PSAC WEST

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: PSAC WEST

Four games on tap tonight ... and, a couple of them should be entertaining.


Lock Haven at Shippensburg -- The Bald Eagles pulled one of the surprise upsets of the season back in mid-January by shocking Shippensburg. The Red Raiders didn't take too kind to it, though, and returned the favor by dropping a 30-point spanking on Lock Haven in the rematch. LHU has had a decent season -- especially when you consider Amir Hinton left town. Interesting note about this one: In the Lock Haven win, they held Ship to just 58 points. In the rematch, the Red Raiders scored 100 points. LHU's only hope is to slow this game down to a 5 mph pace. The odds aren't good of that happening. Take the Red Raiders in a run-away. Ship -21

Seton Hill at Mercyhurst -- It wasn't long ago that Seton Hill was a semi-hot team. That said, they've now lost 4 of their past 6 outings. The ugliest of the recent bunch? Yep, ... at Mercyhurst. The Lakers pummeled the Griffins two weeks ago to the tune of 82-58. The first meeting was closer (21 points) but not by much. Can Round 3 somehow be different? Not likely. Seton Hill just doesn't have the depth to handle Mercyhurst for 40 minutes. Or, even 30 minutes. One thing to keep in mind is Mercyhurst looked real bad last week in a loss at UPJ. Seton Hill and UPJ are very similar teams. The Griffins' star duo of Trevor Blondin and Nathan Davis will need career nights. Don't count on a third blowout but don't count on a Seton Hill win, either. Mercyhurst -11

Kutztown at Millersville -- If you have to pick a dead draw, this is it. Consider: Millersville won at Kutztown, 94-92. The rematch in Millersville? Marauders won 106-98 in 2OT. Games that close likely means Millersville had a little luck to get two wins. Can it continue? The Marauders are tough at home. Kutztown is due. Flip a coin on this one. Millersville -3

Gannon at UPJ -- The Mountain Cats lost a Hammermill Special in early January, 64-61, but then returned the favor in Johnstown, 76-65. This game is as simple as which team can control the tempo -- and would be a Vegas oddsmakers' nightmare. Gannon is very unpredictable. The Knights look good for one game and bad the next. They play great for 10 minutes and then awful the next. For GU to win the game it must set the pace from the opening tip-off. They can't run-n-gun with UPJ. They'll lose by 20 in that style game. They need to muck it up, get physical and score at least 68 points. The latter in that equation is far from guaranteed. The winner is heading to Indiana in 48 hours. Gannon may not need to unpack. That's right, boys and girls. Despite the 11-1 home record, the Golden Knights pull out a big (mild upset) road win tonight. Gannon -5 in a Hammermill Special.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: PSAC WEST

Is Till shut down for the season?

[PSACwatcher]

[IUPTrackMan]

Re: PSAC WEST

Rock lost Till at IUP. Won 4 straight then dropped 2 in a row. Against Gannon they shot around 37% from the floor and only attempted 6 foul shots all game.

SRU has proven they can win games without Till, but they also can lose too. Wednesday night will be interesting for them.

IUP continues to get the job done. Wednesday night will probably be a nail biter as the stakes get higher.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: PSAC WEST

Wish Gannon played every game against Slippery Rock.

SRU just nose-dived out of Top 10 regional spots.

Concord or Charleston will pass them.

[Golden89]

Re: PSAC WEST

Wish Gannon played every game against Slippery Rock.

[IUPalum]

Re: PSAC WEST

The Rock is now in serious trouble!

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: PSAC WEST

That's a lot of money at the KCAC! May need to take a loan.

[Golden89]

[Golden89]

Re: PSAC WEST

Gannon up 31-23 at half. Knights have allowed 59 points in their last 60 minutes.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: PSAC WEST

There shouldn't be a lot of drama tomorrow on the regular season's final day. However, that's not to say there won't be.

East Stroundsburg at Millersville -- Real simple for ESU: win this game and they are the East champions. Millersville is locked in as the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament. It's also highly likely these two will tangle again next week. The Warriors took it to them pretty good last time around. It's hard to see this one being any different. The Marauders will keep it close for awhile but ESU pulls away in the second half. Warriors get a new plaque for the trophy case. ESU -12

Lock Haven at Kutztown -- This game actually does have an impact on the tournament. The winner gets the No. 5 seed. The loser gets the No. 6 seed. There's a massive difference in opponent waiting come Monday night. The Golden Bears won by just 5 points in Lock Haven. Expect another tight one tomorrow. Kutztown, despite its up-and-down, good one night, bad the next, persona, is just the better team here. But, not by much. Golden Bears -7

Shippensburg at Bloomsburg -- On the surface this game is a massacre. But, consider: Ship has struggled with bottom-feeding teams season. Add to it, the Red Raiders are coming off a highly-emotional win over West Chester. And, yeah, that's about the only things to dig up to make this game sound even remotely interesting. Fact is, this will be a massacre. Shippensburg won the first meeting by 33 points. It should be about the same tomorrow. What has to be one of the most painful seasons in Bloomsburg history finally ends tomorrow -- the hard way. Ship -31

