PSAC WEST

[IUPalum]

Re: PSAC WEST

I've got the Rock/Hurst game covered. I'm going to love watching these cry babies go at it. Hopefully it doesn't get postponed like IUP.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: PSAC WEST

Tonight's Games


Edinboro at Seton Hill -- After a little funk the Fighting Scots have won two straight. The trip to Greensburg can be hard to predict. Strange things happen in the McKenna Center. Edinboro won the first meeting by 12 points after Keshawn Liggins went for 39 points. Seton Hill is playing better now despite the record not reflecting it. The Griffins have won 2 of their past 3 games. The lone setback was Saturday's overtime loss at Slippery Rock. Seton Hill has a history of pulling home upsets -- IUP in 2016 and Gannon this season (among others). The Griffins aren't mathematically eliminated from the PSAC Tournament -- yet. This is a must win. Expect a close one. The Griffins rip the nets. But, Edinboro survives. Fighting Scots -4

Slippery Rock at Mercyhurst -- Every referees worst nightmare. Kevin Reynolds on one side. Gary Manchel on the other. The Rock is in an odd place. The dramatic loss to IUP caused a severe hangover this past Saturday. Aaron McDonald, one of SRU's best guards, was also injured in the IUP game and did not play against Seton Hill. The team also looked disinterested for the first 36 minutes. The Lakers are playing their best basketball of the season. Mercyhurst has won 3 of 5 games -- the only losses coming to IUP by just 2 points and Shippensburg by 10 points in a very strong effort. The Lakers got beat up at Morrow Field House this year. Payback will be the theme tonight. A lot has changed since that 20-point smackdown in early January. The MAC also makes teams dysfunctional. UPSET SPECIAL. Lakers -2 in a physical, low-scoring game.

(Thursday)
UPJ at IUP -- Round 1 was a thriller. IUP was jumped in the first half ... UPJ ran out to a big lead and couldn't miss a shot. The second half was the compete opposite. IUP couldn't miss a shot. The Crimson Hawks finished with 15 treys on 27 attempts. Malik Miller was the unsung hero -- going a perfect 4-4 from deep. Anthony Glover went for 31 points. But, Malik won't be there tonight. UPJ has lost 2 of its past 3 -- both close losses. Prior to that, it had impressive wins against Mercyhurst, Slippery Rock and a blowout of West Chester. UPJ, however, has struggled away from home this season. The Mountain Cats are 5-5 on the road. UPJ stays in games despite usually having less talent by shooting the ball well and hitting free throws. The Mountain Cats are shooting 48.9 percent for the season and nearly 80 percent from the free throw line. They also rarely turn the ball over. One item to watch is UPJ played more players earlier in the season. Their hot streak started when they cut it down to playing just six. IUP will likely be playing the same number tonight. IUP will have its hands full. Dale Clancy is arguably the top point guard in the PSAC. Issac Vescovi is the most unheralded player in the league. IUP has won 13 of its past 14 overall and has hit 10+ treys in its past 6 outings. IUP has won 11 straight in the series -- with several tight ones along the way. Tonight will be yet another tight one. An upset is possible. But, it's not likely. IUP is too good inside the KCAC. Hawks -3.5

California at Gannon -- Cal's promising start has turned in to a nightmare. The Vulcans have lost 5 of their past 6 meetings including two straight blowout defeats. Cal is near dead last in defense and its scoring has dropped dramatically down the stretch. Not a good combination. Luckily, Gannon doesn't score a whole lot, either. The Golden Knights are third from last in the conference at just 70.5 points per game. That said, they only give up 64 points per game. Cal coach Kent McBride isn't a believer in defending the three-point shot as teams fire away on the Vulcans. Gannon just doesn't shoot many. The Knights pulled out a tight, 69-66, win at the Angelo Dome in early January. A lot has changed since then. Something tells me Gannon had some tough practices after its defensive meltdown at IUP. Golden Knights roll tonight. Gannon -12

[IUsuallyPonder]

Re: PSAC WEST

Any cancellations for tonight announced yet?


I think the UPJ game at IUP will get played.

IUP just announced they moved it to Thursday:

http://iupathletics.com/news/2018/2/...-thursday.aspx

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: PSAC WEST

West Standings - 2/7/2018



IUP (14-2, 18-5) W7

Slippery Rock (12-5, 18-5) W1

Edinboro (10-6, 13-7) W2

Gannon (10-6, 14-8) L2

Pitt-Johnstown (9-8, 11-10) W1

Mercyhurst (7-9, 10-10) L1

California (5-11, 9-13) L2

Seton Hill (5-12, 8-14) L1

Clarion (0-17, 3-20) L12


IUP and SRU have already clinched PSAC Tournament spots

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: PSAC WEST

Any cancellations for tonight announced yet?


I think the UPJ game at IUP will get played.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: PSAC WEST

Three good games this week:

UPJ at IUP - Always a tough one despite the lopsided series record. UPJ has been so close several times.

Rock at Mercyhurst - SRU looked disinterested against Seton Hill. Mercyhurst is playing well and gave IUP and Ship tough battles. Reynolds vs Manchel is worth the admission fee. Rock laid it on Mercy in Round 1 ... things are a bit different now.

Gannon at Edinboro - The Boro got beat up a little in Erie. Round 2 payback time?

