PSAC WEST

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Yeah. I figured Clarion wouldn't be an easy game for Ship, but I'm more nervous after seeing the Millersville score.

The battle for second is going to be wild in the West.

In a division full of average teams (Gannon being the exception), Clarion will be right in the mix for the silver. They have some really good players.

Cal is obviously the wild card. 'If' they get their post players back, they are an entirely different animal. However, the losses are racking up fast down there. The Vulcans have went from 6-0 to 6-7.

Leaving Cal out of the conversation due to the unknowns, the 'rest' of the West -- Clarion, IUP, UPJ, SRU, SH and Edinboro -- will likely beat the hell out of each other in January and February. As of now, they are all capable of beating each other.

Updated Men's West Standings

-

TEAM	PSAC	OVERALL	STREAK
Gannon	5-0	9-2	W9
Clarion	3-2	8-3	W1
Pitt-Johnstown	3-2	7-5	L2
IUP	3-2	6-5	W1
Slippery Rock	3-2	6-6	W4
Seton Hill	2-2	9-3	L1
California	1-4	6-7	L7
Edinboro	1-4	4-7	L5

[Ship69]

Men's


Bloomsburg won at Cal tonight.

Clarion got a big win over Millersville.

Yeah. I figured Clarion wouldn't be an easy game for Ship, but I'm more nervous after seeing the Millersville score.

[bballfan03]

If anyone wants a good chuckle, go to Boro/LH game. Forward to about 25 seconds. Let it play and after Boro makes a basket, LH inbounds and chaos pursues. But focus on the Boro player with the ball and locked with a LH player. Lol best acting ever!

[bballfan03]

Cal lost to Bloomsburg? Yikes!

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Men's


Bloomsburg won at Cal tonight.

Clarion got a big win over Millersville.

[WarriorVoice]

Yeah, I see that it's tough times out there, the conference looks unrecognizable at the moment. I'm use to at least seeing 3 or 4 PSAC teams being in the NCAA tournament, so this might be the year that the CIAA can sneak in more than 1 team?

Let's not get crazy...

[TopperNation]

The whole majority of the PSAC is in that category. Gannon and West Chester are the only two making a push. I know ESU is 8-2 but they've beat nobody just like last years 5 loss team that was left at home. It's getting ugly out there in PSAC land!

Yeah, I see that it's tough times out there, the conference looks unrecognizable at the moment. I'm use to at least seeing 3 or 4 PSAC teams being in the NCAA tournament, so this might be the year that the CIAA can sneak in more than 1 team?

[IUPalum]

Cal is in big trouble, as you would think that a few more loses would put them out of the NCAA picture and into the "need to win the conference tourney" group.

The whole majority of the PSAC is in that category. Gannon and West Chester are the only two making a push. I know ESU is 8-2 but they've beat nobody just like last years 5 loss team that was left at home. It's getting ugly out there in PSAC land!

[TopperNation]

Wilmington beat Cal yesterday. The Vulcans were still sans their Big 3 plus top reserve.

That's (6) straight losses. Are any of these guys coming back?

Cal is in big trouble, as you would think that a few more loses would put them out of the NCAA picture and into the "need to win the conference tourney" group.

[Ship69]

Wilmington beat Cal yesterday. The Vulcans were still sans their Big 3 plus top reserve.

That's (6) straight losses. Are any of these guys coming back?

Wow That's a team that Ship beat by about 15 points. Cal's season has gone from penthouse to outhouse in short order.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Wilmington beat Cal yesterday. The Vulcans were still sans their Big 3 plus top reserve.

That's (6) straight losses. Are any of these guys coming back?

[WarriorVoice]

For you PSAC West fans ... the men's season doesn't look too promising. Unless California gets healthy, it sure appears Gannon will run away with it. The remaining teams are a hodge podge of fairly average squads. It may make for an interesting silver medal chase, but that's about it. When healthy, Cal is as good as any team in the Region. Sans three stars and a top reserve, however, and the Vulcans are in a 5-game free fall.


The women's side, however, is going to be a highly entertaining race.

The West currently has (3) teams ranked in the WBCA Top 25 -- Seton Hill (7), Gannon (11) and IUP (16).

Edinboro (8-1) and Clarion (8-2) aren't far behind.

Not sure what is happening down at Cal, but the Vulcans are off to a very uncharacteristic 5-5 start. My guess would be Jess Strom turns it around.

