PSAC WEST

[Ship69]

You nailed it. When Castello comes off they are a much different team. He stays clean and they might have won both games this week.

Tonight will be tight. Both had mentally and physically tough games last night.

Joe's been saving the press all year for the right game. After watching Fairmont have so much success with it I could seem IUP pressing a good bit tonight (which is very rare).

I expect a 3-5 point game. Winner TBD.

Kind of surprised about the press thing as they have a couple of decent ball handlers on the team and haven't been terribly bothered by it in the past. We'll see what happens tonight.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Ship just has not been shooting well. Had the edge on the boards, but shooting under 40 percent from the field and 30 percent from the three-point line isn't going to get it done. Also, Castello, who usually has been good at managing fouls, got into foul trouble for the second game in a row. The only good thing was an 18-point effort from Nedrow, who might be coming on a little. Certainly don't expect a win against IUP tonight unless things change quite a bit. So far Ship looks like a decent, but not top echelon team. Coach Fite has some work to do.

You nailed it. When Castello comes off they are a much different team. He stays clean and they might have won both games this week.

Tonight will be tight. Both had mentally and physically tough games last night.

Joe's been saving the press all year for the right game. After watching Fairmont have so much success with it I could seem IUP pressing a good bit tonight (which is very rare).

I expect a 3-5 point game. Winner TBD.

[Ship69]

UPDATED PSAC MEN'S STANDINGS

TEAM	CONFERENCE	OVERALL	STREAK	NOTES
EAST
West Chester	4-0	10-0	W10	SRU in town today
Shippensburg	3-1	7-3	L2	Third tough game in row
Kutztown	3-1	5-5	W1	Should hammer the Boro
East Stroudsburg	2-2	6-3	W3	Lake Show up next
Bloomsburg	2-2	5-5	L2	Good. Bad. Good. Bad.
Millersville	2-2	5-5	W1	Cal will be tough
Lock Haven	1-3	4-4	L1	UPJ is a huge opportunity
Shepherd	1-3	5-5	L1	Seton Hill cures hangovers
Mansfield	1-3	2-7	L4	Must-win vs. Clarion
WEST
IUP	4-0	9-0	W9	Huge game at Ship
Pitt-Johnstown	3-1	9-2	W1	Awesome road win
Mercyhurst	3-1	5-3	W1	ESU could pose challenge
California	2-2	6-4	L1	Better than record
Gannon	2-2	3-5	W1	Should go 2-0 on weekend
Edinboro	1-3	4-4	L4	Simpson status?
Slippery Rock	1-3	5-5	L1	Not easy to win at WCU
Clarion	1-3	2-7	W1	Nice win yesterday
Seton Hill	0-4	1-6	L5	May get ugly today

Ship just has not been shooting well. Had the edge on the boards, but shooting under 40 percent from the field and 30 percent from the three-point line isn't going to get it done. Also, Castello, who usually has been good at managing fouls, got into foul trouble for the second game in a row. The only good thing was an 18-point effort from Nedrow, who might be coming on a little. Certainly don't expect a win against IUP tonight unless things change quite a bit. So far Ship looks like a decent, but not top echelon team. Coach Fite has some work to do.

[Ship69]

Is Ship's attendance always that bad?

No, but it's usually not good in December, especially when the students have gone on break.

[CALUPA69]

It is definitely true that you're as good as your record says you are. But after last night, the VULCANS are 6-4 but literally three shots away from 9-1. I'm not sure when but it feels like they're about to turn the corner and someone is going to end up posting an L on their record where they were expecting a W. SANCOMB has done pretty much what was expected, aside from letting MACADAMS get away, and this very young team will, I believe, be a factor in the league going forward this year.
Oddly I have less faith in the 9-1 WBB being significant this year which is a bizarre feeling.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

