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Re: PSAC WEST
The mini-regional hits the KCAC tomorrow. Some free advice: Be real careful betting on these games. Picking the winners won't be easy.
Mercyhurst vs. East Stroudsburg -- Historically, these teams couldn't be more different. The Lakers traditionally have one of the best defenses in the country -- and an offense that would routinely score in the upper 60s and milk shot clocks all they could. This year is different. The vaunted defense is still there, but there's also an offense capable of putting up big numbers. East Stroudsburg is famous for its unrelenting, 40-minute press -- and an offense that routinely lights up scoreboards. In the first meeting -- way back on Dec. 3 -- ESU took it to the Lakers in Stroudsburg to the tune of 78-61. The game was never close and ESU's pressure forced Mercyhurst into an extremely uncharacteristic 18 TOs -- and, another oddity, smothered the Lakers on the boards. Mercyhurst hadn't played for nearly 2 weeks prior to that game -- perhaps a factor in their sluggish performance. End of the day, there's only so much you can take out of a game played more than 3 months ago. One factor to keep in mind is while many teams shoot the ball very poorly in the vast KCAC, the Lakers thrive in it. These are two deep teams. Both will play 10 or 11 guys. ESU enters the game on a tear -- winners of 10 straight. The Warriors' last loss was back on Jan. 23. The Lakers have won 6 of 7. This won't be a blowout like the first meeting. The Lakers typically shoot the lights out in the KCAC. It's also vital they control the pace of the game. While ESU forces a lot of turnovers, they commit a lot, too. They also are prone to foul trouble -- especially outside of East Stroudsburg. ESU wins the game -- in the final minutes. Warriors -6
WCU vs. (at) IUP -- IUP's last two Final Four games against East schools haven't ended well. Both, in fact, were lost in OT. There was the West Chester Hail Mary as time expired. Then it was Dustin Sleva who spoiled the party in a de-facto title game which happened to be played in the semi-finals. Go back a year past that and IUP lost in the title game on another 40' three-pointer in the Hammermill as time expired. The conference tournament hasn't been kind to IUP the past several years. Some real fluke shots just kept falling. Turning ahead to tomorrow, IUP enters on a roll. Winners of 8 straight, the Crimson Hawks are playing well but not great. You can also argue they haven't played a 'big game' in more than a month. But, that's how the schedule fell. They've been tested, like it or not, several times the past several weeks (UPJ twice, Seton Hill). West Chester enters the KCAC tomorrow having lost 2 of its past 3 games. But, it was the last one in that stretch that mattered the most -- an 89-72 blowout of Shippensburg in the quarterfinals. The Rams raced out to a whopping 21-point halftime lead and never looked back. Four players were in double figures and WCU made a mockery of the glass -- out-rebounding the smaller Red Raiders 45-30.
The first meeting between IUP and West Chester this year was an odd one. It was the last game before the holiday break. West Chester had 10 days to prepare. IUP was fresh off emotional wins over Shippensburg and Fairmont State. WCU came out spitting fire before falling behind at halftime and never quite recovering in a 80-75 loss. Statistically, it was an awful showing from both teams. West Chester shot just 31 percent and IUP hit just 41 percent. It was also a foul fest with a combined 56 FT attempts. It was IUP's first pretty shaky performance of the season. The Rams went on to win their next 14 games after leaving the KCAC.
So, what does tomorrow hold? IUP is a different team now rotation-wise. The emergence of Chucky Humphries under the basket has changed many things on both ends of the floor. While IUP is typically the biggest team on the floor, that won't be the case tomorrow. WCU has size at every position and 9 players get double-digit minutes (and the 10th guy gets just under 10 minutes per game). IUP has to win this game in the paint. In the first meeting WCU's guards routinely pushed the three-point line way out. As typical in a pretty evenly-matched contest, foul trouble will play a large role. West Chester went 13-1 at home this year but 9-5 on the road. What should be a large, hostile crowd tomorrow should play a role. It's going to be a tight, highly-emotional game. The KCAC makes the difference. In the first meeting Marko Krivacevic and Humphries had no impact (because they hardly played). That won't be the case tomorrow -- and, ultimately, will make the difference. And, with these two coaches, those poor officials will need a private room at the Coney immediately after the game. IUP wins a thriller. Crimson Hawks -3
The mini-regional hits the KCAC tomorrow. Some free advice: Be real careful betting on these games. Picking the winners won't be easy.
