PSAC WEST

[IUPalum]

Not a bad night for the East on the Men's ledger. Wins by ESU, Kutztown, Shippensburg, Lock Haven and West Chester. ESU opens up East play Wednesday night at Ship. Should be fun!

Take this to the PSAC East thread. Nobody wants you here!

[Ship69]

Not a bad night for the East on the Men's ledger. Wins by ESU, Kutztown, Shippensburg, Lock Haven and West Chester. ESU opens up East play Wednesday night at Ship. Should be fun!

Depends whether Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde shows up for Ship. Raiders are a strange team this year. Warriors' depth might create problems for them.

[WarriorVoice]

Thanks. Fixed it.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Not a bad night for the East on the Men's ledger. Wins by ESU, Kutztown, Shippensburg and West Chester. ESU opens up East play Wednesday night at Ship. Should be fun!

Lock Haven also defeated Gannon (by 5).

The Knights remain winless (0-9).

[WarriorVoice]

Not a bad night for the East on the Men's ledger. Wins by ESU, Kutztown, Shippensburg, Lock Haven and West Chester. ESU opens up East play Wednesday night at Ship. Should be fun!

[Ship69]

Rock getting blown out. Best game on is Clarion/Ship.

That got ugly for Clarion the second half. Fite was able to get a lot of minutes for every player on the team, something the schedule hadn't allowed for much up into now. Carter warmed up, and there was actually a Mike Dunn sighting. Highlight was when Ty Holsopple, last off the Ship bench got a late steal, broke away, and threw down a slam dunk.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Rock getting blown out. Best game on is Clarion/Ship.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Walk-ons blasting Seton Hill

[IUPalum]

(Men's) Kutztown is hammering Cal in first half, 49-33.

Cal is dead.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

(Men's) Kutztown is hammering Cal in first half, 49-33.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

WOMEN'S standings

TEAM	PSAC	OVERALL	STREAK
IUP	4-0	9-0	W9
Slippery Rock	3-1	8-2	W2
Edinboro	3-1	6-3	W3
Pitt-Johnstown	3-1	6-4	W2
Gannon	2-2	10-2	W4
Seton Hill	2-2	9-4	L1
Mercyhurst	2-2	7-4	W1
California	2-2	6-4	W2
Clarion	2-2	2-7	W2

Comments:

This side is a little harder to grasp at this point. Some have played much more difficult schedules than others.

Gannon was picked as the (perhaps heavy) favorite entering the season. The Golden Knights, however, lost to both Kutztown and West Chester -- two teams IUP swept. Of course, Gannon then turned around quickly and hammered a very strong Shippensburg team.

Based on history, I still have to think California is going to turn things around. They aren't as deep as usual but still have a lot of talent. Nonetheless, they rarely have four losses prior to January.

IUP had a big start but many questioned the (soft) schedule. However, beating both Kutztown and West Chester last week started to make some believers of the fan base. Two mid-year transfers debut tomorrow, which will instantly provide much-needed quality depth (perhaps more than just depth). Or, of course, it can muddy up the teams chemistry. This will take several games to play out, but Millersville will be a test tomorrow.

There's only one team with a losing record. Usual suspects Edinboro and Seton Hill are dangerous and capable of going on big runs. UPJ and Slippery Rock also have nice teams this year. Mercyhurst also has a couple nice wins.

It's a deep West this year on the ladies' side. This is going to be a gauntlet.

Vegas would likely still have Gannon as the front-runner. But, IUP bulked up a 9-0 team. I don't follow this side too, too closely. But, I know all West titles eventually have to go through Edinboro and California. This is going to be an entertaining race.

[Fightingscot82]

Your basketball writeups are much appreciated and enjoyed. I get far more from them then 30 minutes of cruising for online news stories. Its really helpful when I can't watch a weeknight games - the second half always starts at the kids bedtime.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Quick look at the West (Men's):

IUP (4-0, 10-0) - Hawks kick off a big three-game stretch Friday at Millersville. The Marauders are tough -- especially in their building. Millersville started slow, losing 3 of its first 4 games. However, the Marauders have gone 5-1 since (including a win over Mercyhurst). Millersville is 5-0 at home this season. IUP is home twice next week, with Seton Hill and Mercyhurst visiting the KCAC. The Hawks seem to have finally reached (close to) full strength, roster-wise. Their first 10 guys all played for the first time together in last weeks victory over West Chester. Prediction: Millersville has enough to hang around in this game (they put up a very rare 84 on Mercyhurst). IUP should pull away down the stretch, but, it better be careful.

Slippery Rock (3-1, 9-1) - The Rock has a 'we're for real' moment in 48 hours at East Stroudsburg. SRU's only loss came to a good-at-times Shippensburg, 75-59. Of note, the Rock didn't look too hot in its past two games -- single-digit wins overs Mansfield and Bloomsburg. Aside from the KCAC, ESU is probably the toughest venue in the league. Prediction: SRU would have to play close to a perfect game to win this one. Long road trip paired with a lay-off ... perhaps close for a half but ESU wins comfortably.

Mercyhurst (3-1, 7-1) - The Lakers decided to basically take November off so not much was said about them. After 8 games, well, they are still here, same as always. Mercyhurst crushed both Shippensburg (29) and Lock Haven (22) last week. A trip this weekend to Mansfield should ring in Gary's new year quite well. Prediction: Ugly. Lakers. Big.