UPDATED PSAC MEN'S STANDINGS

TEAM	CONFERENCE	OVERALL	STREAK	NOTES
EAST
West Chester	4-0	10-0	W10	SRU in town today
Shippensburg	3-1	7-3	L2	Third tough game in row
Kutztown	3-1	5-5	W1	Should hammer the Boro
East Stroudsburg	2-2	6-3	W3	Lake Show up next
Bloomsburg	2-2	5-5	L2	Good. Bad. Good. Bad.
Millersville	2-2	5-5	W1	Cal will be tough
Lock Haven	1-3	4-4	L1	UPJ is a huge opportunity
Shepherd	1-3	5-5	L1	Seton Hill cures hangovers
Mansfield	1-3	2-7	L4	Must-win vs. Clarion
WEST
IUP	4-0	9-0	W9	Huge game at Ship
Pitt-Johnstown	3-1	9-2	W1	Awesome road win
Mercyhurst	3-1	5-3	W1	ESU could pose challenge
California	2-2	6-4	L1	Better than record
Gannon	2-2	3-5	W1	Should go 2-0 on weekend
Edinboro	1-3	4-4	L4	Simpson status?
Slippery Rock	1-3	5-5	L1	Not easy to win at WCU
Clarion	1-3	2-7	W1	Nice win yesterday
Seton Hill	0-4	1-6	L5	May get ugly today

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Of note, Josh Wise didn't play in UPJ's win against Shippensburg. It's come out he has a wrist injury.

Jaryn Simpson also did not play for Edinboro tonight in their slaughter at ESU.

[CALUPA69]

Not a terrible first half for the VULCANS at WCU. 32-38. Balanced scoring with HOUSE 8 and PEGRAM, SMITH and ALSTON with 6 each. Difference is 2-8 3Pt and 4-8 FT. as well as 15-30 RB deficit.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I agree with you because some teams get a huge break and some get screwed. Of the 5 crossover games we play yearly, last year IUP played all five top East teams. That's just one example. I know it rotates.

My point is just play your division twice and EVERY crossover once. That means instead of 6-8 non-conference games you'd only get 3-4.

It makes it fair for all. It helps eliminate the dreadful PSU-branch games.

I hate the back-to-back weekend games. Everybody does ... fans, (especially) coaches, the box office, players. But, it helps financially in regard to travel.

[CALUPA69]

The you-know-what is about to hit the fan this weekend in the PSAC. There are some tremendous games to played inside our many undoubtedly empty gyms. In the not-so-long-ago days conference play didn't even start until the students were back. Of course, holiday break wasn't 6-7 weeks, either. And, the PSAC didn't have 378 members.


Regardless, there are some really big games this weekend. It's a shame so few will see them in person.


Marquee Match-Ups

California at West Chester - Cal tanked in its first 'we've arrived' moment. Call this a big second chance.

Injury update on the VULCANS. BABA AJIKE is out for 2-3 weeks with a hand/wrist issue. He and LUKE HOUSE have been the most game ready of the freshman class and he in particular has been the strongest part of the inside game. Look for freshman PHILIP ALSTON to take most of his minutes. He is just now rounding into game shape after a scary dehydration/collapse event early in preseason workouts. Here's hoping they put up a better fight than they did versus SHIP.

[IUP24]

Some MEN'S attendance numbers (average) for the PSAC:

1.	IUP	1,159
2.	East Stroudsburg	646
3.	Gannon	567
4.	Shepherd	531
5.	Mercyhurst	442
6.	Kutztown	422
7.	Slippery Rock	389
8.	West Chester	350
9.	Bloomsburg	347
10.	Edinboro	346
11.	California	288
12.	Mansfield	261
13.	UPJ	218
14.	Shippensburg	213
15.	Millersville	179
16.	Clarion	143
17.	Seton Hill	132
18.	Lock Haven	112

Is Ship's attendance always that bad?

[Golden89]

[IUPbigINDIANS]

The you-know-what is about to hit the fan this weekend in the PSAC. There are some tremendous games to played inside our many undoubtedly empty gyms. In the not-so-long-ago days conference play didn't even start until the students were back. Of course, holiday break wasn't 6-7 weeks, either. And, the PSAC didn't have 378 members.


Regardless, there are some really big games this weekend. It's a shame so few will see them in person.


