PSAC WEST

[IUPalum]

The stories I could tell you. A telecom executive played basketball at Edinboro in the 80s. He told Cleary he'd donate tens of thousands a year for several years. Edinboro fundraising staff got involved and convinced the guy to split his gift with another initiative. McComb hasn't been renovated since 1989. Yeah, new floor about 10 years ago, but that's it. The men's basketball offices are in the basement. McComb does not have air conditioning. It gets so hot and humid they have to take garbage cans to prop open external doors and get air flowing through the halls.

Edinboro gave out 3.78 scholarships in 2021-22 for men's basketball. That's tied with Seton Hill for lowest in the PSAC West and tied for 4th-lowest in the PSAC. How the F*** do you expect a team to do better with that facility, that little money, and the cloud looming over the reputation of the school? Clarion and Gannon have twice the funding and finished below Cleary.

This is what happens when you hire a competitive water skier turned professor as your athletic director. No desire to win.

No, PennWest is starting the demise of men’s sports on that campus. They don’t want money invested in sports! It’s not incompetence, it’s THE PLAN!

[Fightingscot82]

Edinboro asked Cleary to fundraise half his salary. What a joke! Welcome to the demise of Edinboro sports.

The stories I could tell you. A telecom executive played basketball at Edinboro in the 80s. He told Cleary he'd donate tens of thousands a year for several years. Edinboro fundraising staff got involved and convinced the guy to split his gift with another initiative. McComb hasn't been renovated since 1989. Yeah, new floor about 10 years ago, but that's it. The men's basketball offices are in the basement. McComb does not have air conditioning. It gets so hot and humid they have to take garbage cans to prop open external doors and get air flowing through the halls.

Edinboro gave out 3.78 scholarships in 2021-22 for men's basketball. That's tied with Seton Hill for lowest in the PSAC West and tied for 4th-lowest in the PSAC. How the F*** do you expect a team to do better with that facility, that little money, and the cloud looming over the reputation of the school? Clarion and Gannon have twice the funding and finished below Cleary.

This is what happens when you hire a competitive water skier turned professor as your athletic director. No desire to win.

[IUPalum]

Edinboro asked Cleary to fundraise half his salary. What a joke! Welcome to the demise of Edinboro sports.

[IUPalum]

Jefferson and Cleary both **** canned today!

[Ship69]

Congratulations to the Cal ladies. Huge win on the road in Erie today against a very good Gannon team. I don't think many saw this coming even a month ago.

Yeah, that was kind of a shocker the way Gannon had been playing. Ship had trouble with Gannon this year, but had routed Cal in a game earlier this season. Ariel Jones getting into quick foul trouble hurt the Raiders in the semis against Gannon. She only played 28 minutes. Ladies will now head for Glenville, W.Va.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Congratulations to the Cal ladies. Huge win on the road in Erie today against a very good Gannon team. I don't think many saw this coming even a month ago.

[IUPalum]

Western Division First Team

Jeff Planutis / Mercyhurst
Michael Bradley / Mercyhurst
Shawndale Jones / IUP
Dave Morris / IUP
Tomiwa Suliaman / IUP
John Paul Kromka / Pitt-Johnstown
Keith Palek / California


Western Division Second Team

Amante Britt / SRU
Khalid Gates / SRU
Jermaine Hall / California
Nicholas Lang / Mercyhurst
Miykah McIntosh / Mercyhurst
Andrew Shull / Pitt-Johnstown
Samuel Tabe / Seton Hill

Just imagine if Ethan was healthy and playing to his standard.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Western Division First Team

Jeff Planutis / Mercyhurst
Michael Bradley / Mercyhurst
Shawndale Jones / IUP
Dave Morris / IUP
Tomiwa Suliaman / IUP
John Paul Kromka / Pitt-Johnstown
Keith Palek / California


Western Division Second Team

Amante Britt / SRU
Khalid Gates / SRU
Jermaine Hall / California
Nicholas Lang / Mercyhurst
Miykah McIntosh / Mercyhurst
Andrew Shull / Pitt-Johnstown
Samuel Tabe / Seton Hill

[bballfan03]

Last I heard they were trying to get Behrend for their home games.

also, given the renovations and the non-usage of HMEC for Gannon... wonder if they might string KJ along for 1 more year to have him deal with the off-site games and have a new person come in to the new HMEC. Rather than trying to "sell" to a new guy the luxury of having to travel for all home games this year.

