Atlantic Region 2023 (Men's)

[IUPHawks24]

I think the fact that Gannon played a tough game with them earlier in the year probably means something. I don't think Lincoln is sneaking up on them. The caveat to your examples you mentioned...

1. IUP entered the tournament (despite being the top seed in the region) not playing good basketball. Gannon seems to be playing some of their best ball right now, and that's what you want this time of year.
2. Mercyhurst played a significantly different style than anything that Wheeling had seen all year. And that was a great Mercyhurst team too. They gave NWMS their only difficult game of the entire season.

I think Gannon wins. And I think they may do it with a comfortable number against the spread.

I agree with you. I think Gannon pounds them. That was also early in the year when Gannon was still figuring out the system.

That wasn’t the same Mercyhurst team. I don’t remember the exact years, but the team that played NWMS wasn’t an 8 seed. They were seeded much higher than that.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I agree with you. I think Gannon pounds them. That was also early in the year when Gannon was still figuring out the system.

That wasn’t the same Mercyhurst team. I don’t remember the exact years, but the team that played NWMS wasn’t an 8 seed. They were seeded much higher than that.

The Mercyhurst team that played NWMS was the Lakers' team that split with IUP 2-2 in four games that year. It was Dante and Cobo's senior year (2018?).

The Mercyhurst team that was an 8 seed and beat top-seeded Wheeling was pretty far back (relatively speaking).


Believe me I think Gannon is going to clobber Lincoln (20+). I'm just curious what they look like with so much time to prep.

I do have to imagine Gannon is already looking ahead a bit to West Liberty.

I know. I know. One game at a time.

[Ship69]

The Mercyhurst team that played NWMS was the Lakers' team that split with IUP 2-2 in four games that year. It was Dante and Cobo's senior year (2018?).

The Mercyhurst team that was an 8 seed and beat top-seeded Wheeling was pretty far back (relatively speaking).


Believe me I think Gannon is going to clobber Lincoln (20+). I'm just curious what they look like with so much time to prep.

I do have to imagine Gannon is already looking ahead a bit to West Liberty.

I know. I know. One game at a time.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if Gannon routed them, but I wouldn't underestimate Lincoln's athleticism in an open-court game, either.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

It wouldn't surprise me at all if Gannon routed them, but I wouldn't underestimate Lincoln's athleticism in an open-court game, either.

Lincoln has big, athletic guards. Size matters against this scheme. It's much harder to trap bigger, fast players.

Lincoln had (6) players in double figures in its 97-93 loss to Gannon earlier this year, and also clobbered the Knights on the glass.

It was a foul festival, as is usually the case with a very athletic team playing a heavy pressing team.

That's the positive spin for the visitors.

Reality is Gannon is much better today than they were back then. The first game was also played over Thanksgiving in an empty gym. That will not be the case Saturday. Although, the CIAA gyms get insane, so Lincoln should be used to playing in a tough environment.

The CIAA gets dogged on here a good bit due to its performances in the NCAAs the past decade or so. But, their teams rarely get blown out. The last couple years they've been pretty close to knocking some teams off. I think their records can be deceiving because that league just beats the hell out of each other all year. It's very difficult to win on the road in that league. Places like Gaines Hall down at Winston-Salem are just incredibly loud, tough places to play.

[Ship69]

Lincoln has big, athletic guards. Size matters against this scheme. It's much harder to trap bigger, fast players.

Lincoln had (6) players in double figures in its 97-93 loss to Gannon earlier this year, and also clobbered the Knights on the glass.

It was a foul festival, as is usually the case with a very athletic team playing a heavy pressing team.

That's the positive spin for the visitors.

Reality is Gannon is much better today than they were back then. The first game was also played over Thanksgiving in an empty gym. That will not be the case Saturday. Although, the CIAA gyms get insane, so Lincoln should be used to playing in a tough environment.

The CIAA gets dogged on here a good bit due to its performances in the NCAAs the past decade or so. But, their teams rarely get blown out. The last couple years they've been pretty close to knocking some teams off. I think their records can be deceiving because that league just beats the hell out of each other all year. It's very difficult to win on the road in that league. Places like Gaines Hall down at Winston-Salem are just incredibly loud, tough places to play.

Gannon has been lights-out much of the year, but they've had some close calls as well. The key to slowing these teams down, as one of the West Liberty fans pointed out elsewhere, is getting someone on their three-point shooters. There's nothing more demoralizing to a team than watching your opponent come ouf of the gate, hit, four or five three-pointers early, and have you down 15 points within three minutes. That's exactly what happened in the Gannon-Millersville game, and the Marauders never were in the game after that. The flip side of it is that a run-and-gun team can play itself into a hole pretty quickly if the shots aren't falling. That didn't happen to Gannon often this year, but teams such as Seton Hill gave them some unexpected trouble, and they'll be facing teams a good deal more talented than Seton Hill in the playoffs. But, as I've often seen you see, that's why they play the games.

