2023 Men's Basketball Atlantic Regional Tournament THREAD

[IUPalum]

Correct. Danny lost at home to Mercyhurst. That was kind of the Lakers' coming out party. They've been here since.

The other was the IUP women losing to Mt. Olive.

That was probably the best women's team in school history.

Jahzinga Tracy's squad

[IUPbigINDIANS]

That year in Wheeling was the year I bought the full-weekend pass and went to all the games. It was a blast.

Might have been the last time Kutztown was in the tourney as well. They were tough that year if I recall.

I think they got in one more year. IUP beat them at Fairmont in Round 1 (the year FSU made the title game). That was around 2016-ish if I recall correctly.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Jahzinga Tracy's squad

Wherever the heck IUP CRIMSON HAWKS is today ... you can bet he's still yapping about the Mt. Olive loss.

I remember he wanted to have a ceremony on the 10-year anniversary. LOL.

[IUPNation]

Let’s not forget they should’ve beat NWMSU in the elite 8. If it weren’t for a couple ****ty calls down the stretch, they win and god knows what happens.

Northwest Misery getting all the calls? Color me shocked.

[IUPalum]

Wherever the heck IUP CRIMSON HAWKS is today ... you can bet he's still yapping about the Mt. Olive loss.

I remember he wanted to have a ceremony on the 10-year anniversary. LOL.

True statement! I still wonder what happened to that guy!

[IUPbigINDIANS]

True statement! I still wonder what happened to that guy!

Remember his famous two-week tirade after Tom and the ladies blew that fourth quarter lead in the Final Four? He really wanted Tom fired over it.

They were something like 31-3 and he wanted him gone.

[IUPalum]

Remember his famous two-week tirade after Tom and the ladies blew that fourth quarter lead in the Final Four? He really wanted Tom fired over it.

They were something like 31-3 and he wanted him gone.

Yes, he was whacky!

[Chuck Norris]

The tournament gets underway today out west. Point Loma, winners of 23 straight is the host and favorite.

For what it’s worth, D2 sports reporter extraordinaire Wayne Cavadi has Nova SE meeting Point Loma and IUP facing NWMS in the final four. NWMS over Nova in the final.

[IUPalum]

The tournament gets to underway today out west. Point Loma, winners of 23 straight is the host and favorite.

For what it’s worth, D2 sports reporter extraordinaire Wayne Cavadi has Nova SE meeting Point Loma and IUP facing NWMS in the final four. NWMS over Nova in the final.

I don't think Nova makes it that far.

[Scrub]

I don't think Nova makes it that far.

I agree. Nova will have an off-shooting performance somewhere along the way and/or run into a bad match-up (such as the Augusta match-up last year). I've just seen it too many times before with WLU (both with Crutch and after)--the system is a well-oiled machine until it's not, until it meets a match-up problem that it can't overcome. I have a bad feeling Mercyhurst will be that match-up problem for WLU this year. I don't know who that problem will be for Nova, but until I see Crutch or WLU win one, I have my doubts that the system is built to go the distance.

And I don't say that as a way of suggesting the system should be abandoned. There's no shame in winning the MEC yearly, having the longest active streak of consecutive NCAA tourney appearances, competing to host the Region, etc. There's something to be said for building a consistently strong program, and that system seems to be a way to do so in what is otherwise a "basketball desert" of northern WV. I'm really proud of what WLU has built and maintained.

I just don't know if it's possible for this system to overcome really tough Elite 8 & Final 4 match-ups against big, strong, complete teams.

[I admit I do like Cavadi's picks for the Atlantic (they're 100% the same as mine!)]

[Chuck Norris]

I don't think Nova makes it that far.

I don’t know much about that region this year, but recall last year they were very fortunate to survive it. Everybody knows the book on Crutch’s teams and they won’t be flying up and down the court scoring 100+ now that it’s tournament time. We’ll see if this group can grind it out when the pace slows down.

[Columbuseer]

I agree. Nova will have an off-shooting performance somewhere along the way and/or run into a bad match-up (such as the Augusta match-up last year). I've just seen it too many times before with WLU (both with Crutch and after)--the system is a well-oiled machine until it's not, until it meets a match-up problem that it can't overcome. I have a bad feeling Mercyhurst will be that match-up problem for WLU this year. I don't know who that problem will be for Nova, but until I see Crutch or WLU win one, I have my doubts that the system is built to go the distance.

And I don't say that as a way of suggesting the system should be abandoned. There's no shame in winning the MEC yearly, having the longest active streak of consecutive NCAA tourney appearances, competing to host the Region, etc. There's something to be said for building a consistently strong program, and that system seems to be a way to do so in what is otherwise a "basketball desert" of northern WV. I'm really proud of what WLU has built and maintained.

I just don't know if it's possible for this system to overcome really tough Elite 8 & Final 4 match-ups against big, strong, complete teams.

[I admit I do like Cavadi's picks for the Atlantic (they're 100% the same as mine!)]

Matchups are so important. One coach who beat many Mec teams this season but got smacked by Wlu said as much. He said that they beat many teams because they had a guard oriented offense. But they had no success due to wlu's great defensive guards.

nova' chances have declined due to injuries to Rogers and Moore, which is about 25 pts a game lost.
but they are much better shooters than last year, with 7 players over 40%.
what helps Nova is that they don't take bad or difficult shots, unlike teams with talented d1 types that take shots because they are "feeling it".

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Matchups are so important. One coach who beat many Mec teams this season but got smacked by Wlu said as much. He said that they beat many teams because they had a guard oriented offense. But they had no success due to wlu's great defensive guards.

nova' chances have declined due to injuries to Rogers and Moore, which is about 25 pts a game lost.
but they are much better shooters than last year, with 7 players over 40%.
what helps Nova is that they don't take bad or difficult shots, unlike teams with talented d1 types that take shots because they are "feeling it".

Todd May went 15-15 this year and 10-12 in the MEC. West Liberty beats them up because they have much better players (and many more of them).

Concord is a solid but very average team.

[Columbuseer]

Todd May went 15-15 this year and 10-12 in the MEC. West Liberty beats them up because they have much better players (and many more of them).

Concord is a solid but very average team.

Imho concord is not guard oriented. When I think of guard-centric teams, I think of Glenville and NDC as examples. Glenville beat Fairmont twice.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I agree. Nova will have an off-shooting performance somewhere along the way and/or run into a bad match-up (such as the Augusta match-up last year). I've just seen it too many times before with WLU (both with Crutch and after)--the system is a well-oiled machine until it's not, until it meets a match-up problem that it can't overcome. I have a bad feeling Mercyhurst will be that match-up problem for WLU this year. I don't know who that problem will be for Nova, but until I see Crutch or WLU win one, I have my doubts that the system is built to go the distance.

And I don't say that as a way of suggesting the system should be abandoned. There's no shame in winning the MEC yearly, having the longest active streak of consecutive NCAA tourney appearances, competing to host the Region, etc. There's something to be said for building a consistently strong program, and that system seems to be a way to do so in what is otherwise a "basketball desert" of northern WV. I'm really proud of what WLU has built and maintained.

I just don't know if it's possible for this system to overcome really tough Elite 8 & Final 4 match-ups against big, strong, complete teams.

[I admit I do like Cavadi's picks for the Atlantic (they're 100% the same as mine!)]

You just wait until East Stroudsburg sends Gary back to Erie tomorrow and he spins tires out of the Hilton parking lot again -- busting up your whole bracket. LOL. Don't say you weren't warned.