The House went 17-3 picking straight winners last week. Hopefully some of you gambling junkies made a few bucks. Five games comprise tonight's latest edition of Make-Up Monday. IUP has the only seed locked down for the conference tournament, so, plenty of drama is looming.
Mansfield at Shippensburg - The Mounties are officially eliminated from the PSAC Tournament -- likely a sigh of relief for many in the East. Mansfield was just a couple buckets away the past 10 days. Four losses by a combined 15 points. Will they pack it in these last three games or continue to fight? Shippensburg returns home after a not-so-pretty win at Bloomsburg. But, it was a win. It's going to be hard for the Raiders to get a first round bye, but all they can do now is win and see what happens. The first time these two met was a thriller, with the Raiders pulling out a a narrow 85-81 road victory. The Mounties, on occasion, can light it up. And, of course, get lit up on the other end. Ship's shooting woes are a concern, but they'll figure out a way tonight. Mansfield hasn't won a road game all year. It won't tonight, either. Raiders -7
Bloomsburg at Shepherd - The Huskies won the first meeting. However, tonight's game is in Shepherdstown. The Rams are a different animal in West Virginia. Shepherd got beat up pretty good 48 hours ago. There is one spot left in the East and it's theirs for the taking. A slip-up tonight, however, could make things pretty interesting. Shepherd -6
East Stroudsburg at Lock Haven - The Bald Eagles are a hot team -- winners of 5 of their past 6 outings. Most recently, Lock Haven dropped a heartbreaker to West Chester, 87-83. The Warriors also have won 5 of their past 6 games -- including three straight. ESU won the first meeting fairly comfortable. The Bald Eagles are a much better team at home. But, they aren't a deep team. That's troublesome against a 40-minute press. Look for Lock Haven to put up a good fight for 30 minutes, but ware down in the final phase. Warriors leave town with a win. ESU -11
Gannon at Clarion - The train has come off the rails in Erie. Gannon as lost 5 in a row. They have so many guys out it's hard to keep track. Credit to Kelvin Jefferson, though. The Knights have battled in this 5-game stretch. They were only blown out once (IUP) while having at least 4-5 rotation players out. Gannon is coming off a back-to-back with Slippery Rock, and lost by a narrow 68-63 margin 48 hours ago. Since being eliminated, Clarion has been blown out 3 straight games. Tonight is Senior Night in Tippin Gymnasium. Sometimes that alone will rally a team. Expect a good one tonight. Knights -1
Slippery Rock at California - The Rock is getting a lot of hype as a potential sleeper team in next weeks' tournament. At some point, however, they have to win a big game. SRU is 1-10 in games against top opponents. But, boy, they've been close many times. Sooner or later, they are probably going to finish one. With a big visit from Mercyhurst looming, could tonight be a bit of a trap in the Mon Valley? The Vulcans put up 92 in Morrow Field House but also gave up 83 on a night when Rock star Frankie Hughes had just 3 points. Hughes is capable of blowing up, and that has to happen tonight for SRU to have a shot. The Rock, like many, fell victim to the Philip Alston Show in the first meeting -- getting smoked for 26 points and 15 rebounds. He's not going to get shut down, but they have to find a way to slow him down. Look for Slippery Rock to hang around -- perhaps in to the final 5-7 minutes -- but for California to ultimately prevail. The Rock has the size and athleticism to cause some problems. Vulcans -7
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Updated MEN'S Standings
WEST
TEAM PSAC OVERALL STREAK 2/21 IUP (1)* 18-2 24-2 W9 OFF Mercyhurst* 16-4 22-4 W5 OFF Pitt-Johnstown* 15-5 19-7 L2 OFF California* 14-5 19-6 W4 SRU Slippery Rock* 11-8 15-10 W4 at California Gannon* 9-11 12-12 L5 at Clarion Edinboro 6-13 8-16 L2 OFF Clarion 5-15 9-16 L6 Gannon Seton Hill 3-16 4-21 L4 OFF
EAST
TEAM PSAC OVERALL STREAK 2/21 Millersville* 15-5 21-5 L1 OFF East Stroudsburg* 14-5 16-7 W3 at LH Shippensburg* 13-6 16-8 W1 Mansfield West Chester* 10-9 16-9 W4 OFF Lock Haven* 8-12 11-13 L1 ESU Shepherd 7-12 11-14 L1 Bloomsburg Kutztown 5-15 8-18 W1 OFF Bloomsburg 4-16 5-19 L2 at Shepherd Mansfield 3-16 4-21 L4 at Shippensburg Leave a comment:
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With Edinboro's loss yesterday the West field is set.
Some big games this week remain to figure out the seeding.
Biggest games this week:
Mercyhurst at Cal
UPJ at IUP - Big game for both teams' NCAA resume.Leave a comment:
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This if off topic for the thread, but I found it fascinating. I was looking at the Iowa-Indiana Big Ten women's score a couple of minutes ago and saw Iowa was leading 71-49 after three quarters and ended up winning 96-91. They gave up 42 points in a 10-minute fourth quarter, so better than four points a minute. There must have been some true matador defense going on.Leave a comment:
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Impressive based on their lineup today.Originally posted by Golden89 View PostLeave a comment:
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VULCANS MBB up 45-26 on the G'EAGLES. Alston leading the way with 19 Pts, 9 Rbds and 1 Blk. Team is hot overall with FG-52.9%, 3 Pt-36.4% and FT-100%. Hope they keep it to the medal in the second half.Leave a comment:
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Weather related travel delays have pushed back the WBB game between CALU and CLARION to 2:10. Men's will follow with a similar delay. CUTV is still having issues with YouTube so best option is PSAC channel or LiveStats.Leave a comment:
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The House is 10-2 picking straight winners this week. If you degenerates haven't been following the betting tips, today is your last chance to make up ground for the week. Knees get busted tomorrow if you're short.
