Originally posted by IUPalum
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The second Makeup Monday wasn't as friendly to the gambling degenerates. UPJ's loss at the Hammermill and Edinboro's win at Tippin threw a wrench, but the house still hit 3 of 5 winners. Things don't get any easier in the betting world tonight. A very tough lineup is on the board.
Slippery Rock at UPJ - Which team will respond better tonight? The Rock, despite playing well, has lost 5 of its past 6 games. UPJ lost a heartbreaker in the Hammermill. The first meeting in this series was a dandy. The Mountain Cats escaped Morrow Field House with a slim, 91-87 victory. SRU star Frankie Hughes lit up UPJ for 44 points and drained (10) treys. Odd thing about that night is the Rock almost won despite PG Amante Britt missing the contest. He'll be in the mix tonight. If, and, this is a giant 'if', SRU is ready to play, they can win this game. Their size, physical play and shooting can keep them in any game. But, do they have it in them to finish it out? No team has lost more close games this year than the Rock. UPJ is 3-2 in its past five games -- and two of the wins came by a combined 3 points. This is perhaps the toughest game on the board tonight. UPJ seems to have some magic in Johnstown. Mountain Cats find a way. UPJ -2
Clarion at Edinboro - Just 48 hours ago, the Scots won in Tippin. Final score: Edinboro 88 Gerald Jarmon 51. Well, add in 23 more for Clarion from the rest of the roster. Edinboro was minus several starters. Oddly, that seems to help them. Clarion was without their other star, Connor Ferrell. Who will play tonight? Who knows. The Golden Eagles are much tougher with Ferrell. Quick rematches are tough. Too many unknowns, player-wise. Vegas says Scots -3 regardless of who is on the court.
California at IUP - The Vulcans survived the trap in Shepherdstown. Barely. IUP got past the back-to-back with SRU. Barely. IUP won the first meeting after California blew an 18-point, first-half lead. The Crimson Hawks took total control in the second half and ended up winning by 13 points. Tonight, however, is a different match-up. The teams are different now. Cal will have Keith Palek tonight. IUP will (likely) not have Tommy Demogerontas. Palek improves the Vulcans on both ends. Since Demogerontas' injury, IUP has seen the emergence of Tomiwa Sulaiman, who has become one of the top defensive forwards in the league - and has propelled IUP in to one of the top defensive teams. In two of the past three meetings, the Vulcans have jumped IUP in the first half -- racing out to 18-point leads in both games. IUP eventually won both, but those comebacks only last so long. For the Hawks to win tonight in an empty building, the first 20 minutes are key. IUP has won 15 straight in the series. Getting to No. 16, however, won't be easy. IUP is favored until it loses -- by the slimmest of margins. Crimson Hawks -1
Mansfield at Lock Haven - The Mounties are red hot -- winners of 3 straight. Lock Haven has lost 5 of its past 6. However, the Bald Eagles lit up Mansfield in the first meeting -- dropping 102 points. Lock Haven is also a much better team in their building. They turn in to a pumpkin on the road. Tough game to pick. But, ride the hot hand. Mansfield -3
Kutztown at Millersville - The Golden Bears, not many years removed from being a top team in the East, have hit train-wreck status. Kutztown owns an ugly 7-15 record, and has lost its past 5 outings. Millersville, conversely, is the hottest team in the league -- winners of 10 straight. What do you get when a confident team hosts a team ready for the season to end? Blowout City. Marauders -16
Gannon at Mercyhurst - Talk about tough games to pick ... The Lakers survived the first meeting, winning by just 5 points in the Hammermill despite Gannon being without two starters and its top two reserves. So, logic would say a now-healthy Gannon team should win tonight. Right? Not so fast. There's a reason the Lake Show has won 7 straight in the series. The Knights are coming off an emotional win over UPJ. Nothing kills momentum faster than a trip to the MAC. Mercyhurst was also off this past Monday -- watching and resting. That's the difference tonight. Lakers -7
Bloomsburg at East Stroudsburg - The Warriors won by 20 on the road. They'll likely win by more than that at home. But, the Huskies have been showing some fight as of late. ESU is just too deep. Warriors -15
West Chester at Shippensburg - These two old friends will get reacquainted very well in the next 5 days. The Rams are a talented, yet very sporadic team. The Raiders played pretty well in their first game sans Luke Nedrow but dropped a tight, 55-51 game to Millersville. West Chester brings a lot of size and athleticism to the table, but their shooting is quite up and down. This could be a series, based on the roster circumstances, that the home team wins each game. Take the Raiders tonight. But, not by much. Ship -5
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We've arrived at the stretch run of the West race. A lot will be decided on the court in head-to-head match-ups. But, some have a much harder remaining path than others. Starting with tomorrow's games, there are 18 calendar days remaining until the last game of the season. Some are about to play a crazy amount of games in 18 days. A quick look at those still in the race:
IUP (14-2, 20-2) - The Crimson Hawks wrapped up season sweeps of its usual headaches (SRU and Mercyhurst). IUP still hosts California and UPJ, and has what could be a tricky road trip to Gannon this Saturday. These aren't likely to be the same group of Knights who got pounded at the KCAC. Don't underestimate the trip to McComb next week, either. The nice thing, however, for IUP is the huge crowds it draws in the Erie area with several Hawks from the region.
