PSAC WEST

[CALUPA69]

Not sure how the undefeated, No. 8 team in the country, at home, seems like an odd (small) favorite?

West Chester is 35-3 in its last 38 home games ... not a big believer in the same-opponent theory. Teams match-up with other teams differently. I see this as being a very close, even game. However, WCU gets mad calls in that building -- and shoots very well. Rams get the win at the FT line. West Chester also has the experience of playing in numerous tight games -- and has found a way to win all of them.

All of that said, I take no responsibility for any gambling losses. Lol.

Basing this more on their performance against .500 teams, 7-7 CLAFIN W+7, 6-7 GBU W+8, 5-6 GU W+5, 6-5 MC OT W+3, 8-5 CAL W+1, 6-7 SHEP W +7. Eventually depending on over the top FT numbers will not work out. 10-3 SHIP seems like a possibility. Time will tell.

[Horror Child]

WCU seems an odd home favorite. Six of their nine Ws at HOLLINGER have come against .500 teams by an average of 5 pts. I don't know the players well enough to comment on matchups but SHIP destroyed the VULCANS, while the RAMS gave up a 12 point lead with 2:12 to go and came within a buzzer beater of losing to CAL U. I will be surprised if the RAIDERS don't win by 5+.

They played without the PSAC's leading scorer who's also a 82% free throw shooter that game. Probably more of a factor is that WCU had to trek out to Edinboro and back for Monday's game.

[Ship69]

Not sure how the undefeated, No. 8 team in the country, at home, seems like an odd (small) favorite?

West Chester is 35-3 in its last 38 home games ... not a big believer in the same-opponent theory. Teams match-up with other teams differently. I see this as being a very close, even game. However, WCU gets mad calls in that building -- and shoots very well. Rams get the win at the FT line. West Chester also has the experience of playing in numerous tight games -- and has found a way to win all of them.

All of that said, I take no responsibility for any gambling losses. Lol.

If Shippensburg shoots 3s like they did Monday, they've got a shot, although I'm sure West Chester's defense will be a lot stronger than Mansfield's. As an undefeated ranked team, they certainly do have to be favored against a three-loss unranked team, so I'm with you there. Ship seems to have trouble getting foul calls at home lately, so they might be ready for the road environment. One thing: West Chester would be wise not to miss 16 FTs as they did against Cal if they want to nail down the home win.

[Horror Child]

If Shippensburg shoots 3s like they did Monday, they've got a shot, although I'm sure West Chester's defense will be a lot stronger than Mansfield's. As an undefeated ranked team, they certainly do have to be favored against a three-loss unranked team, so I'm with you there. Ship seems to have trouble getting foul calls at home lately, so they might be ready for the road environment. One thing: West Chester would be wise not to miss 16 FTs as they did against Cal if they want to nail down the home win.

Yeah the Golden Rams missed 15 free throws against Cal and 16 against Shepherd, but they still shoot 74% as a team. So the high number of misses have to be taken into consideration with the high number of attempts. 420 attempts so far this season, tops in the PSAC. Next best is Kutztown with 305. They need to make sure to get the ball into the hands that can make them down the stretch.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

UPDATED MEN'S STANDINGS

EAST	PSAC	OVERALL	STREAK
West Chester	7-1	13-1	L1
Shippensburg	7-1	11-3	W4
East Stroudsburg	4-4	8-5	L2
Bloomsburg	4-4	7-7	W2
Millersville	4-4	7-7	W2
Kutztown	4-4	6-8	L1
Mansfield	3-5	4-9	L2
Shepherd	2-6	6-8	L3
Lock Haven	2-6	5-7	W1
WEST	PSAC	OVERALL	STREAK
IUP	7-1	12-1	W3
Pitt-Johnstown	7-1	13-2	W5
California	5-3	9-5	W2
Mercyhurst	5-3	7-5	W1
Gannon	5-3	6-6	W1
Slippery Rock	2-6	6-8	L2
Edinboro	2-6	5-7	L3
Seton Hill	1-7	2-9	L1
Clarion	1-7	2-12	L5

[CALUPA69]

Yeah the Golden Rams missed 15 free throws against Cal and 16 against Shepherd, but they still shoot 74% as a team. So the high number of misses have to be taken into consideration with the high number of attempts. 420 attempts so far this season, tops in the PSAC. Next best is Kutztown with 305. They need to make sure to get the ball into the hands that can make them down the stretch.

6-9 FT vs SHIP at HOLLINGER ????