[jrshooter]

Re: PSAC WEST

Yeah, the lack of video was frustrating.

[Golden89]

Re: PSAC WEST

Mercyhurst is just really struggling with the live video concept.

They don't have that technology in the southern part of the city of Erie.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: PSAC WEST

Mercyhurst is just really struggling with the live video concept.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: PSAC WEST

Rock men beat SH in OT

[Fightingscot82]

Re: PSAC WEST

Edinboro women rolled past Cal.

Boro men currently doing the same. Up 65-52 with 7:30 remaining

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: PSAC WEST

Rock down 4 at half to Seton Hill. Hangover city. They look terrible ... appear not interested at all.

KR needs to wake them up.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: PSAC WEST

Next up


Seton Hill at Slippery Rock -- The Griffins pulled the first real shocker of the West season in the upset of Gannon. For whatever reason, the McKenna Center is becoming the dangerous trip in the division. Claustrophobia, probably. The Rock could be a little hung over. A lot of emotion went in to the IUP loss. Morrow Field House was rocking the other night. It will be back to 160 people tomorrow. Seton Hill can be a dangerous team if you catch them on the right night. Those nights are pretty far and few between, however. Seton Hill's Spencer Casson is big enough to bang with Micah Till but isn't fast enough to cover him when Till goes out of the box. The first meeting was a good game despite the final score (79-64 Rock win). SRU had one big run. The Rock's three main post players led the team in scoring -- all in double figures. That will likely be the case again ... other than Casson, Seton Hill just has no answer for SRU's size. On the injury front, there's no word yet on SRU's Aaron McDonald. He appeared to have a serious ankle or knee injury in the IUP game. He was assisted off the court and never returned from the locker room. The Griffins should enter this game with a little pep and confidence. My guess is SRU goes through the motions for the first 20 minutes until Kevin Reynolds loses his mind at halftime. Expect Seton Hill to hang in to the second half but SRU pulls away late. Rock -11

California at Edinboro -- The first game of the day (women's) is the main event. The men's game gets second billing. The first meeting in the Angelo Dome was a blowout -- the Fighting Scots hung 24 on the Vulcans. Tomorrow should be no different. Cal enters losers of four of its past five. When you give Edinboro free reign from the outside ... you're in big, big trouble. Cal lets teams fire at will. Liggins and Mason both went crazy in the first meeting. They will again tomorrow. Edinboro -14

Clarion at UPJ -- The first meeting was surprisingly competitive for the first 30 minutes. Want to talk about iron man basketball ... this is the prototype. This is a scorekeepers delight. There will 12 players in the box score tomorrow. Combined. UPJ's 6 players are much better than Clarion's 6 players. A long season gets even longer for the Golden Eagles. UPJ -17

Shippensburg at Mercyhurst -- Interesting game. Mercyhurst is hot -- having won 3 of 4 and nearly upsetting IUP. The Lakers are also 8-1 at home. Ship heads to Erie as the hottest team in the Atlantic Region -- winners of 8 straight. The Lakers can cause a lot of problems with their defense, especially when you don't see it very often. Just about every visitor also shoots the ball poorly in the MAC, too. Meryhurst will do enough to stay in the game. Look for Gary Manchel to attempt to slow the game to a snails pace. The Lakers defend the deep shot very well. Defending Dustin Sleva, however, is a major problem. Mercyhurst doesn't have an answer for him. Shippensburg has played the East's other big three recently. All play fast and up-tempo. This will be a bit of culture shock. The Lakers have to cash in on it. Manchel won't let Justin McArthur launch three-pointers all day. In the MAC, Mercyhurst has the chance to stay in the this game. The odds of winning it, however, are pretty slim. Ship -10.5

Gannon at IUP -- The Crimson Hawks have won four straight in the series. Winning No. 5 won't be easy. With Malik Miller out of the lineup for the foreseeable future and Jalen Vaughns having missed the past three games with an ankle injury, IUP finds itself the newest member of the Iron Man club. That said, they're still a tough out -- having impressively won in Slippery Rock playing 6 guys. Gannon enters fresh off a somewhat shocking upset loss in Greensburg -- possibly the result of looking ahead. Few teams have come in to the KCAC over the past decade and won on a Saturday night. Gannon is one of them. The Knights were a bit stronger back then but the stage isn't going to intimidate John Reilly. It's strange to say it but Jalen Vaughns returning is now a major factor for IUP. Foul trouble -- for anybody -- is a colossal concern at this point. Gannon struggled mightily with Slippery Rock under the basket. IUP's post players, overall, are better than Slippery Rock's. With IUP opening up a 3-game lead in the West, a little of the buzz probably wore off a bit. That said, an IUP win tomorrow may clinch the west in all reality. Expect a big crowd. Expect a good game. IUP is too tough at home. The West winning streak continues. Hawks -3.5

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: PSAC WEST

Women's West Standings - 2/2/2018

IUP (13-2, 18-2) W1

Edinboro (13-2, 17-2) W4

California (13-2, 18-3) W2

Seton Hill (11-5, 16-6) L1

Gannon (10-5, 13-8) W6

Slippery Rock (8-8, 10-11) W6

Mercyhurst (7-8, 9-12) W2

Pitt-Johnstown (5-11, 8-13) L5

Clarion (2-14, 7-15) L10


Big Weekend for the ladies:

Cal at Edinboro
Gannon at IUP