PSAC WEST

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: PSAC WEST

But loss 9 would come in the PSAC Tournament (likely).

Eight total losses would give them a shot. Nine will be too many. IUP also played a monster non-conference as did Fairmont.

Gannon, my opinion, can only lose once more in the regular season.

[Golden89]

Re: PSAC WEST

http://www.psacsports.org/news/2018/...sac-hoops.aspx

Just saw that PCN is broadcasting a few PSAC doubleheaders starting tomorrow with Slippery Rock at Cal. The whole state gets to see Reynolds' antics! Followed by next week with Gannon at IUP!

[Golden89]

Re: PSAC WEST

I agree that nine is way too many losses. I see only the psac west regular season winner getting an ncaa bid. Three at least from the psac east. At least two from the MEC and Virginia State from the CIAA. That gives you seven of eight bids. The eighth bid would heavily favor a fourth psac east or third mec team. Gannon probably needs to sweep IUP and win at home against slippery rock to have a chance at winning the psac west and receiving an at large bid.

I think that Gannon can get in with eight total losses and no conference tourney upsets, given the tough early season schedule. This would require beating SRU at home, splitting with IUP, and sweeping road games in Erie County (and no other surprises). The loss to SRU made the road tougher, but not impossible. I really wish that the KPIs were published on this board like previous years.

Re: PSAC WEST

That will be too many. If you assume another likely loss in the PSAC Tournament that would give Gannon 9 losses providing in your formula they only lose two more in the regular season.

They won't get in with 9 losses this year. The field is too tight.

Wheeling Jesuit and West Liberty are locks. Virginia State is a lock. That only leaves five spots. There's four East teams in serious contention. All will finish with less than 9 losses. IUP and Slippery Rock are in the mix along with Fairmont State.

This is also assuming there isn't a Cinderella in the conference tournaments (like Bowie last year) -- and then it's really tight.

I agree that nine is way too many losses. I see only the psac west regular season winner getting an ncaa bid. Three at least from the psac east. At least two from the MEC and Virginia State from the CIAA. That gives you seven of eight bids. The eighth bid would heavily favor a fourth psac east or third mec team. Gannon probably needs to sweep IUP and win at home against slippery rock to have a chance at winning the psac west and receiving an at large bid.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: PSAC WEST

Saturday -- 1/27/2017

Men's -- PSAC West

Slippery Rock at California -- The first meeting was pretty close. Slippery Rock pulled away late in the game for an 11-point win in Morrow Field House. This has the making of a trap game for Kevin Reynolds' team. IUP comes calling Wednesday night. Cal really struggles to put 40 minutes together against strong teams. The Vulcans have to survive the first 20 minutes. Slippery Rock is much better than they were in early January. Reynolds' teams are historically much more difficult to beat the second time. If Cal can get a hot start, create some adversity ... that's their shot. Attack Micah Till. When he's in foul trouble, the Rock change is drastic. But, it's a long shot. The Rock is too big, too deep and just more talented. SRU -12

Seton Hill at Clarion -- Well, if Clarion is going to get a conference win ... this is the chance. Seton Hill is having a terrible season. Its roster is much better than a 6-13 mark. They will pull one upset this year. One night will come when all the shots fall. It's coming. Tomorrow, however, won't be an upset. Clarion's Cameron Grumbly is a nice player, but he just has no help. Opposing teams know as much. This won't be a pretty game. The Griffins should roll in this one, but Clarion is due to pull one out. Seton Hill -12

IUP at Mercyhurst -- The Crimson Hawks have won five straight in the series. Mercyhurst enters as a hot team. The Lakers hammered Cal and pulled a mild upset over Edinboro. Mercyhurst is never an easy out, and IUP has struggled some over the years in the MAC. Mercyhurst is 8-0 at home this season. IUP struggled for much of the first meeting before pulling out a 10-point win. Mercyhurst held IUP in the 60s (67) -- a rare feat in the Joe Lombardi era. Much like Slippery Rock, IUP can't find itself looking ahead. The Lakers pose a lot of problems and did a solid job frustrating IUP's shooters in the first meeting. The recent emergence of Willem Brandwijk has changed the complexion of the IUP attack which should help bust open the 'junk' zone a bit. Expect the typical IUP versus Mercyhurst game. It will be a slug-fest. The Lakers will hang around. Joe and Gary will pretend to speak. The referees will need Tylenol. In the end, IUP is just a better team with too many weapons. Bravado Joe has won 10 of his last 11. Crimson Hawks -6