[CALUPA69]

Basing this more on their performance against .500 teams, 7-7 CLAFIN W+7, 6-7 GBU W+8, 5-6 GU W+5, 6-5 MC OT W+3, 8-5 CAL W+1, 6-7 SHEP W +7. Eventually depending on over the top FT numbers will not work out. 10-3 SHIP seems like a possibility. Time will tell.

Weird FT differential at HOLLINGER...SHIP 15-16 against WCU 6-9 so -9 for the RAMS which was exactly the losing score.

[Ship69]

Weird FT differential at HOLLINGER...SHIP 15-16 against WCU 6-9 so -9 for the RAMS which was exactly the losing score.

That differential is deceptive. Refs were letting them play and fouls were almost even most of the game. What actually got West Chester in trouble is that hardly anything was called on them the second half and they came into the last three minutes, when they needed to put Ship on the line, with only two fouls. They committed a flurry of fouls in the last couple of minutes to give Ship six free throws, all of which the Raiders made.

[CALUPA69]

That differential is deceptive. Refs were letting them play and fouls were almost even most of the game. What actually got West Chester in trouble is that hardly anything was called on them the second half and they came into the last three minutes, when they needed to put Ship on the line, with only two fouls. They committed a flurry of fouls in the last couple of minutes to give Ship six free throws, all of which the Raiders made.

Didn't phrase it well but what was truly strange is WCU taking ONLY 9 FREE THROWS when their average through the first thirteen games was 32 !!!! SHIP, on the other hand, took 16 FT against a season average of 19. That's a major variation in the number of FT that WCU had a chance to take.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

There were some surprising results on the women's side last night. Gannon dropped the hammer on Seton Hill. Also, a previously 3-9 West Chester knocked off Shippensburg.


Updated Women's Standings

WEST	PSAC	OVERALL	STREAK
IUP	8-0	13-1	W11
Gannon	7-1	11-3	W6
California	6-2	12-2	W3
Seton Hill	6-2	11-2	L1
Edinboro	4-4	6-6	W2
Mercyhurst	4-4	4-10	W1
UPJ	2-6	7-7	L6
Clarion	1-7	3-11	L2
Slippery Rock	1-7	3-11	L3
EAST	PSAC	OVERALL	STREAK
East Stroudsburg	6-2	10-4	W5
Lock Haven	5-3	8-5	W1
Kutztown	5-3	8-6	W2
Shippensburg	5-3	8-6	L1
Shepherd	4-4	10-4	L1
Bloomsburg	3-5	6-6	L2
Millersville	2-6	5-8	L3
West Chester	2-6	4-9	W1
Mansfield	1-7	3-11	L3

[Ship69]

Didn't phrase it well but what was truly strange is WCU taking ONLY 9 FREE THROWS when their average through the first thirteen games was 32 !!!! SHIP, on the other hand, took 16 FT against a season average of 19. That's a major variation in the number of FT that WCU had a chance to take.

Well, as I said, Ship had only taken about eight FTs prior to the last few minutes of the game, when West Chester was forced to foul to try and cut into the lead. The referees definitely let them play, which was actually kind of refreshing as it avoided the constant parade to the foul line that so often ruins games between two good teams. While they let a couple of things go that could have been called on both teams, I thought the game was called consistently and seemed fair to both sides. Most of the calls were non-shooting fouls, which explains the overall lack of FTs. West Chester hurt itself at the end of the game by not fouling quickly enough. They sometimes let 20 seconds or more run off, which was baffling as they had a 9-10 point deficit to make up.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Here you go, you gambling degenerates. Call your bookies.

Not a great lineup tomorrow. Several (likely) blowouts on tap ... with a couple good games.


Lock Haven at Shepherd - The loser is guaranteed of at least having a share of the East basement. Both have played pretty well at times this year and have several tight losses. The Rams are coming off the road trip from hell -- losing all three outings. Aside from getting blown out at IUP, Lock Haven has (6) losses by 6 points or less. They've been so close to having a much different record. This is a tight call. The Rams should bounce back and stop the bleeding. Shepherd wins a tight one. Rams -3

Shippensburg at East Stroudsburg - Just when things were looking up for ESU, the bottom fell out the past two games. A tough loss at Millersville was followed up by a shocking home loss to a short-handed Bloomsburg. The Warriors stay home tomorrow. That's the good news. The bad news is Shippensburg is coming to town -- and the Red Raiders are Red Hot. ESU's pressure will have to be on point for the Warriors to have a shot -- and they have to get some Ship starters in foul trouble. If not, it will be bombs-away for Shippensburg. Right now, the Red Raiders are just the more talented team. Shippensburg leaves town with a big win. Red Raiders -11

Millersville at Bloomsburg - Talk about two unpredictable teams. The Huskies have been up and down all year. Same with the Mauraders. Millersville is deeper, and should get a nice road win. Take the 'Ville -7.