Women's Standings as of 12/11:

-

TEAM	PSAC	OVERALL	STREAK
Seton Hill	4-0	10-0	W10
IUP	4-0	7-0	W7
Gannon	4-0	12-1	W3
Edinboro	4-0	8-1	W5
Clarion	3-1	8-2	W1
California	2-2	5-5	W1
Slippery Rock	2-2	4-5	L1
Pitt-Johnstown	0-4	1-9	L6

I've seen Cal and Edinboro in person. Edinboro was very good at ESU. Can't wait to see who comes out on top in the Women's West!

[IUPbigINDIANS]

For you PSAC West fans ... the men's season doesn't look too promising. Unless California gets healthy, it sure appears Gannon will run away with it. The remaining teams are a hodge podge of fairly average squads. It may make for an interesting silver medal chase, but that's about it. When healthy, Cal is as good as any team in the Region. Sans three stars and a top reserve, however, and the Vulcans are in a 5-game free fall.


The women's side, however, is going to be a highly entertaining race.

The West currently has (3) teams ranked in the WBCA Top 25 -- Seton Hill (7), Gannon (11) and IUP (16).

Edinboro (8-1) and Clarion (8-2) aren't far behind.

Not sure what is happening down at Cal, but the Vulcans are off to a very uncharacteristic 5-5 start. My guess would be Jess Strom turns it around.

Women's Standings as of 12/11:

-

TEAM	PSAC	OVERALL	STREAK
Seton Hill	4-0	10-0	W10
IUP	4-0	7-0	W7
Gannon	4-0	12-1	W3
Edinboro	4-0	8-1	W5
Clarion	3-1	8-2	W1
California	2-2	5-5	W1
Slippery Rock	2-2	4-5	L1
Pitt-Johnstown	0-4	1-9	L6

[Ship69]

The PSAC is really bad this year.

IUP-down for the 2nd straight year
UPJ- down for the 2nd straight year as well
Mercyhurst- gone to Division I
Cal- 4 of their top 6 injured?
Slippery Rock- “talent” but no results, same story different year
Shippensburg- shell of their teams from 2017-2023


ESU appears to be pretty good, same with Millersville. Gannon has a strong team. The freshman PG is excellent. But many of the traditional powers are nowhere near where they used to be, or are gone all together.

More broadly, it’s disappointing that there’s like 8 or 9 competitive teams in a 40 team region… are certain teams that limited resource wise? Some of these scores are absurdly lopsided. I know it was really early, but Gannon got smacked twice to start the season, and is now blowing the doors off PSAC teams. It seems like the level of play in the region is down significantly from 4-5 years ago.

I think the league is down, but I don't think it will stay there. As you say, a lot of injuries and there are a lot of young teams in the league. In addition to Cal, I believe at least IUP and Slippery Rock have been missing key players as well.

Speaking for Ship, I'm much more optimistic than I was last year when Fite got caught with an unbalanced roster and the team was overwhelmed on multiple occasions. The record hasn't been good, but every game except Salem (when there was an absurd disparity in foul calls) and Gannon has been competitive. What's been frustrating is they've lost 3-4 very winnable games that they actually controlled for long stretches. The recent absence of point guard Michael Dickson due to injury hasn't helped down the stretch. Three of Ship's top four players now are probably two freshmen and a sophomore, There isn't a senior on the team. If Fite can snag one or two good players next season, I think they have the potential to be a pretty good team. And I look for them to improve this season as time goes on.

[IUPHawks24]

It sure appears right now to be setting up Gannon vs WL in the final again.

A lot can happen, of course. Injuries are coming.

But, as we've hit the 1/3 point, it sure seems they are the top two.


West Chester is playing well. They've blended all their new faces over the past month. The Rams have won 7 straight. ESU is strong.


We'll see. Right now I don't think Gannon and WL will have many tough nights. Put it that way.

If healthy, Cal may have been the best team. Down four guys, though ... with three of them being stars/starters ... that's rough.

No word if any are coming back.

The PSAC is really bad this year.

IUP-down for the 2nd straight year
UPJ- down for the 2nd straight year as well
Mercyhurst- gone to Division I
Cal- 4 of their top 6 injured?
Slippery Rock- “talent” but no results, same story different year
Shippensburg- shell of their teams from 2017-2023


ESU appears to be pretty good, same with Millersville. Gannon has a strong team. The freshman PG is excellent. But many of the traditional powers are nowhere near where they used to be, or are gone all together.

More broadly, it’s disappointing that there’s like 8 or 9 competitive teams in a 40 team region… are certain teams that limited resource wise? Some of these scores are absurdly lopsided. I know it was really early, but Gannon got smacked twice to start the season, and is now blowing the doors off PSAC teams. It seems like the level of play in the region is down significantly from 4-5 years ago.