California at Clarion -- The Vulcans came up a game short. It's actually a shame because they've been playing fairly well. But, even with a win, their season ends tomorrow in the Clarion Rec-Center/Cafeteria/Raquetball Court. While Cal will look ahead to a promising 2019-20 season, you have to wonder if this is the swan song for the Clarion coaching staff. Clarion enters this game coming off a complete dud against Gannon, while Cal enters fresh off an impressive win at Seton Hill. In these types of meaningless games, you have to consider which team will be more motivated. That team will be the rebuilding Vulcans. Cal wins this one and wins it big. Vulcans -16

Edinboro at Mercyhurst -- The Lakers became the latest victim in Johnstown. That's bad news for Edinboro. Expect a focused Mercyhurst team to completely dominate all phases of this game. Lakers win this one by the second media timeout. Mercyhurst -35

Gannon at Slippery Rock -- Word around town is Micah Till will again not play tomorrow. That is actually probably a good thing for SRU against Gannon. The Rock got physically beat up in its loss in the Hammermill. Well, perhaps completely winded and exhausted is the better terminology. Gannon's game plan in Round 1 was simple: tire them out and agitate them. It worked perfectly. SRU is a very average team in transition and cannot handle the press well. The Rock also loves to shoot from outside after working the shot clock down to its end. This time around won't be as easy for Gannon. Sans Till, this will be a much faster lineup. Also, it will be a team coming off a bye with a week to prepare for this game. You also have the Morrow Field House factor -- and, yes, it's real. Don't expect calls in there as a visitor. They aren't coming. Finally, consider SRU is fighting for its NCAA life. Gannon can't have one of its trademark 46-point offensive explosions tomorrow. They will need to score -- likely in the upper 60s -- to win this game. Very tough game to pick but take John Reilly and his Golden Knights to leave Morrow with a win. It may be ugly (perhaps by design) -- and will definitely be close -- but GU escapes with the win and packs for Johnstown. Gannon -5

Seton Hill at IUP -- The first meeting in Greensburg was actually a thrilling game for about 36 minutes. Seton Hill had a tremendous game plan and executed it well. Their plan was to completely shut off IUP's three-point shooting and it worked great (IUP shot just 2-16 from outside). The problem with that theory against IUP is the Crimson Hawks can crush you inside, and, that's exactly what happened. Seton Hill's two star guards, Nathan Davis and Trevor Blondin, also had career nights against IUP. Fast forward to tomorrow and things will be much different. The wild shots that fell all night for the Griffins in Greensburg likely won't be going through the KCAC nets. The loud and boisterous crowd, this time, will be against the Griffins. The KCAC is a daunting place to visit on a Saturday night. The suspect calls will be going the other way this time. Expect this to be a game for a little bit. Expect the crowd to be all over Blondin. And, expect IUP to put a thumping on the Griffins in the second half. Crimson Hawks win comfortably. IUP -14

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: PSAC WEST

UPDATED STANDINGS


EAST

East Stroudsburg (16-3, 19-6) - Warriors are hot ... can clinch East outright title with win at Millersville to close regular season.
West Chester (16-4, 20-7) - Rams have dropped two straight entering conference tournament.
Shippensburg (15-4, 21-6) - Red Raiders got a big win -- and needed it.
Millersville (11-8, 16-11) - ESU visits Saturday. Big game for the Marauders (and they probably play again Wednesday).
Kutztown (8-11, 14-13) - Same old song.
Lock Haven (8-11, 12-13) - Whomever they play in Round 1 -- it won't be easy.
Bloomsburg (3-16, 7-18) - Ship visits for the season finale.
Mansfield (1-19, 4-24) - It's finally, painfully, over.


WEST

IUP (18-2, 25-2) - Equipment manager seen hitch-hiking along 79 South this morning. Hawks are hot again.
Slippery Rock (16-4, 19-8) - Gannon beat up SRU in the first meeting. SRU gets another shot at them -- this time in Morrow.
Mercyhurst (14-6, 19-6) - The Lake Show froze over in Johnstown. Edinboro visits the MAC Saturday.
UPJ (11-10, 16-12) - Gannon visits Monday night.
Gannon (8-12, 10-17) - Next two are on the road: Morrow and UPJ. Win at UPJ and the reward? A trip to the KCAC next Wednesday.
Seton Hill (7-13, 9-17) - Griffins have a fun next couple days -- at IUP and at Mercyhurst.
Edinboro (6-14, 9-16) - Pat Cleary may never forget seeing Cobo Diaz dominate a game in an Edinboro uniform
Cal (6-14, 8-18) - Vulcans should end season with a win at Clarion
Clarion (3-17, 5-20) - Golden Eagles scored 36 points last night. Total.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: PSAC WEST

Thanks. So that pretty much means Monday night Seton Hill is headed to Mercyhurst and Gannon will play at UPJ.

Winner of Mercy/SH will play at SRU next Wednesday night and IUP will host the GU/UPJ winner.

[PSACwatcher]

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: PSAC WEST

Here's one for you tie-breaker types:

Odds are Cal beats Clarion this weekend and IUP beats Seton Hill.

That puts them (Cal and SH) at a tie in conference wins for the last spot in the little dance. They split this season.

What breaks the tie?