PSAC WEST

[bballfan03]

Losing James was one of the bigger gut punches from the expected mass exodus last year, his energy and grit on the defensive end was huge...totally agree he'd have paired great running first wave/sharing court with debuck at times. Obviously Omojafo was the best to leave by far, but that one was a foregone conclusion with the ability to move up (pretty wild/impressive he'll be starting a tourney game against bama friday lol).

And on the topic of transfers...does anybody know what went down with Montano this season? The entire situation has been bizarre. Was pumped when he decided to come back after Fee left, and even brining in Taz figured he would be a staple on one of the units. We all saw how that played out...and I don't recall seeing him on the bench this weekend. Shame because we all saw the kid could really play.

Rumors are he and Bazzolli didn't get along well. They had some intense bouts during practices (it was cited that Montanos work ethic is not good). That's why he went from starting to strong bench player to healthy scratch the last month of games.

Word is that he was not invited to make the trip.

[GUAlum92]

I would've loved to have seen Debuck back up James this year (or both on court with Sekasi back upload). James' play making ability was definitely something Gannon missed this year.

Losing James was one of the bigger gut punches from the expected mass exodus last year, his energy and grit on the defensive end was huge...totally agree he'd have paired great running first wave/sharing court with debuck at times. Obviously Omojafo was the best to leave by far, but that one was a foregone conclusion with the ability to move up (pretty wild/impressive he'll be starting a tourney game against bama friday lol).

And on the topic of transfers...does anybody know what went down with Montano this season? The entire situation has been bizarre. Was pumped when he decided to come back after Fee left, and even brining in Taz figured he would be a staple on one of the units. We all saw how that played out...and I don't recall seeing him on the bench this weekend. Shame because we all saw the kid could really play.

[Chuck Norris]

Massey has WL winning, 98-92.

Gannon beat WL by (15) last year, although few playing tomorrow played in that game. Gannon was stronger last year.

This is a tough one for the gamblers. Going with the Massey prediction, I'd call it WL -5.5

Both teams lose the big advantage of tiring out the opponent. Both are deep. Both know - generally - what the other is doing (or, trying to do). Neither was really challenged this past weekend. They both got to watch one another (twice).

That said, I think both head coaches have a losing record playing 'against' said system. Both love to create chaos. How will they handle it in reverse?

Gannon has struggled against other top teams this year (outside of the PSAC, which had very few good teams). The gym is going to be very loud and probably 96% for the home team.

All of that mumbo jumbo said, I think the spread is pretty good. Which way would I bet that WL -5.5 ? I'll have to think about that one a little more.

Officiating can really impact a game like this. Teams that play this style foul a lot, but officials who are familiar with it may tend to let more go. Recall the Nova-WL national championship game a couple years ago turned into a pretty big mess especially in the second half. I don’t know where regional championship game officials typically come from, whether it’s in region or outside, but it’s worth keeping an eye on.

[bballfan03]

Speaking of Daemen, saw Derrick James and St. Thomas Aquinas upset them last night in their 4th matchup of the season. Believe they play the 6 seed Assumption in an absolutley chaotic region...might have to tune in

Wow! I had watched a few of STA games and they never looked that great. Very good, but the games I saw they were very undisciplined.

[bballfan03]

We really miss Derrick James, luckily DeBuck has done pretty well filling that void at the point.

I agree with those above, Gannon doesn’t have the depth like last year. But - they are only one win away from achieving the same results.

I think at the end of the day, it will depend on which team has their shooters show up. Hopefully Ernest can stay hot and have another big game.

I would've loved to have seen Debuck back up James this year (or both on court with Sekasi back upload). James' play making ability was definitely something Gannon missed this year.

[GUbigGOLDEN]

We really miss Derrick James, luckily DeBuck has done pretty well filling that void at the point.

I agree with those above, Gannon doesn’t have the depth like last year. But - they are only one win away from achieving the same results.

I think at the end of the day, it will depend on which team has their shooters show up. Hopefully Ernest can stay hot and have another big game.

[GUAlum92]

West Liberty is definitely the favorite.. but definitely not Gannons biggest challenge lol they played Nova SE (who was #1) first game of the season and Daemen (who was #1 at the time). But this is definitely the biggest challenge in a while!

After watching both GU and WLU games so far, though, i dont foresee either making it to the Final 4.

