PSAC WEST

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Updated Men's Standings

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TEAM	PSAC	OVERALL	STREAK
Gannon * (1)	18-1	25-2	W12
California * (2)	16-3	19-7	W1
IUP * (3)	15-4	20-5	L1
Slippery Rock *	9-10	16-11	W1
Seton Hill *	9-10	15-12	W2
Edinboro *	9-10	13-13	L1
Clarion	7-12	12-15	L2
Pitt-Johnstown	5-14	11-16	L7

[IUPbigINDIANS]

The bottom three seeds remain up in the air heading into the final Saturday of the regular season.

Back by unpopular demand, here are the lines for tomorrow. Good luck, you gambling degenerates.


Clarion at Pitt-Johnstown - Fitting, I suppose, the two teams not invited to the Little Dance will end their seasons playing one another. Rather than betting the point spread, the more interesting bet might be the attendance Over-Under -- which I'd set at 59.5 humans. As for the game, well, Clarion quit weeks ago. Pitt-Johnstown has kept losing but has at least kept playing. Mountain Cats -5.5

Edinboro at Seton Hill - These two just may enjoy playing one another so much they'll do it again Monday night. That's happened over the years and almost inevitably the team that wins the regular season finale turns around and loses the rematch 48 hours later. As for tomorrow, this should be the 'good' version of Edinboro (if you follow the Scots' every-other pattern this season). But, the Griffins are tough. They took their lumps when they got crushed with injuries. The Yellow Shoebox is also a difficult venue -- loud, cramped, claustrophobic, etc. Tough call. Seton Hill -2.5

Slippery Rock at California - Round 1 was pretty tight. But, Round 2 isn't in Morrow Field House. The 'home version' of SRU is drastically different than the 'road version'. Cal is an awfully tough matchup -- especially in the vast emptiness of Angelo's Dome. Look for the Rock to hang around a bit. The Vulcans may have a bit of a hangover after blowing IUP out. Cal -9.5

Gannon at IUP - They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Well, IUP better have a new trick tomorrow or this could get even uglier than the first meeting. The Knights are crushing everybody. IUP looked awful 48 hours ago. That sure doesn't seem like a good combination for Joe and his Redshirts. You have to gamble realistically -- not emotionally. Until proved otherwise, this line will continue to be ugly. The Knights have hung back-to-back 30 Burgers on Joe. Based on factual results, there's no real reason to suspect tomorrow won't be another. If fact, some think this won't be a 'burger' but it will be a 'Whopper'. Joe needs his dogs to play more like dawgs tomorrow. Gannon -27.5


The Main Event tomorrow in the West, of course, isn't listed above. The Gannon at IUP women's game is gigantic. Not only is the West title on the line, but this will likely play a huge part in which team hosts the Regional. It's not the be all, end all, of course, as they will 'likely' play again next weekend. IUP won Round 1 in Erie. Logic would say the Crimson Hawks are extremely focused on this game - because they sure as hell were already focusing on it Wednesday night. Both teams are very, very good. IUP poses Gannon some matchup issues -- just enough to make them a small favorite. IUP -2.5

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Gambling-wise, the opening night of the PSAC Tournament is never easy. You'd think it would be, but some strange things tend to happen the third time teams play. In fact, this night is infamous for some wild upsets. It's been fairly common over the years to see a team swept in the regular season, and then beat that same team in Round 1. Hey, just like all those coaches preach.

As always, good luck you degenerates.


Edinboro at IUP - Historically, Joe and his Redshirts would enter the tournament on a heater. Polar opposite this year. IUP's had its doors blown off its past two games. The positive spin is the final 30 minutes of the Gannon game was about even. The Crimson Hawks swept the season series -- winning by 20 in the KCAC and by 10 in McComb. The Scots had an odd end to their season -- pulling a huge upset of California but losing to Clarion, Slippery Rock and Seton Hill. Both teams enter tonight on two-game skids. Diving deeper, the 20-point final margin in the first game was a bit deceiving. It was a game with 7 minutes left. The Scots simply ran out of gas in the KCAC. No surprises in Round 3. IUP had a brutal week -- and could have some tired legs tonight. But, Joe is clearly the home favorite. The winner goes to West Chester. IUP -5.5

Slippery Rock at Seton Hill - Very similar to the Edinboro at IUP series, this one was also a regular season sweep. The Griffins won big in Greensburg, and then more recently survived Morrow Field House. That should come as no surprise. Both are significantly better at home. The Yellow Shoebox will be jumping tonight. Seton Hill draws well during the week. It will be loud, cramped, claustrophobic, etc. However, SRU has some momentum. The Rock (somehow) just blew the doors off California down in Angelo's oversized Dome. Seton Hill is on major UPSET ALERT tonight. Prediction-wise, this is the toughest game on the board. Griffins -1.5