Pitt-Johnstown (3-1, 7-3) - On one hand, you could say UPJ has played three big teams and lost to all three -- by 17, 19 and 32 points. However, those were all deep, 40-minute pressing teams. They aren't built for that this year, depth-wise. On the flip-side, they are 7-0 against half-court teams -- which is all they'll see in West play. Friday night's visit to Shepherd should be a tough one. The Rams (3-1, 6-4) aren't pushovers. Both play very similar styles. Prediction: UPJ leaves town with a win -- but, it will be close. This game may play in the 60-55 range.

Seton Hill (1-3, 6-4) - The Griffins have been the surprise team of the PSAC thus far, but they'll no longer be sneaking up on anybody. Seton Hill pulled a shocker against East Stroudsburg, but that was the highlight of a pretty rough December. The Griffins travel to West Chester as losers of 4 of their past 5 outings. This team is unpredictable -- with wins against ESU and Shippensburg - and losses to Mansfield and Kutztown. Similarly, West Chester is also a very streaky team. The Rams are capable of incredible stretches. Prediction: Tough game to call. Both are sporadic. Seton Hill's zone should cause WCU a lot of issues. However, the Rams will launch from essentially the half-court line without hesitation. Expect WCU to come out with a little fire after its showing in the KCAC. West Chester wins a close one.

California (1-3, 4-6) - The injuries are well-documented. Nonetheless, the Vulcans are in hot water. Cal has been beat up in two of its past three outings. A trip to Kutztown isn't going to be easy. The Golden Bears are better than their record. Both have players out -- and, both desperately need to win this game. Prediction: There won't be many subs at the scorers' table. Danny Sancomb is tough to beat with a week to prepare. Vulcans slip out of town with a narrow win.

Edinboro (1-3, 3-6) - The good news is, for the most part, Edinboro hasn't been getting blown out. The real good news is the Scots travel to Bloomsburg for their next game. This is a must-win. Prediction: Bloomsburg is capable of playing a decent 20-25 minutes or so. But, the Huskies have a drastic lack of depth. Bloom's head man used to be the first assistant for Edinboro. Scots win by 3-4 points.

Clarion (0-4, 2-7) - The Golden Eagles have lost 5 straight. However, the past 4 losses have been respectable scores against good teams. Gerald Jarmon is capable of catching fire, but he needs help. Shippensburg is up next. Prediction: If this was in Clarion ... maybe the Golden Eagles could hang around. Ship is inconsistent on the road. But, at Shippensburg, the Raiders are pretty tough. Clarion may linger around a bit but will take a loss.

Gannon (0-4, 0-8) - The Golden Knights have lost 6 straight games by single digits. So, while (amazingly) winless, they aren't getting bulldozed. They are drastically banged up -- playing much of December sans 4 rotation players. So, things should get better. However, a 9th consecutive loss may be looming as this trip to Lock Haven won't be easy. The Bald Eagles were cruising prior to visiting Mercyhurst -- a place where many winning streaks go to die. Prediction: Gannon is still fighting, but unless they have close to a full lineup, they are in trouble. Bald Eagles win.

[Fightingscot82]

After being at the KCAC yesterday, I went to SRU this afternoon. For me, less than a gallon of gas to SRU round trip and about 4 gallons to IUP.

Saw the end of the womens game and I thought their new coach had them playing well. Her girls were making good adjustments on the court to the different defenses, they played hard, seem to have a good BB IQ and are good communicators. My early take is she has coached them well but she will see some stronger teams that will give everyone problems. Nice start though. I knew Bobby McGraw so it was tough to drive there knowing he wouldn’t be on the bench.

The mens game was sort of tough to watch. SRU led by as many as 18 but were only up 4 with less than a minute in regulation. SRU won by 6.

Bloom had 12 pts in first 17 minutes of the first half then SRU gave up 10 in last 3 minutes of half after Britt sat due to fouls

Bloom started the second half the same way as the first half scoring just 9 pts in the first 1145. Then they made it a game.

Britt averages 18ppg and had 0 points on 0-7 shooting. As a team SRU shot 6-27 from three. They are pretty deep but don’t seem to have a go to guy like Micah Till. Bloomberg’s zone gave them fits.

She's doing a good job - and she's just an interim. If she keeps it up I can't see why she doesn't get the job.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

UPDATED MEN'S STANDINGS

WEST

TEAM	PSAC	OVERALL	STREAK
IUP	4-0	10-0	W10
Slippery Rock	3-1	9-1	W3
Mercyhurst	3-1	7-1	W5
Pitt-Johnstown	3-1	7-3	W2
Seton Hill	1-3	6-4	L1
California	1-3	4-6	L1
Edinboro	1-3	3-6	W1
Clarion	0-4	2-7	L5
Gannon	0-4	0-8	L8

EAST

TEAM	PSAC	OVERALL	STREAK
East Stroudsburg	3-1	9-1	W1
Lock Haven	3-1	7-2	L1
Millersville	3-1	6-4	L1
Shepherd	3-1	6-4	W2
Shippensburg	3-1	5-5	W1
Kutztown	3-1	3-6	W1
West Chester	1-3	6-4	L2
Mansfield	1-3	2-6	L3
Bloomsburg	0-4	0-8	L8