Speaking of Daemen, saw Derrick James and St. Thomas Aquinas upset them last night in their 4th matchup of the season. Believe they play the 6 seed Assumption in an absolutley chaotic region...might have to tune in

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I don't know enough about this edition of the Gannon squad, but I agree that it certainly doesn't appear to be a vintage edition of WLU. This group has come together better in the past few months than the first few months seemed to indicate, but I certainly had more faith in deep runs from the Butler-Bolon-Bonifant teams of the past.

Massey has WL winning, 98-92.

Gannon beat WL by (15) last year, although few playing tomorrow played in that game. Gannon was stronger last year.

This is a tough one for the gamblers. Going with the Massey prediction, I'd call it WL -5.5

Both teams lose the big advantage of tiring out the opponent. Both are deep. Both know - generally - what the other is doing (or, trying to do). Neither was really challenged this past weekend. They both got to watch one another (twice).

That said, I think both head coaches have a losing record playing 'against' said system. Both love to create chaos. How will they handle it in reverse?

Gannon has struggled against other top teams this year (outside of the PSAC, which had very few good teams). The gym is going to be very loud and probably 96% for the home team.

All of that mumbo jumbo said, I think the spread is pretty good. Which way would I bet that WL -5.5 ? I'll have to think about that one a little more.

[GUbigGOLDEN]

West Liberty is definitely the favorite.. but definitely not Gannons biggest challenge lol they played Nova SE (who was #1) first game of the season and Daemen (who was #1 at the time). But this is definitely the biggest challenge in a while!

After watching both GU and WLU games so far, though, i dont foresee either making it to the Final 4.

Biggest challenge as in a MUST WIN game.

Two teams showcasing “THE SYSTEM”!!!!!!

[Scrub]

West Liberty is definitely the favorite.. but definitely not Gannons biggest challenge lol they played Nova SE (who was #1) first game of the season and Daemen (who was #1 at the time). But this is definitely the biggest challenge in a while!

After watching both GU and WLU games so far, though, i dont foresee either making it to the Final 4.

I don't know enough about this edition of the Gannon squad, but I agree that it certainly doesn't appear to be a vintage edition of WLU. This group has come together better in the past few months than the first few months seemed to indicate, but I certainly had more faith in deep runs from the Butler-Bolon-Bonifant teams of the past.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

They are the best of what appears to be a pretty weak region this season. It certainly wasn't a banner year for the PSAC.

Great year for the Women's side. But, yes, the Men's side was pretty bad.

I kept saying the use of the word 'parity' all year was a polite way of saying something else. I really thought ESU and WCU were going to do better in Round 1.

[Ship69]

West Liberty is definitely the favorite.. but definitely not Gannons biggest challenge lol they played Nova SE (who was #1) first game of the season and Daemen (who was #1 at the time). But this is definitely the biggest challenge in a while!

After watching both GU and WLU games so far, though, i dont foresee either making it to the Final 4.

They are the best of what appears to be a pretty weak region this season. It certainly wasn't a banner year for the PSAC.

[bballfan03]

Big day for Ernest Shelton. So good to see him get cooking before the sweet 16 game. We’ll need his shooting, as well as a stellar team performance (for both halves) to get past West Liberty. They are an outstanding team, it will be our biggest challenge yet.

Big game for PSACers in Edinboro tomorrow night: Gannon and IUP women! Let’s go Gannon!

West Liberty is definitely the favorite.. but definitely not Gannons biggest challenge lol they played Nova SE (who was #1) first game of the season and Daemen (who was #1 at the time). But this is definitely the biggest challenge in a while!

After watching both GU and WLU games so far, though, i dont foresee either making it to the Final 4.

[GUAlum92]

Also…shoutout to Chaz Hinds…played tough against Gannon last year and really enjoyed his analysis all weekend…dude is a natural color commentator

[GUAlum92]

Shelton looked fantastic today. I remember him as a monster this time of year last year as well. Kid clearly likes the bright lights of March. Gonna be a battle on Tuesday for sure.

Definitely looking forward to it, seems like Gannon has found their footing rotation wise after all the injuries and have really amped things up on the defensive end. Nice to see them cruise the first 2 games, but masked in those blowouts has been some really inefficient team shooting. They’ve had plenty of clean looks just not converting, hopefully they’re due…because we can’t get away shooting sub 40 from the field against WL at their place. Hoping for a great battle!