[bballfan03]

Gannon ui supposedly remodeling and won't even be used next season. Gannon will be playing at a temporary location. I would assume they'd try to work out a deal with the Prep Events Center.

Last I heard they were trying to get Behrend for their home games.

[bballfan03]

LOL perhaps.

To play along, which job would KR take if offered both? Gannon and Clarion are very different schools.

Clarion without question has a much nicer facility. But, his resources would likely be much better in Erie.

The Clarion job will come with less pressure -- and they have a loaded freshmen class (about to be sophomores). The three who left this week likely realized they got passed by heading in to next year.

if it were me.. I'd take Clarion. lower expectations out of the gate and a better crew returning (pending no one else leaves)

[IUPalum]

Let's be honest, ESU is great when they create turnovers and transition points in their press. IUP didn't give them many opportunities to press last game because they dictated they pace and flow of the game. The IUP half court D kept ESU out of the press. I look for that to happen again.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Wednesday was a good night at the sports book -- if you followed the free advise. We had three outright winners and all three covered. The fourth game, Lock Haven at Shippensburg, was a PICK 'EM. Now, you gambling degenerates can turn to PSAC Final Four Saturday.

Shippensburg is the host site for both games.




IUP vs. East Stroudsburg / 1 p.m.

The neutral floor is always interesting. Both of these teams enjoy big advantages when they are at home - they draw the biggest crowds in the league. IUP went 11-1 this year in road games and 2-0 at a neutral site. East Stroudsburg went 10-4 in road games and 1-0 at a neutral site. So, playing away from home doesn't seem to bother either team. Both should have decent fan support tomorrow. IUP has won 4 straight in the series and 9 of the last 10 meetings.

This is a rematch of the teams' first meeting back on January 28 (in Indiana). IUP won, 67-53. The Warriors were held 35 points below their season average - by far their lowest output of the season. Of course, every game is different and that was a long time ago.

For IUP, the formula tomorrow has to be the same as that Saturday 5 weeks ago. The Crimson Hawks controlled the pace for probably 38 of 40 minutes -- i.e. they played their slower, methodical style, not the frantic up-and-down that ESU wanted to play. The slower, controlled tempo visibly frustrated the visitors that day.

Obviously, the Warriors will want tomorrow to be the total opposite of the first game. They are built for high-scoring, fast-paced games. They can't effectively run their famous press as much -- or effectively -- scoring just 53 points.

If one enjoys watching post players, this game is about as good as it gets at the D2 level. ESU's Carlos Pepin and Lakeem McAliley, along with IUP's Tomiwa Sulaiman and Ethan Porterfield, are elite big men.

Injury-wise, IUP is as healthy as its been all year. Porterfield finally looks back (reasonably close) to his old form -- and, certainly way better than he looked a month ago. Dallis Dillard also seems back to full strength. For ESU, starting guard Justin Paz was on crutches after the West Chester win 48 hours ago. His status tomorrow is unknown. IUP played one less game this week but both teams had late-season idle dates.