Lock Haven at Shepherd - We clearly have a trend going here. The Bald Eagles were swept by the Rams this year. The first one was a blowout. The second meeting, however, was just a 5-point win for Shepherd. Lock Haven enters tonight about as cold as a team can be -- losing 4 of its past 5 games. The lone win was an ugly, 1-point win over dreadful Bloomsburg. The Rams are the polar opposite. Shepherd is one of the hottest teams in the league -- winning 10 of its past 11 games. Logic would surely point toward the home team. But, that's why they play the games. The Bald Eagles have pulled some stunners in the past. Can they do it again? Rams -10.5

Shippensburg at East Stroudsburg - The only 'rubber' match of the evening ... both teams won at home. The winner gets an all-expenses paid trip to Erie to face a Top 5 team in the country. Not much of a reward. As for tonight, the Raiders haven't been much of a road team. It's not easy to play in the Poconos, especially with a juiced up student section. Warriors -7.5

[IUPbigINDIANS]

The theme tonight real simple. If you want to play in the big dance, you best win tonight. Oddly, there is only one rematch tonight (IUP at West Chester).

That said, this post is for the degenerate gamblers. Picking correctly with the spreads is all that matters.



Shepherd at California - The Rams travel to Angelo's Dome fresh off a so-so performance against a then-struggling Lock Haven team. The Vulcans just got blown out at home by Slippery Rock. So, they at least have in common they were both likely looking ahead to tonight. Picking outright, this is one of the toughest games on the board. California can play really, really well at times. However, the Vulcans have had their share of duds this season. Most of Shepherd's losses this year came against teams with strong post players. Cal certainly checks that box. The Rams have an edge at Guard, but not by a whole lot. Cal has too much underneath, and the physical play and size of the Vulcans' guards will do just enough to slow down Shepherd's elite scoring duo. The oversized, empty dome is also tricky for visiting shooters -- especially the first time. Danny -4.5

Seton Hill at Millersville - It's been said for weeks Seton Hill could be a very dangerous team in the tournament. The Griffins are finally healthy and have won their past (4) games. There's a catch, though. When you take them out of Greensburg, they are a completely different team (and not for the better). Seton Hill went 10-4 in the Yellow Shoebox this season, but a very pedestrian 6-8 on the road. That said, the Griffins are going to cause the home team some issues tonight. Can they pull a fairly large road upset? Perhaps, but not likely. Millersville has been here before. These are the brightest lights the Griffins have played under. Pressure changes everything. Marauders -7.5

IUP at West Chester - IUP may have won Monday night, but make no mistake it wasn't a work of art. The Crimson Hawks lucked out and ran into a team that played even worse. Team Redshirt has really struggled shooting from outside the past 4-5 games. But, tonight will be all about the officiating. If the game is called tight, IUP has a good shot to win. If it's a free for all, Joe's likely in trouble. IUP doesn't have the physical players to win a playground game against West Chester. The Rams also had a raucous crowd this past weekend, and will have another one tonight. When that building is rocking it's very hard to win there. This isn't Joe's first rodeo, and he's won an awful lot of big road games in his career. But, does this particular IUP team have it in them? Maybe. Maybe not. WCU -5.5

East Stroudsburg at Gannon - The ray of hope for the Warriors is Gannon is due for an off night. The Knights have won 13 straight - almost all of them in blowout fashion. Another plus for the visitors is, unlike most teams, they shouldn't tire out so fast against Gannon's endless pressure. But, that's were the positives likely end. Gannon is 14-0 in Erie this season. By 10 p.m. tonight, you can make that 15-0. Knights -12.5


For you extreme degenerates:

Women's

Bloomsburg at Gannon (-17.5)

Seton Hill (-10.5) at Kutztown

Millersville at IUP (-14.5)

Edinboro (-5.5) at Lock Haven

Pending an upset tonight, this sure looks like an All-West Weekend upcoming.

[IUPalum]

The theme tonight real simple. If you want to play in the big dance, you best win tonight. Oddly, there is only one rematch tonight (IUP at West Chester).

That said, this post is for the degenerate gamblers. Picking correctly with the spreads is all that matters.