Pitt-Johnstown (13-3, 17-5) - Last night's loss at Gannon could prove to be a big one for the Mountain Cats. UPJ still has home games with a dangerous Slippery Rock, California and Mercyhurst. Add in a short road trip to Indiana. Six games left. Four of them will be tough.
Mercyhurst (13-4, 19-4) - The Lakers seemed to have lost a little buzz, but they are still right in the mix of things. Mercyhurst hasn't had many Covid issues, so their schedule isn't as cramped this month. But, it's far from easy -- starting with tomorrow nights visit from crosstown rival Gannon. The Knights should be feeling pretty good after upsetting UPJ -- and by the fact they nearly upset the Lakers minus several regular players. Mercyhurst also has trips to UPJ and California looming, along with home games with sometimes-good Edinboro and Slippery Rock.
California (10-4, 15-5) - The Vulcans are going to be pretty busy from tomorrow through the finale on Feb. 26. Cal has to play a whopping 8 games during that short stretch -- including road trips to IUP, UPJ, Seton Hill and Gannon. Cal will also host Edinboro, Clarion, SRU and Mercyhurst.
Gannon (9-6, 12-7) - The Knights stayed (mathematically) alive last night with their big win over UPJ. Gannon has (7) games remaining, starting with tomorrow's short trip across town to the MAC. IUP visits the Hammermill Saturday afternoon. GU then plays at Edinboro, a home/home with Slippery Rock, at Clarion and hosts California in the finale.
Slippery Rock (7-7, 11-9) - Getting swept by IUP essentially ended SRU's West title aspirations, but they will remain a huge part of the puzzle for the remaining teams. SRU is a talented bunch -- when motivated. The Rock also has to cram in 8 games in 18 days, starting with a trip to Johnstown tomorrow. SRU then has two with Gannon and trips to California and Mercyhurst. This could certainly be a tough team in the conference tournament. However, the Rock has lost 6 of its past 7 games. They've played a brutal stretch of schedule the past couple weeks - and played almost everybody tough during this skid. They're due to start finishing some games out. SRU could be a big spoiler down the stretch.Leave a comment:
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Updated Men's Standings
2-8-2022
WEST
TEAM PSAC OVERALL STREAK IUP 14-2 20-2 W5 Pitt-Johnstown 13-3 17-5 L1 Mercyhurst 13-4 19-4 W2 California 10-4 15-5 W1 Gannon 9-6 12-7 W3 Slippery Rock 7-7 11-9 L3 Clarion 5-11 9-12 L2 Edinboro 4-10 6-13 W1 Seton Hill 3-14 3-19 L3
EAST
TEAM PSAC OVERALL STREAK Millersville 13-4 19-4 W10 Shippensburg 11-4 14-6 L1 East Stroudsburg 12-5 14-7 W1 West Chester 6-8 12-8 W2 Shepherd 5-10 9-12 L3 Lock Haven 4-11 7-12 W1 Kutztown 4-12 7-15 L5 Bloomsburg 3-12 4-15 W1 Mansfield 3-12 4-17 W3 Leave a comment:
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Maybe they are starting the wrong dudes?Originally posted by Fightingscot82 View Post
Ferrell didn't play for Clarion, either. Gerald Jarmon had 51 (of their 74) in the loss.Leave a comment:
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The House went 6 for 6 a week ago on Makeup Monday. Tonight, however, poses (5) challenging games for the oddsmakers. Picking them straight up tonight isn't so bad. Picking with the spreads is a different animal.