Game of the Day

UPJ at Gannon -- Those who followed closely this season knew UPJ's record has a bit of a farce. The Mountain Cats were much better than what it was showing in the standings. The pain of the early, tight losses is paying off now. UPJ is on fire -- winners of four straight, including impressive wins against Mercyhurst, Slippery Rock and a shocking blowout of West Chester. Iron Man basketball or not, this is a dangerous team. Led by the PSAC's best point guard in senior Dale Clancy and the most unheralded low post player in the league (Isaac Vescovi), UPJ is capable of beating anybody in the PSAC. Vescovi exploded for 33 points against West Chester while Clancy finished with 19 points and 12 assists. Gannon ran in to a buzzsaw in its loss to Slippery Rock. The Golden Knights got beat up on the boards -- a rare event for a John Reilly team. The loss snapped a 9-game winning streak. It also kicked off a brutal stretch for Gannon. The Golden Knight faithful better fill up the 'Mill for this one. This is essentially a late January playoff game for Gannon. The Knights pulled out a 73-69 victory in Round 1 in Johnstown -- holding UPJ to just 5-20 from deep. That's not likely to happen twice. This has quietly become one of the more entertaining series in the PSAC over the past couple seasons. UPJ certainly won't be bringing the size of Slippery Rock but they bring a lot of intangibles. Ride the hot hand. UPJ -3 in a mild upset.


East (big one)

Kutztown at Shippensburg

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: PSAC WEST

That will be too many. If you assume another likely loss in the PSAC Tournament that would give Gannon 9 losses providing in your formula they only lose two more in the regular season.

They won't get in with 9 losses this year. The field is too tight.

Wheeling Jesuit and West Liberty are locks. Virginia State is a lock. That only leaves five spots. There's four East teams in serious contention. All will finish with less than 9 losses. IUP and Slippery Rock are in the mix along with Fairmont State.

This is also assuming there isn't a Cinderella in the conference tournaments (like Bowie last year) -- and then it's really tight.

[Golden89]

Re: PSAC WEST

Correct. SRU played a high school non-conference schedule. Included were two D3 wins so they don't even count in the big picture.

Red hot UPJ's trip to Gannon this weekend has a whole different look to it now. That's a big game all the sudden. A game GU best win to stay in the race.

Edinboro is in a free fall. Granted ... very close losses .. but, losses nonetheless.

Gannon needs to go 7-3 over the final 10 at the worst. They're 0-1 with the SRU loss. GU needs a split of IUP, a split with SRU, and a split of the road contests at Edinboro and Mercyhurst. Gannon will be heavily favored at home against Cal and Clarion. This leave two tricky must-wins -- at Seton Hill (where the Knights blew a 17-point second half lead last year) and Saturday's home contest against UPJ. Hope UPJ got all their makes out of the way on Wednesday. At least the stats crew will have an easy day logging UPJ's minutes.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: PSAC WEST

Correct. SRU played a high school non-conference schedule. Included were two D3 wins so they don't even count in the big picture.

Red hot UPJ's trip to Gannon this weekend has a whole different look to it now. That's a big game all the sudden. A game GU best win to stay in the race.

Edinboro is in a free fall. Granted ... very close losses .. but, losses nonetheless.

[IUPalum]

Re: PSAC WEST

IUP has a nice two game cushion in the West but I'm looking at over all records and yikes!!! IUP and Gannon both played tough out of conference schedules, SRU and Edinboro did not. BUT now Gannon just lost to SRU... could get real interesting these next couple weeks.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: PSAC WEST

PSAC West Standings - 1/25/2018


IUP (11-2, 15-5) W4

Slippery Rock (10-4, 16-4) W2

Gannon (9-4, 13-6) L1

Edinboro (8-6, 11-7) L2

Pitt-Johnstown (8-6, 10-8) W4

Mercyhurst (6-7, 9-8) W2

California (5-9, 9-11) W1

Seton Hill (3-11, 6-13) L3

Clarion (0-14, 3-17) L9

[IUPalum]

Re: PSAC WEST

Wow ... UPJ hung 17 on West Chester ... 102-85.

Mountain Cats are sizling.

Wow!!!

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: PSAC WEST

Wow ... UPJ hung 17 on West Chester ... 102-85.

Mountain Cats are sizling.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: PSAC WEST

Here's the picks. Call your bookies.


West Chester at Pitt-Johnstown -- On the surface, this seems like an easy one. But, UPJ is a hot team. Winners of three straight, the Mountain Cats, despite playing near Iron Man basketball, can be tough to shake in Johnstown. After starting 13-0, West Chester has gone 3-2 in its past 5 outings -- including a loss to Bloomsburg, which is the PSAC East version of UPJ. Bloomsburg was also blown out in Johnstown earlier this season. In games against teams on West Chester's talent and skill level, UPJ is an oh-so-close 1-5 -- with narrow losses to East Stroudsburg (by a deceiving 11), Virginia State (4), IUP (5), Gannon (4) and Edinboro (4). UPJ did pull a home upset of Slippery Rock. West Chester is big, fast, deep and ultra-athletic. Even with the long bus ride, that's a bad combination for a team playing 6 guys. UPJ plays very clean and makes every possession count. They make few mistakes and will stay in this game. For 40 minutes, however, they won't have enough. West Chester -9