Shepherd at California - The Rams travel to Angelo's Dome fresh off a so-so performance against a then-struggling Lock Haven team. The Vulcans just got blown out at home by Slippery Rock. So, they at least have in common they were both likely looking ahead to tonight. Picking outright, this is one of the toughest games on the board. California can play really, really well at times. However, the Vulcans have had their share of duds this season. Most of Shepherd's losses this year came against teams with strong post players. Cal certainly checks that box. The Rams have an edge at Guard, but not by a whole lot. Cal has too much underneath, and the physical play and size of the Vulcans' guards will do just enough to slow down Shepherd's elite scoring duo. The oversized, empty dome is also tricky for visiting shooters -- especially the first time. Danny -4.5

Seton Hill at Millersville - It's been said for weeks Seton Hill could be a very dangerous team in the tournament. The Griffins are finally healthy and have won their past (4) games. There's a catch, though. When you take them out of Greensburg, they are a completely different team (and not for the better). Seton Hill went 10-4 in the Yellow Shoebox this season, but a very pedestrian 6-8 on the road. That said, the Griffins are going to cause the home team some issues tonight. Can they pull a fairly large road upset? Perhaps, but not likely. Millersville has been here before. These are the brightest lights the Griffins have played under. Pressure changes everything. Marauders -7.5

IUP at West Chester - IUP may have won Monday night, but make no mistake it wasn't a work of art. The Crimson Hawks lucked out and ran into a team that played even worse. Team Redshirt has really struggled shooting from outside the past 4-5 games. But, tonight will be all about the officiating. If the game is called tight, IUP has a good shot to win. If it's a free for all, Joe's likely in trouble. IUP doesn't have the physical players to win a playground game against West Chester. The Rams also had a raucous crowd this past weekend, and will have another one tonight. When that building is rocking it's very hard to win there. This isn't Joe's first rodeo, and he's won an awful lot of big road games in his career. But, does this particular IUP team have it in them? Maybe. Maybe not. WCU -5.5

East Stroudsburg at Gannon - The ray of hope for the Warriors is Gannon is due for an off night. The Knights have won 13 straight - almost all of them in blowout fashion. Another plus for the visitors is, unlike most teams, they shouldn't tire out so fast against Gannon's endless pressure. But, that's were the positives likely end. Gannon is 14-0 in Erie this season. By 10 p.m. tonight, you can make that 15-0. Knights -12.5


For you extreme degenerates:

Women's

Bloomsburg at Gannon (-17.5)

Seton Hill (-10.5) at Kutztown

Millersville at IUP (-14.5)

Edinboro (-5.5) at Lock Haven

Pending an upset tonight, this sure looks like an All-West Weekend upcoming.

If it turns into an all West final then Gannon is hosting the men and women's???

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Here's how the Massey computer is predicting tonight:


West Chester - 79
IUP - 78

Cal - 74
Shepherd - 67

Gannon - 95
ESU - 81

Millersville - 78
Seton Hill - 73

[Fightingscot82]

Tonight may be one of those nights my wife says, "Why are you watching IUP and West Chester play basketball?"

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Tonight may be one of those nights my wife says, "Why are you watching IUP and West Chester play basketball?"

I'll tell you a funny story.

When I was in my 20s a close friend and I got really into sports gambling -- easily in the $5k/week category at our highest.

I was hot and heavy one night, yelling at the TV around midnight. My wife came out and I was watching a PAC 10 women's basketball game (with about $1,000 on it).

She basically asked why in the freak I cared who was winning some random women's game between Arizona and Stanford. Of course I had to just say I got caught up in the moment. I can get fired up watching a chess match so it wasn't overly far-fetched.

But, it was the last cash bet I ever placed. That was about 30 years ago already.

By the way, I won that night - in more ways than one. Few things are more exciting than sports gambling. But, it almost never ends well.

[IUPalum]

Tonight may be one of those nights my wife says, "Why are you watching IUP and West Chester play basketball?"

It should be the best game of the night. Then again, all 4 could be really good.

[Ship69]

It should be the best game of the night. Then again, all 4 could be really good.

I thought the West Chester-IUP game would be the hardest to predict of the night, and the Massey rating that bigIndians quoted seems to agree. The only result that would surprise me to night would be an East Stroud win over Gannon, which I don't see happening as this is not one of Jeff Wilson's vintage teams.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

The women's final four is all West.

[TheMadLibs]

8 more points to hit 1,000 for Pace as a sophomore. And Lucas Morgan quietly hit 1,000 tonight too.

Jeff's gonna have a long ride home 🤞🏻

I keep wondering if this is gonna be an all West PSAC tourney in Erie this weekend. Can IUP pull it off??

I thought Seton Hill would snatch defeat from the arms of victory with their free throw shooting.

[bballfan03]

And the West backed up their bark for wanting the new format.. the West showed they are overall superior to the East.

And then im assuming Lock Haven comes back to the West next year... scary!

[IUPbigINDIANS]

And the West backed up their bark for wanting the new format.. the West showed they are overall superior to the East.

And then im assuming Lock Haven comes back to the West next year... scary!

8 for 8

Wow

[IUPalum]

Gannon is going to be a busy place the next two weekends.