Edinboro at California - The Fighting Scots gave UPJ quite the tussle the other night before coming up short. Their top three players can cause some problems. No doubt. But, to start winning games rather than just being competitive, they need more help. The Vulcans will be too much in this one. Cal should easily score in the mid-80s. Vulcans -9

UPJ at Clarion - On paper, this is a curb-stomping. However, UPJ has a history of sometimes playing down to its opponents. Unfortunately for Clarion, UPJ would have to play way down for this one to be remotely close. Mountain Cats roll. Big time. UPJ -24

West Chester at Mansfield - A trip north is just what the doctor ordered for WCU. Coming of its first loss of the season, a date with the Mounties should get the Rams back on track. Mansfield has shown it can tussle. Expect a decent game for 20-25 minutes. And, then, the Rams pull away. WCU -17

Slippery Rock at Seton Hill - SRU has had a rough, rough week. Two close, home losses. They lost on a controversial buzzer-beater against Cal. They lost to IUP by a couple buckets. The perfect hangover cure? A trip to Greensburg. Unless the Rock is really, really hungover, this should be a cake walk. SRU -17

Kutztown at Mercyhurst - If somebody would have said these two would be a combined 13-13 on Jan. 10 ... nobody would have believed it. Kuztown has lost 3 of its past 4 -- and is a basket away from having lost all four. The MAC is a pretty tough venue to play in ... not because of the crowd but because most aren't used to playing in a gym/dining hall/weight room/convention center. It has very odd sight lines, etc. Neither team is playing real well, but the Lakers get the home win. This version of the Triangle and Two -- at least right now -- is nowhere near what we're used to seeing. Mercyhurst -6

IUP at Gannon - Erie. Saturday night. Hammermill. For a time, this was THE game in the PSAC West. That time has passed - for now anyway - but it's still a big one. IUP versus Gannon always has the feel of a big stage. This is the lone primetime tip-off tomorrow. Gannon is a hot team -- winners of 4 of 5 with the lone loss coming via a walk-off trey by UPJ. IUP is also hot with three straight wins to open the new year. It's been a tough week for IUP with wins over Mercyhurst and at Slippery Rock. Can they get up for a third tough game in 6 days? We'll see. Keep in mind this is an IUP roster full of D10 players -- Armoni Foster, Malik Miller, David Morris and Ethan Porterfield. While on the road, expect IUP to have another large crowd in Erie tomorrow night. IUP has won 7 of the past 8 meetings in the series, including 3 of its past 4 trips to the 'Mill. Expect a fired up Gannon to take this game to the wire. IUP's shorthanded post will again struggle, but the Hawks' guards will prove just a bit too much. IUP escapes Erie. Hawks -2.5

[Golden89]

IUP - Gannon on a Saturday night will be great! Super excited. Hoping for a good crowd. Should be two fun games - lots at stake especially for the ladies.

IUP BigI will you be there? Make the trip! No snow to keep you away.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

IUP - Gannon on a Saturday night will be great! Super excited. Hoping for a good crowd. Should be two fun games - lots at stake especially for the ladies.

IUP BigI will you be there? Make the trip! No snow to keep you away.

I'm at 90% right now of making the long haul to Erie. IUPAlum told me on a mild winter night in Erie there is only 17" of snow.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

IUP - Gannon on a Saturday night will be great! Super excited. Hoping for a good crowd. Should be two fun games - lots at stake especially for the ladies.

IUP BigI will you be there? Make the trip! No snow to keep you away.

The last time I was in the Hammermill was the 2014-15 PSAC title game. Gannon hit the miracle trey to win it. Not sure if I'm ready to return yet. Seems too soon. Lol.

Stayed at the Avalon that weekend. Feared for my life walking back to the hotel. Half joking.

I had two close friends go to Gannon. We used to hang at RumRunners. Many moons ago.

As you stated, under the radar, the ladies' game just may be the big show tomorrow.

Men's game is a coin toss. I know enough to realize the 'Mill on a Saturday night won't be easy for the men.