Marquee Match-Ups

California at West Chester - Cal tanked in its first 'we've arrived' moment. Call this a big second chance.

UPJ at Shippensburg - Two teams with NCAA hopes. Both enter with two losses. UPJ has had a long time to prepare for this game. Fairmont State may have exposed some things the other night. Rukavina doesn't miss much. Ship has a bad taste in its mouth ... this should be a great one.

IUP at Shippensburg - Likely the best East/West rivalry in the PSAC the past several years ... They don't play a lot, but when they do it's worth the price of admission (even at IUP). With the history of the coaches, there are no surprises in this game. Both teams play almost identical systems. Line up and play it out. IUP won a tight one last year in Indiana.

Slippery Rock at West Chester - Micah Till got his tune-up game last week. But, he's not playing Salem this time. With four early losses, SRU needs this one. Badly. WCU is one of the more difficult road venues to win a game inside.


Interesting Games

Gannon at Mansfield - Both have poor records (GU is 2-5 and Mansfield is 2-6), however, both are better than those marks. Regardless, this is a must-win game for both. Baby Shaq will cause all sorts of problems for Gannon, but the Knights are the more athletic team of the two. The Mounties traditionally play pretty well at home and should be fully healthy tomorrow.

Edinboro at East Stroudsburg - The Scots have better pure scorers in this one with Simpson and Coleman, but the Warriors have far more depth. Edinboro's very short bench will be physically tested messing with that press all night. This isn't the type of pace Trey Staunch will thrive in, either. Whichever team dictates the pace wins this one.

IUP at Shepherd - This is a sneaky bad match-up for IUP. Shepherd, like Mansfield, has some hulking post players. That is the one area IUP isn't built to handle well with its current roster limitations. This game has upset potential if Shepherd can somewhat handle IUP's elite guard play. IUP's post players are built to run. Not bang.

Slippery Rock at Kutztown - The Golden Bears are more up and down than most roller-coasters. But, they play really well at home.

Gannon at Bloomsburg - Which Huskies show up? Their past two games: clobbered UPJ at home, and got clobbered by Wilmington on the road. Bloomsburg can be a tough out. Sometimes.

UPJ at Lock Haven - The Bald Eagles may be the best team nobody knows about this year. At 4-3, LHU has three losses by a combined 14 points -- including very tight losses at Cal and at SRU. The other oddity here is UPJ will be coming off an emotional game Friday night at Shippensburg. This game has a 3 p.m. tip on Saturday. How will UPJ's legs hold up on short-rest?

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Some MEN'S attendance numbers (average) for the PSAC:

1.	IUP	1,159
2.	East Stroudsburg	646
3.	Gannon	567
4.	Shepherd	531
5.	Mercyhurst	442
6.	Kutztown	422
7.	Slippery Rock	389
8.	West Chester	350
9.	Bloomsburg	347
10.	Edinboro	346
11.	California	288
12.	Mansfield	261
13.	UPJ	218
14.	Shippensburg	213
15.	Millersville	179
16.	Clarion	143
17.	Seton Hill	132
18.	Lock Haven	112

[IUPbigINDIANS]

UPDATED MEN'S STANDINGS (Thru games 12/15)

EAST
	PSAC	OVERALL	STREAK
West Chester	3-0	9-0	W9
Shippensburg	3-0	7-1	W6
Bloomsburg	2-1	5-3	W3
Kutztown	2-1	4-5	L1
East Stroudsburg	1-2	5-3	W2
Lock Haven	1-2	4-3	W1
Shepherd	1-2	5-4	W2
Millersville	1-2	4-4	W1
Mansfield	1-2	2-6	L3
WEST
	PSAC	OVERALL	STREAK
IUP	3-0	8-0	W8
UPJ	2-1	8-2	L1
California	2-1	5-3	L1
Mercyhurst	2-1	4-3	L2
Edinboro	1-2	4-3	L3
Slippery Rock	1-2	5-4	W1
Gannon	1-2	2-5	L3
Seton Hill	0-3	1-5	L4
Clarion	0-3	1-7	L2