Seton Hill at IUP -- The Crimson Hawks lead the all-time series, 12-1. Despite the lopsided number, there have been some really tight games -- including last year's narrow 8-point IUP win at the KCAC. The Griffins' Trevor Blondin is a legit All-PSAC level guard and center Spencer Casson wrecks havoc under the basket as one of the nation's leading shot blockers. He also exploded on offense against IUP last season. Seton Hill, despite the 6-12 record, has stayed competitive in most games this year. Its last three outings saw an overtime win against California and two narrow losses to Bloomsburg (8 points) and UPJ (3 points). They also took West Chester to the final minutes earlier in the year. IUP, winners of 9 of its past 10, got caught looking at Clarion's record this past Saturday and despite winning by 25 points put on perhaps its most uninspiring performance of the season. The KCAC comes back to life tonight. The students, dance teams and cheerleaders are all back. Hopefully the team comes back to life, too. IUP -13.5

California at Clarion -- After a hot start, Cal is reeling. The Vulcans have lost 3 straight and 9 of its past 12 outings dating back to December 3. Fortunately, tonight's trip to Clarion may be the perfect remedy. The Golden Eagles have lost 8 straight -- blown out in 7 of them. Even Cal's anemic defense should be able to keep Clarion in the 60s. Offensively, Cal should be in for a big night. The Golden Eagles have pulled some upsets in Waldo S. Tippin Gymnasium. Tonight won't be one of them. Cal wins big and temporarily stops the bleeding. Vulcans -17

Edinboro at Mercyhurst -- It's strange to think of Mercyhurst as a .500 program but that's exactly what they are this season at 8-8. And, last year, too, at 14-14. Average record aside, the Lake Show is still a tough out. And, they're showing some life as of late. Mercyhurst hammered California, 67-47, in its last outing. Cal can score the basket. Holding them to 47 is awfully impressive. The two games prior to Cal, the Lakers lost by 11 at Gannon and by 3 at UPJ. Edinboro, which has lost 4 of its past 6, is a tough out. The well-publicized guard trio can do some serious damage -- and quickly. They have a tough assignment tonight. Mercyhurst is famous for its defense and tempo. The Lakers will cause some issues tonight. The Triangle and Two they love to run was really designed to play teams just like the Fighting Scots. If Edinboro can score 70 tonight it will win the game. Gary Manchal will have a great scouting report and will suffocate the perimeter knowing Edinboro can't do much inside. Boro in a tight one, -3.

GAME OF THE NIGHT (WEEK)

Gannon at Slippery Rock -- This one will be worth the price of admission. Both teams dislike one another. The fan bases dislike one another. It should be a big crowd inside Morrow Field House. Gannon comes to town on a 9-game winning streak. The Rock has won 12 of 14 -- the only two losses coming by a combined 7 points. Slippery Rock also finally picked up a quality win in its last outing, downing Edinboro. Prior to that, The Rock had lost its biggest games to IUP, UPJ, Kutztown and Shippensburg. One theme to the four teams who have defeated SRU is they all shoot the trey very well -- and very often. Gannon does not. In fact, it doesn't shoot it much at all. The Knights have hit just 71 of 228 attempts - an average of 3.9 made three's per outing. Slippery Rock is a gigantic, physical team. Trying to match-up and play a ground-and-pound with them is going to be very difficult. It's going to be imperative for the Gannon post players to stay out of foul trouble -- something Evan Phoenix has struggled with in big games over his career. Micah Till is a house inside and will also stretch the floor. He's going to get his points and rebounds. Gannon has to prevent somebody else from having a big game. Both teams rebound like machines (plus double digit margin). Both shoot lousy free throws (GU 68%, SRU 62%). Gannon needs to start fast. The Rock is a very good team when things are going its way. Not so much when things get messy. This game will come down to free throws. And, with the physical nature of both teams, there will be a lot of them. The referees are in for quite a night -- dealing with Kevin Reynolds and John Reilly. As the stats show, neither makes many foul shots. Gannon's big advantage will be the mental aspect. The Knights will be more disciplined and won't breakdown as easily when things go bad. But, the Rock doesn't lose in Morrow often. Gannon has lost its past two trips there. Tonight makes it three. SRU -1

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: PSAC WEST

West Standings (Women's) - 1/23/2018

IUP (11-1, 16-1) W1

Edinboro (11-2, 15-2) W2

California (11-2, 16-3) L1

Seton Hill (10-3, 15-4) W6

Slippery Rock (8-5, 10-8) L1

Gannon (7-5, 10-8) W3

Mercyhurst (5-7, 7-11) W1

UPJ (5-8, 8-10) L2

Clarion (2-11, 7-12) L7

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: PSAC WEST

West Standings (Men's) - 1/23/2018

IUP (10-2, 14-5) W3

Gannon (9-3, 13-5) W9

Slippery Rock (9-4, 15-4) W1

Edinboro (8-5, 11-6) L1

UPJ (7-6, 9-8) W3

Mercyhurst (5-7, 8-8) W1

California (4-9, 8-11) L3

Seton Hill (3-10, 6-12)

Clarion (0-13, 3-16) L8