PSAC WEST

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Here Tom goes again ... 15 is now 6. Good Lord.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Tom up 50-35 end 3rd. Let's see if he can close it out today.

[Ship69]

Tom up 42-24 in the third. Where is this coming from? Wow.

I've given up trying to understand the women's teams this year. Shippensburg women have beaten Seton Hill and routed Bloomsburg, yet managed to lose decisively to East Stroudsburg for East Stroud's lone conference win so far this season. Don't know how you explain it.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Tom up 42-24 in the third. Where is this coming from? Wow.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Per the color guy Fink should have 17 fouls so far.

[IUPalum]

[Golden89]

That would be my guess. Good turnout 10 minutes before ladies game. Should be a HEC of a doubleheader.

[Fightingscot82]

Power outage at the Armentirena pushing back start times for Edinboro & Cal.

[IUPalum]

Will they play there next year during construction or play elsewhere for a year?

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Maybe they could head across town to the MAC and use Mercyhurst's beautiful basketball facilities. ; )

That's like the Hatfield's and McCoy's having holiday dinners together.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Not an attractive overall lineup today. In fact, picking straight winners would probably be pretty easy for most. Those pesky spreads, though, have a way of making things a little more entertaining.



Edinboro at California - Two games back of Slippery Rock for the final spot in the conference tournament, the Fighting Scots have no room for error. Today's trip to the Angelo Dome to play what will likely be a fired up Vulcans team ... probably won't help Edinboro's cause much. The only hope is California has a severe hangover from Wednesday's loss in Indiana. Keep in mind, however, Edinboro is playing fairly well -- and, this was a close game (89-84 Cal win) in Round 1. Also, the odds are pretty high the Rock beats Seton Hill today. A Scots' loss would put them 3 games out of the last spot, and, well, that's likely a trip down the Green Mile. Vulcans, hungover or not, -9

Kutztown at Shepherd - For the sake of your bank account, bet every game on the board except this one. Run away, in fact. These two are the face of anti-gambling campaigns -- largely because you'll lose all your money. Every game they should win, they lose. Every game they should lose, they win. Put them on the same court, and Lord knows what will happen. Case in point: Shepherd won Round 1 (naturally) in OT, 65-63. So, of course Kutztown will probably win today, in OT, 65-63. But, these Golden Bears have stung the oddsmakers far too many times this year. Rams -1

Slippery Rock at Seton Hill - If there's a better 11-10 in the country than Slippery Rock, I'd love to see them. A couple more buckets, a couple more stops, ... and the Rock is probably 16-5 and right in the mix of the Regional conversation. The talent, size, physical play and intangibles are certainly there. The only thing missing is their ability to close out games. All 10 of SRU's losses have been by single digits -- 5 of those have been by 5 points or less. But, the fact is, SRU has lost 7 of its past 8 games. The good news in Morrow Field House is of their 7 remaining games, they should be favored in 5 of them. Seton Hill actually gave SRU a pretty tough game in the first meeting. Today shifts to the yellow shoebox, where the Griffins typically play pretty well. The Rock lets out some frustrations today. SRU -14

Bloomsburg at West Chester - The Rams are a year away, but could be a dangerous opponent in the conference tournament. They can look really good one day -- and pretty average the next. That's typical of a young team. They will likely look pretty good today. WCU -9

Millersville at Mansfield - Not often this late in the season you'd say that first place in the division versus last place in the division could be a good game. But, this could be a good game. The Marauders hammered the Mounties earlier this year -- but, so did everybody else. Mansfield has certainly turned a page -- whether it's showing up in the win column or not. With two dynamic scorers playing at home today ... you never know. But, in the betting world you can't count on Cinderella upsets. The 'Ville takes care of business. Millersville -13

Shippensburg at Lock Haven - If memory serves, the Bald Eagles have oddly been a bit of a thorn to the Raiders over the years. Shippensburg took Round 1 by just 9 points. Today shifts to the claustrophobic gym, and Ship's roster is a bit lighter. Lock Haven can get rolling in their building. The Bald Eagles have a formidable starting lineup. There's a big fall-off once they get in to the bench. The Raiders leave town with a win today. But, they're going to have to earn it. Ship -7

UPJ at Clarion - The Golden Eagles nearly pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the year in Johnstown earlier this year. UPJ hung on, 78-72. Clarion's only chance in this one is if they are at full strength. They've been down a couple players the past few games. If they return today, this could at least be a close game for a while. UPJ is coming off a tough loss at Gannon. Clarion likely pays the price today. But, remember, the Mountain Cats play California in 48 hours. Could the Golden Eagles have a trap set? UPJ -9

IUP at Gannon - Throw the first meeting -- an 83-50 IUP win -- out the window. The Crimson Hawks put on a defensive clinic in that game, but that was also a zombie-type version of Gannon. The most difficult part of predicting the Knights this year is simply knowing which players will actually be dressed. Star guard Ike Herster has missed the past two games. But, this is a big weekend at the (former) Hammermill. Today it becomes the Highmark, and it's Hall of Fame Weekend at GU. With IUP's large contingent of players from Erie, the Hawks will have a big crowd today, too. Expect a much, much better effort from Gannon today than the one they put out in the KCAC. This won't be another 33-point run-away. But, IUP has too much. Hawks pull away in the second half. IUP -12

[Scrub]

Will they play there next year during construction or play elsewhere for a year?

Maybe they could head across town to the MAC and use Mercyhurst's beautiful basketball facilities. ; )

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Gannon/Highmark are teaming together. The Hammermill will now be known as the Highmark Events Center. Renovations begin the new look in a few months and should take approx two years.

Will they play there next year during construction or play elsewhere for a year?

[IUPalum]

Gannon/Highmark are teaming together. The Hammermill will now be known as the Highmark Events Center. Renovations begin the new look in a few months and should take approx two years.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

The Top 6 from both the East and West qualify for the PSAC Tournament. IUP has clinched one of the West spots, so (5) remain.

The battle for the top seed(s) is murky but most of it will take care of itself over the coming two weeks.

IUP - 15-2 conference record
UPJ - 14-3
Mercyhurst - 14-4
California - 10-5

Of those Top 4, there are several head-to-heads. Cal has perhaps the toughest road (@UPJ and Mercyhurst) but it also gives the Vulcans a great shot to move up. IUP will host UPJ in the finale. Regardless, IUP is already in, and the next three seem like a lock.

So, that leaves two spots left. That group gets a bit tricky.

Currently:

Gannon - 9-7 conference record
Slippery Rock - 7-8
Edinboro - 5-10
Clarion - 5-12
Seton Hill - 3-14


As of today, Gannon appears in a good spot. But, the Knights have a brutal path to the finish line -- IUP, @Boro, SRU, @SRU, @Clarion, California.

The Rock also has a tough path -- playing 7 games in the next 17 days, including Gannon twice, and road trips to Cal and Mercyhurst. There's also the rematch with Edinboro on Feb. 23.

Edinboro is currently two games back, but has its work cutout for itself. A 4-game stretch starting tomorrow - at California, Gannon, IUP and at Slippery Rock - is going to make gaining ground difficult.

Clarion is still alive, but the Golden Eagles are on life support. Clarion has (5) games remaining, and it will be an underdog in all of them (UPJ, at SRU, at Cal, Gannon, at IUP).