Mercyhurst vs. East Stroudsburg -- Historically, these teams couldn't be more different. The Lakers traditionally have one of the best defenses in the country -- and an offense that would routinely score in the upper 60s and milk shot clocks all they could. This year is different. The vaunted defense is still there, but there's also an offense capable of putting up big numbers. East Stroudsburg is famous for its unrelenting, 40-minute press -- and an offense that routinely lights up scoreboards. In the first meeting -- way back on Dec. 3 -- ESU took it to the Lakers in Stroudsburg to the tune of 78-61. The game was never close and ESU's pressure forced Mercyhurst into an extremely uncharacteristic 18 TOs -- and, another oddity, smothered the Lakers on the boards. Mercyhurst hadn't played for nearly 2 weeks prior to that game -- perhaps a factor in their sluggish performance. End of the day, there's only so much you can take out of a game played more than 3 months ago. One factor to keep in mind is while many teams shoot the ball very poorly in the vast KCAC, the Lakers thrive in it. These are two deep teams. Both will play 10 or 11 guys. ESU enters the game on a tear -- winners of 10 straight. The Warriors' last loss was back on Jan. 23. The Lakers have won 6 of 7. This won't be a blowout like the first meeting. The Lakers typically shoot the lights out in the KCAC. It's also vital they control the pace of the game. While ESU forces a lot of turnovers, they commit a lot, too. They also are prone to foul trouble -- especially outside of East Stroudsburg. ESU wins the game -- in the final minutes. Warriors -6
WCU vs. (at) IUP -- IUP's last two Final Four games against East schools haven't ended well. Both, in fact, were lost in OT. There was the West Chester Hail Mary as time expired. Then it was Dustin Sleva who spoiled the party in a de-facto title game which happened to be played in the semi-finals. Go back a year past that and IUP lost in the title game on another 40' three-pointer in the Hammermill as time expired. The conference tournament hasn't been kind to IUP the past several years. Some real fluke shots just kept falling. Turning ahead to tomorrow, IUP enters on a roll. Winners of 8 straight, the Crimson Hawks are playing well but not great. You can also argue they haven't played a 'big game' in more than a month. But, that's how the schedule fell. They've been tested, like it or not, several times the past several weeks (UPJ twice, Seton Hill). West Chester enters the KCAC tomorrow having lost 2 of its past 3 games. But, it was the last one in that stretch that mattered the most -- an 89-72 blowout of Shippensburg in the quarterfinals. The Rams raced out to a whopping 21-point halftime lead and never looked back. Four players were in double figures and WCU made a mockery of the glass -- out-rebounding the smaller Red Raiders 45-30.
The first meeting between IUP and West Chester this year was an odd one. It was the last game before the holiday break. West Chester had 10 days to prepare. IUP was fresh off emotional wins over Shippensburg and Fairmont State. WCU came out spitting fire before falling behind at halftime and never quite recovering in a 80-75 loss. Statistically, it was an awful showing from both teams. West Chester shot just 31 percent and IUP hit just 41 percent. It was also a foul fest with a combined 56 FT attempts. It was IUP's first pretty shaky performance of the season. The Rams went on to win their next 14 games after leaving the KCAC.
So, what does tomorrow hold? IUP is a different team now rotation-wise. The emergence of Chucky Humphries under the basket has changed many things on both ends of the floor. While IUP is typically the biggest team on the floor, that won't be the case tomorrow. WCU has size at every position and 9 players get double-digit minutes (and the 10th guy gets just under 10 minutes per game). IUP has to win this game in the paint. In the first meeting WCU's guards routinely pushed the three-point line way out. As typical in a pretty evenly-matched contest, foul trouble will play a large role. West Chester went 13-1 at home this year but 9-5 on the road. What should be a large, hostile crowd tomorrow should play a role. It's going to be a tight, highly-emotional game. The KCAC makes the difference. In the first meeting Marko Krivacevic and Humphries had no impact (because they hardly played). That won't be the case tomorrow -- and, ultimately, will make the difference. And, with these two coaches, those poor officials will need a private room at the Coney immediately after the game. IUP wins a thriller. Crimson Hawks -3
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