It's certainly not a marquee lineup today. But, there are some storylines.
Mansfield at Kutztown - The last time these two played, the Mounties took a 75-71 home victory. It sparked a 3-game winning streak. Then, the bad news came in Mansfield. The Mounties lost their next three -- by a combined 7 points. The 'what if' crowd could have some wild theories with this team. However, it's very hard to explain how this team could lose, 73-72, to Millersville, and then come right back and lose to a dreadful Bloomsburg, 78-74. Switch teams, and it's been nearly a month since Kutztown last won. The Golden Bears have lost 8 straight. They've fought. They haven't been blown out much aside from the recent trip to West Chester. Kutztown has shown flashes -- with wins over a then-healthy Shippensburg and West Chester. But, those wins were a long time ago. The Golden Bears still have hope. Not much, but, some. If they go 3-0 to close the season, they may have a shot at the final spot. Mansfield is 0-12 on the road this year. But, streaks end. Mounties -3
West Chester at Lock Haven - All the sudden, this is a quasi-big game. West Chester went with a youth movement this year. They lost a lot of close games during the process. But, it's past mid-February now. Those kids are still young but they've been battle-tested. And, the results are clear. The Rams are becoming a dangerous team down the stretch. Lock Haven, conversely, has had the talent all year to be much better than its 11-12 record. Perhaps it has finally clicked, as the Bald Eagles have tore off 5 straight wins. Big implications for a Round 1 home game today. Lock Haven is tremendously better in their building. But, West Chester has won 7 of the past 8 meetings in the series. Chalk up another one today. Barely. WCU -6
Shippensburg at Bloomsburg - The Red Raiders are on a rare two-game skid. At 15-8, they are also sitting in hot NCAA water. Shippensburg has four games remaining. It needs to win all of them. Today's road trip should turn things around. The Huskies aren't mathematically eliminated from the PSAC Tournament, but, they're on the plank. A full-squad Red Raiders hammered Bloomsburg earlier this year. But, they aren't a full-squad at this point. Look for Shippensburg to leave town with a win today. If they can make some free throws, it may even be a fairly comfortable win. Ship -9
Shepherd at East Stroudsburg - The Rams are coming off, by far, their best showing of the year. Just 72 hours ago, Shepherd blasted Millersville, 89-71 -- snapping the Marauders' 12-game winning streak. Where did all that offense suddenly come from? The Rams have been solid defensively all year, but they haven't flirted with 90 points very often. The problem, today, of course, is the game isn't in Shepherdstown. The Rams are a dreadful 3-8 away from their house this year. The Warriors are 8-2 at home. East Stroudsburg was left out of the initial Regional Rankings, but with a win today (and some others having already lost this week), that should quickly change. The Warriors haven't played since Feb. 9. They'll either be a little rusty or roaring to go. I'd bet the latter. ESU wins. But, this may be a close one. The Rams are dangerous -- sometimes. Warriors -7
Gannon at Slippery Rock - A win by the Golden Knights would officially clinch the final tournament spot in the West. However, Gannon has lost 4 straight and is the equivalent of a M*A*S*H unit right now. The Knights have been playing without the services, on a given night, of 3-5 starters/top reserves for the past couple weeks. If they're even somewhat close to a normal roster today, Gannon could have a shot in this one. But, two things: (1) SRU is very tough in Morrow Field House, and (2) SRU is playing really well -- winners of 3 straight. The Knights will fight hard regardless who is in the lineup, but the reality today is it may not actually matter who is in the lineup. Slippery Rock is the better team. Rock -8
Clarion at California - The Golden Eagles' season is over, mathematically. Will they pack it in or fight to the end? They actually gave the Vulcans a bit of a tussle the first time they played. But, in the vast emptiness of Angelo's Dome, that's a whole different ask. California didn't seem all that interested in Greensburg the other night, but still escaped town with a 70-58 win. That was an obvious hangover performance coming off the big win in Johnstown. Expect a more focused group today -- and, for Clarion to get pummeled. Vulcans -19
Edinboro at Mercyhurst - There is no tomorrow for the Fighting Scots. Edinboro has to finish the season 3-0 and also have Gannon go 0-3 (which, is possible). But, before we get ahead of ourselves, Edinboro has to win in the MAC today -- a place where most dreams go to die. In fact, the Scots are 1-14 against the Lake Show in the past 15 meetings -- and, have lost the past 10 affairs. Mercyhurst drilled a then-wounded Edinboro by 35 points earlier this year. The Scots are healthy now. Today won't be that ugly. But, it won't be very close, either. Mercyhurst -12
Seton Hill at IUP - There are two versions of this Seton Hill team. One shows up and gets blasted. The other shows up and puts up a fight. For instance, IUP won in Greensburg, 100-60. Three days later, Seton Hill went to Johnstown and lost 89-85. They went from looking like a mid-tier D3 team to nearly knocking off a top team in the league within 72 hours. That sequence has been a common theme all year for the Griffins. So, which version will show up tonight under the bright Saturday night lights inside the KCAC? Their last two games they've played fairly well, losing to SRU and Cal by 13 and 12 points. IUP squashed all hope immediately in the first game -- racing out to a monstrous 18-0 lead. Seton Hill does have some players. They've shown if they get hot -- and confident -- they can put some scares in to teams. Tonight, however, is a tall task. IUP at home -- on Saturday night -- is quite the mountain to climb. The building will be packed and the weekend evening crowd tends to be a bit rowdy. IUP isn't likely to hang a 40-burger again, but this one shouldn't be close. IUP wraps up the West title tonight. Crimson Hawks -18Leave a comment:
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Any injury update out of Gannon?
Asking for a friend in Vegas.Leave a comment:
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