Slippery Rock at IUP -- On one hand, IUP took -- and survived -- SRU's best shot just 48 hours ago. The Rock played its most inspired 40 minutes of the season and just about pulled out a win. But, IUP found a way. How will SRU bounce back tonight in an empty KCAC? The rowdy student body that energized them in Morrow will be nowhere to be seen (or, heard). Will those same deep shots -- some essentially from the campus library -- fall again tonight? Saturday showed a couple things. For one, SRU has the talent to be way better than 11-8. Secondly, IUP didn't shoot the ball well and still survived. Tonight is on their court and they'll likely shoot much better. Consider one other item: SRU's last two 'Round 2' games in the KCAC after close games in Morrow: IUP won by 36 and 29 points. Don't expect that sort of run-away tonight, but IUP should put this game away well before the final 27 seconds. Crimson Hawks start better tonight and, this time, try and make SRU play catch-up early. IUP -8
California at Shepherd - Just when things were starting to go well for the Rams, they had to go back out on the road. Shepherd is just 3-7 away from home this year. Luckily for them, they are back in Shepherdstown tonight. The Rams are 6-4 in their building. The bad news is their guests tonight are one of the hottest teams in the league despite a 1-point loss in their last outing. The Rams' best shot may be if the Vulcans are already mentally preparing for Wednesday's trip to Indiana. Not likely, but possible. Coming off a bye, Cal should be well-rested and focused. Shepherd's defense is good enough to make them fight for it, but the Vulcans are too deep and too strong. California -13
Kutztown at East Stroudsburg - The Golden Bears have lost 5 of their past 6 games -- the last three losses all came in their building. So, perhaps getting out on the road will be a good thing. Tonight's destination, however, isn't one many look forward to visiting. ESU is returning home after an 83-72 loss at Millersville. This should be a feisty group of Warriors tonight. Now at 7-14, Kutztown may be starting to morph in to 'get it over with' mode. ESU wins fairly comfortably. Warriors -11
Edinboro at Clarion - The outcome tonight in Tippin Gymnasium won't do anything to the top of the West standings, but it will do a whole lot for the conference tournament cut-off line. The Fighting Scots make the short trip losers of 9 straight. The Golden Eagles played well last week -- highlighted by an upset of Slippery Rock and then losing by just 10 points at Mercyhurst. Edinboro isn't your typical team on a 9-game skid. They've played just about everybody tough -- all while continuing to have major lineup shakeups due to injuries and illnesses. Clarion has a better record (9-11 vs. 5-13) but talent-wise these teams are pretty close. Clarion's guard play is pretty strong -- especially in Tippin. Edinboro has some hot-heads on its roster. The Chirping Birds (Clarion student section) could be an issue tonight. Golden Eagles win a tight one. Clarion -3
UPJ at Gannon - With 6 conference losses, the Knights are all but mathematically out of the West race. But, they can play the spoiler role starting tonight -- and start to build momentum for the conference tournament. Sounds like a plan -- until you look at this week's schedule. This is almost like a cruel joke: UPJ, at Mercyhurst, IUP. There aren't many more difficult weeks one team could find. The positive is, Gannon could have won two of those Round 1 games. The Knights lost by just 2 points in Johnstown, and lost by just 5 points to Mercyhurst. UPJ enters the Hammermill winners of 3 straight, highlighted by a huge road win at California. Well, that soon will say 4 straight. The Mountain Cats will find themselves in a tussle tonight, but are too strong for Gannon to handle for 40 minutes. UPJ -8Leave a comment:
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