammered Ethan Porterfield all night with double teams. IUP was caught off guard and really struggled to get any offensive flow. It will be interesting to see if UPJ does the same tonight - and how IUP will attack it. UPJ is also now without star PG Andrew Shull, who ironically played his last game against IUP. Don't expect fireworks. It won't be pretty. Look for IUP to win in the range of 70-62. Crimson Hawks -7.5
Clarion at California - Golden Eagles' star power forward Jayson Harris recently returned after missing several weeks. Clarion is struggling with a 7-16 record and is on the brink of being eliminated from the conference tournament. However, this isn't a team to take lightly. The Golden Eagles have lost a ton of close games against good teams -- common for a team full of talented freshmen and sophomores. This year Clarion has taken ESU, IUP and Calfiornia to the wire. Eventually, they are going to get somebody. Will it be tonight in Angelo's Dome? Unlikely. Cal hasn't been playing its best basketball of late, but continues winning. The Vulcans have been in some real street fights the past couple weeks with teams they should in reality be blowing out. Clarion has the size and playmakers to hang around with the Vulcans. Cal just has more experience and more depth. Vulcans -9.5
Mercyhurst at Edinboro - It's time for Round 2. The Fighting Scots won last month in Erie for the first time in forever. New head coach Justin Jennings found a crack in Mercyhurst's famous match-up zone, and left the MAC with a very rare, 75-69 victory. The first meeting was an extremely chippy game between these two local rivals. Expect more of the same tonight. That said, don't expect the same result. The Lakers are playing well and should be a force in the PSAC Tournament. Mercyhurst gets revenge. Lakers -7.5
Slippery Rock at Gannon - There are two versions of Slippery Rock. The home edition is very good. The Rock is 9-1 in Morrow Fieldhouse. The lone loss came against Gannon (in OT). The other version, however, isn't very good. Slippery Rock is 2-10 on the road. Figure that out for yourself. Gannon returns (kind of) home fresh off a narrow win in Indiana. The first meeting had a lot of fireworks. SRU has the athletes and size to hang around in this game. But, the stats are the facts -- 9-1 at home and 2-10 on the road. This is on the road. Gannon -9.5
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