PSAC WEST

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Today we 'perhaps' have a little more entertaining lineup of crossovers -- although we did see some relatively close games yesterday. Place your bets.


Millersville at Mercyhurst - When was the last time the Lake Show had (6) losses before Santa arrived in Erie? Mercyhurst isn't a bad team -- and will likely be a headache in the second half. That said, the Lakers lost yet another close game yesterday. Millersville improved to 7-2 with a semi-comfortable win at Edinboro. Gary Manchel's patience are getting thin. He about lost it several times yesterday. Here's to the benefit of the doubt -- and the fact Mercyhurst is due. Lakers stop the bleeding and pull a mild upset. Mercy -2.5

East Stroudsburg at Pitt-Johnstown - UPJ looked like its old self yesterday -- fluid ball movement and draining treys from all over. Problem today, however, is Bloomsburg isn't the opponent. A whole new animal arrives in Johnstown. The Warriors, as predicted here yesterday, got a fight from a very underrated Clarion team. UPJ doesn't have the size, depth or athletic guards to match up with ESU. This has the potential to get a little ugly. Look for the Mountain Cats to hang around in the first half, but get worn down as the game progresses. ESU -15.5

Shepherd at Edinboro - The Rams lost an overtime thriller at Slippery Rock yesterday. The Scots played pretty well in a loss to Millersville. On paper, Shepherd is the better team. But, as we've seen far too often, nobody knows which version will show up from day to day. Look for the Rams to pull away in the final 15 minutes. Shepherd -9.5

Kutztown at Clarion - The Golden Bears went to sleep last night still seeing Gannon draining treys. Today won't be much better. Clarion is getting better by the game. The Golden Eagles are not an easy out. Clarion -17.5

Bloomsburg at IUP - Times are tough in Huskies Land. A trip to the KCAC to play a suddenly hot IUP isn't going to help matters. Unless Joe Lombardi's team is already drinking egg nog, this will likely get pretty ugly. IUP -25.5

West Chester at Gannon - The Rams won in the MAC yesterday -- something historically difficult to do. That said, today will be a whole different experience. Mercyhurst kept the game in the 60s but still lost (68-63). Gannon scored 69 in the first half yesterday. Damien Blair's team is going from playing a turtle to a cheetah. However, that may not be a terrible thing for West Chester. The Rams are very similar to Lincoln (which came the closest to beating Gannon this year). WCU thrives in an up-tempo, fast-paced game. The Rams are very athletic and have players who can muddy things up. Ultimately, Gannon is too strong. But, this could be entertaining - at least for a bit. Knights -15.5

Shippensburg at Slippery Rock - The Raiders are coming off a beating in Angelo's Dome yesterday. The Rock may have finally woken up. SRU's size is going to cause all sorts of issues today for Ship, but SRU isn't nearly as explosive as California. Tough game to call. I'll ride that Morrow Magic. SRU -3.5

Lock Haven at California - The Vulcans still aren't 100%, but they are getting closer. The Bald Eagles had a nice win in Greensburg yesterday and recently gave IUP a tussle. Cal just has too much. Vulcans -15.5

Mansfield at Seton Hill - Both are coming off losses yesterday. The Mounties hung around at IUP but never really threatened. Seton Hill dropped one it couldn't afford to lose. Very tough game to call. Take the home team. Barely. Griffins -2.5

[TheMadLibs]

Guess I'll only be able to see Gannon's away games in 2024... local news station just had a thing talking about Gannon's transition to the HFEC for the 2024 basketball games.. and mentioned that Gannon was unsure as to video capabilities and as of now Mansfield has "NO LIVE FEED" noted.

Ugh seriously? The planning by the AD with two top 3 regional contenders and likely not watching a game, and incompetent PBP announcers is so aggravating. At least I may not have to scream at poorly timed replays every few minutes if that's the case.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Does UPJ ever have fans? I feel like no matter when I watch their games. It's empty

Once a year ... when IUP plays up there. It's 40 minutes from Indiana and if there's not a blizzard, IUP takes several hundred fans up there every year.

[IUPHawks24]

In non IUP news, Gannon up 42 at the half…

[bballfan03]

Does UPJ ever have fans? I feel like no matter when I watch their games. It's empty

[WarriorVoice]

Lakeem McAlily led ESU with 23 today at Clarion. He also became just the 5th ESU Junior to hit 1,000 points in his career. The Warriors have 4 double-digit scorers, but this team is living at the foul line. Through 8 games, they have over 100 more FT attempts than their opponents. They lead all D II in FT attempts per game.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Halftime scores:

WCU is up by a point at Mercyhurst.

ESU leads Clarion by 3.

Millersville is up by 8 over Edinboro.

[bballfan03]

Guess I'll only be able to see Gannon's away games in 2024... local news station just had a thing talking about Gannon's transition to the HFEC for the 2024 basketball games.. and mentioned that Gannon was unsure as to video capabilities and as of now Mansfield has "NO LIVE FEED" noted.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

It's not the most appealing lineup of crossovers we've ever seen but there are some interesting games today/tonight. The students are long gone. It's townie season in the bleachers for the next month.


3 p.m.