Prediction time: Paz's status is a big factor in picking this game. If he can't go, that's taking 30 starts, 10 ppg and 106 assists out of the lineup. As said above, his status is unknown. That said, ESU is very deep. IUP's main advantage is their core group has all played many games on big stages. This group has proven it doesn't panic or get caught up in the moment. Like the Warriors, IUP is also very deep. Unlike a year ago, this IUP team is also very strong in the press break. East Stroudsburg's advantage is they have two dynamic post players who can match-up with IUP's big guys. Most nights IUP has a tremendous advantage under the basket. That isn't the case in this game. Vegas says it will be different than the first game, but IUP's experience under the bright lights should make the difference. The Hawks give up just 60 points per game and their defense is very frustrating to play against. But, they better be careful. ESU can really sling it. IUP -3.5



Mercyhurst at Shippensburg / 3:30 p.m.

One of our esteemed posters said last week that his Raiders had a 'clear path' to the finals. Perhaps. But, there's a really big obstacle in said path tomorrow.

Mercyhurst is one of the hottest teams in the country over the past 3-4 weeks -- and also one of the most frustrating to play against. The Lakers have won 10 of their past 11 games -- including handing IUP it's lone loss of the season. Most recently, Mercyhurst clobbered Pitt-Johnstown (a team they lost to earlier in the year) by a whopping 29 points.

The good news for Shippensburg is this game is at home -- and star forward Dom Sleva returned this past Wednesday, playing 23 minutes and scoring 7 points while grabbing 6 rebounds. Mercyhurst has gone 23-4 to this point -- with three of those losses coming outside of Erie.

These two played earlier this year. Mercyhurst won at home, 84-55. Granted, that was a long time ago (Dec. 18). Shippensburg's bench has come a long way since then. But, the thing that hasn't changed is Mercyhurst is an extremely tough match-up. Their vaunted match-up zone defense - rarely seen - travels. The Lakers play 4 guards and 1 very dynamic, fast and strong post player. Their guards have been in their system for years and have played in many postseason games. The key for the Raiders is to make them pay for playing with a smaller lineup. Shippensburg's experienced post players have to have a huge day. The Raiders also must defend extremely well on the perimeter. But, the absolute biggest key is to get Lakers' star forward Pipeloluwa Ajayi in foul trouble. Everything changes when he's out of the game. The Lakers routinely fire up 30+ shots from outside the arc and have hit nearly 39 percent for the season. Mercyhurst hit 11 of 26 from deep in the first meeting (42%).

Prediction time: This is a very tough assignment for Shippensburg -- home, away, neutral or on the Moon. Despite being the visitor (the East is hosting this year), Mercyhurst is a Top 3 team in the Atlantic Region and also nationally ranked. The Raiders are 19-10 and a clear home underdog. However, Shippensburg has won 3 of the past 5 meetings against Mercyhurst (although the Lakers have won the past two). Vegas says Mercyhurst just has too much and is too deep. The Heiges factor will help -- this game should be much closer than the first meeting -- but it can only help so much. Lakers advance to Sunday. Mercyhurst -9.5

[Fightingscot82]

LOL perhaps.

To play along, which job would KR take if offered both? Gannon and Clarion are very different schools.

Clarion without question has a much nicer facility. But, his resources would likely be much better in Erie.

The Clarion job will come with less pressure -- and they have a loaded freshmen class (about to be sophomores). The three who left this week likely realized they got passed by heading in to next year.

Clarion has the better facility right now, but Gannon's should be a little nicer. Gannon also has some better booster support. Clarion has Calipari giving something like $200k a year for 10 years but that's about it for major donors. Gannon got $10 million from Highmark for naming rights to their arena, local car dealer Gary Miller bought naming rights to the court, and they've sold naming rights to the men's locker room and head coach offices. Plus if KR is successful, he'll have direct access to 4 news stations and a daily newspaper that already favor Gannon. Clarion ain't got none of that.

[Ship69]

LOL perhaps.

To play along, which job would KR take if offered both? Gannon and Clarion are very different schools.

Clarion without question has a much nicer facility. But, his resources would likely be much better in Erie.

The Clarion job will come with less pressure -- and they have a loaded freshmen class (about to be sophomores). The three who left this week likely realized they got passed by heading in to next year.

If Clarion has a bunch of guys who can pass by Jarmon, I'm impressed.