Millersville at Edinboro - The Marauders are the best team nobody is talking about. Millersville enters tonight with a 6-2 record and recently lost to undefeated California by a single basket. As expected, Edinboro is struggling. The Scots are 2-6 and have taken some beatings. Biggest prop bet today is will Millersville score more points than fans in the McComb bleachers? Millersville should overpower Edinboro in this one. The 'Ville -17.5

East Stroudsburg at Clarion - The Golden Eagles (4-4) aren't a pushover -- especially not inside Tippin. Clarion is fresh off an overtime loss at Winston-Salem, and have been playing pretty well the past several weeks. Their one weakness -- and, it's a big one today, is depth. Clarion's starting unit will play with most in the league but there's a huge drop-off when the subs start entering. East Stroudsburg is much deeper and its style of play should eventually tire out the Eagles. This isn't a 'gimme' and Clarion may put a scare in to ESU. But, depth wins. ESU -10.5

West Chester at Mercyhurst - In a normal year, this would be a blockbuster. Times have changed a bit. The host Lakers enter with a 5-5 record. The Rams are up to a 5-3 mark after starting the season 1-3. Both began with a ton of new faces -- and played fairly tough non-conference schedules. West Chester was also dealing with some injuries in November. The Lakers seem to be figuring some things out and have won their past two. This matchup is also intriguing in that the two couldn't be more opposite. The Rams love to get out and run, and 'muddy' things up. Mercyhurst wants to control the tempo and win in the low 60s. Tough call. A lot of good teams struggle in the MAC - and, that's a long bus ride. Take the (more) desperate Mercyhurst squad to win what may be an ugly statisical performance. Lakers -2.5


5 p.m.

Shepherd at Slippery Rock - The absolute one thing that could not happen for this Slippery Rock team was a bad start. The Rock is 1-6. However, SRU has played a very strong non-conference schedule -- including its past (6) games on the road. There seems to be some lineup issues. The talent on the roster was never questioned - said talent playing together was the question. Shepherd (3-4) is probably the East's version of SRU. They can look incredible one night. Awful the next. Slippery Rock desperately needs a win. If the losses keep mounting, it's going to be very difficult for Ian Grady to hold this group together. That said, there could be the 'flip the switch' moment and this team goes on a big run. Due to the inconsistency of both teams, this is probably the toughest bet on the board today. SRU hasn't played a home game in more than a month. Look for a little Morrow Magic. Rock -3.5


7:30 p.m.


Bloomsburg at Pitt-Johnstown - UPJ is fresh off a rare non-conference game against power U-Indy. It didn't go well. Both teams are 2-6 and in major rebuilds. The Mountain Cats have hung around in several losses but have a drastic depth issue. The Huskies are really struggling. UPJ is typically tough in Johnstown and should light it up from outside. Mountain Cats -12.5

Lock Haven at Seton Hill - The Griffins are off to a surprising 6-2 start, and, like Millersville in the East, have stayed under the radar. Lock Haven (3-4) isn't a great team, but it is capable of catching some off guard. The Bald Eagles pull a couple big upsets each year. This is a fairly even match-up. The McKenna Center is claustrophobic and usually throws off visitors. That shouldn't bother Lock Haven much. Home team wins a tight one. SH -5.5

Shippensburg at California - The Vulcans' (8-0) lineup is different nearly every game. Some get healthy. Others get hurt. California hasn't played at full-strength yet this season, but, so far, it hasn't mattered. Shippensburg has had its ups and downs - typical of a young team. The Raiders can play pretty well in stretches. Tonight, however, is a tall task -- even with some Vulcans out. Cal's size is going to cause all sorts of problems, and Ship is likely going to really struggle with Jermaine Hall. Tough two-day span for Fite and Company. Vulcans win fairly comfortable. Cal -12.5

Kutztown at Gannon - The (mostly) freshmen Golden Bears are in for a long, long night. Kutztown has lost 7 straight. Gannon is 8-0 and will score as much as it wants to in this one. This could be very, very ugly. Knights -35

Mansfield at IUP - The Mounties make the somewhat rare visit to the KCAC and enter with a 3-4 record. They are, however, a couple buckets away from a much different mark. The hightlight so far was taking a very strong Dominican (NY) to OT before losing. Mansfield also gave Virginia Union all it could handle in another tight loss. IUP has won four straight and has gotten much better after finally settling on a lineup, ending suspensions, etc. In a very surprising move, Bryce Radford has also rejoined the team as a mid-year transfer. This won't be an easy game. The Mounties are a scrappy bunch. Few, in fact, will be easy for IUP this year. But, it's a big one. With three losses, IUP can't afford to lose -- especially at home. Hawks -7.5

[WarriorVoice]

The IUP women's team has done that once a year for the past decade or so. It's a huge success and the players love it. They call it Education Day.

That IS a real great thing to do for the community. ESU used to host a holiday basketball tournament years ago. Shame they don't bring it back!!!

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I think they should do a noon tipoff on a weekday and arrange to have elementary schools or middle schools bring their kids. They all leave with a voucher for a free ticket. Let the kids go wild. Put on a good show.

If nobody's going to be there, might as well make it interesting.

The IUP women's team has done that once a year for the past decade or so. It's a huge success and the players love it. They call it Education Day.

[bballfan03]

I think they should do a noon tipoff on a weekday and arrange to have elementary schools or middle schools bring their kids. They all leave with a voucher for a free ticket. Let the kids go wild. Put on a good show.

If nobody's going to be there, might as well make it interesting.

I agree with that. It'd be a better return long term

[Fightingscot82]

Gotta love the league playing games at 3pm on a Monday.

Great for business

I think they should do a noon tipoff on a weekday and arrange to have elementary schools or middle schools bring their kids. They all leave with a voucher for a free ticket. Let the kids go wild. Put on a good show.

If nobody's going to be there, might as well make it interesting.

[bballfan03]

Better bet may be next semester. Just sayin'

Haha well I say hell end the season with Rock

[bballfan03]

Gotta love the league playing games at 3pm on a Monday.

Great for business

Just like the Friday games that were early.. so stupid