One thing for sure is that Fee got that system established in the league this year. We thought Gannon might be trouble, but I don't think most expected them to take the league in Fee's first year. The PSAC obviously is going to have to adjust. Familiarity with the system will help. You're also going to have to have some quick guards capable of slowing down the three-point shooters. We might see some more hybrid defenses such as the Seton Hill zone that was somewhat successful in slowing Gannon down. It will be interesting to see what develops and if more teams attempt to play like Gannon.

[Scrub]

One thing for sure is that Fee got that system established in the league this year. We thought Gannon might be trouble, but I don't think most expected them to take the league in Fee's first year. The PSAC obviously is going to have to adjust. Familiarity with the system will help. You're also going to have to have some quick guards capable of slowing down the three-point shooters. We might see some more hybrid defenses such as the Seton Hill zone that was somewhat successful in slowing Gannon down. It will be interesting to see what develops and if more teams attempt to play like Gannon.

In the MEC, at least, no one really tried to play like WLU. They're still the only ones in the league doing the system. But what teams did have to do is change their recruiting strategies if they wanted a shot at competing for the league. The plodding big guys weren't going to work anymore, so hybrid bigs (like Eddie Colbert, Tyler Eberhart, Anthony Pittman, Marcus Johnson, etc.) became the norm in the league. And, in general, teams had to recruit to either be able to play a little quicker (Glenville got quicker, WVSU got quicker, D&E got quicker) or play a little smarter (I have no doubt that Dwaine Osborne at Charleston is looking for a particular kind of guy who can remain disciplined--is it any wonder he raids the Fork Union Military Academy every year? Those are extra-year-of-maturity kids and military-school-disciplined kids who can remain disciplined in the face of pressure).

So I wouldn't necessarily expect teams in the PSAC to be rushing to adopt the system. But they better recruit in ways to be responsive to its success.

[IUP24]

The Mercyhurst team that played NWMS was the Lakers' team that split with IUP 2-2 in four games that year. It was Dante and Cobo's senior year (2018?).

The Mercyhurst team that was an 8 seed and beat top-seeded Wheeling was pretty far back (relatively speaking).


Believe me I think Gannon is going to clobber Lincoln (20+). I'm just curious what they look like with so much time to prep.

I do have to imagine Gannon is already looking ahead a bit to West Liberty.

I know. I know. One game at a time.

I think Millersville could beat West Liberty, to be honest. I get they looked bad in their last outing. But I have watched a few Millersville games this year. I like the way they play. I'm not stamping a guarantee on it, but I think it's a real possibility.

[JDonAB92]

(I have no doubt that Dwaine Osborne at Charleston is looking for a particular kind of guy who can remain disciplined--is it any wonder he raids the Fork Union Military Academy every year? Those are extra-year-of-maturity kids and military-school-disciplined kids who can remain disciplined in the face of pressure).

Dwaine is an underrated coach. He is a good floor coach during games. He makes good adjustments. I have watched him win a lot of close games against good teams while at Charleston.

The Fork Union kids are coached by a former small college coach in Bob Williams who spent time as head coach at Glenville State who then moved to WV Tech for the longest of time and had real good success down there. Fork Union puts kids in good structured environments that prepare them better for college. I am surprised more MEC schools in WV don't go to places like Fork Union, Massanuttan or Hargrave to get more recruits.

[Ship69]

I think Millersville could beat West Liberty, to be honest. I get they looked bad in their last outing. But I have watched a few Millersville games this year. I like the way they play. I'm not stamping a guarantee on it, but I think it's a real possibility.

Probably just about the only thing predictable about D2 basketball is that it is unpredictable.

[Scrub]

Anyone know why the Atlantic is playing Friday night?

Is it a religious issue (i.e., Gannon not allowed to play on Sunday)? I know that's been the case occasionally in other regions--if Point Loma makes it, they play that region Friday-Saturday because their college charter says they can't do activities on Sundays. That kind of thing.

Or is it an issue of access to the HFEC in Erie?

[Scrub]

Also, is it me or is the pay-per-viewing new? I seem to recall watching the whole dang tourney for free last year. Why are they trying to nickel and dime us when there's very little audience for D2 basketball in the first place (at least relative to D1)?

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Anyone know why the Atlantic is playing Friday night?

Is it a religious issue (i.e., Gannon not allowed to play on Sunday)? I know that's been the case occasionally in other regions--if Point Loma makes it, they play that region Friday-Saturday because their college charter says they can't do activities on Sundays. That kind of thing.

Or is it an issue of access to the HFEC in Erie?

Don't the women always play on Friday (Round 1) ?

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Also, is it me or is the pay-per-viewing new? I seem to recall watching the whole dang tourney for free last year. Why are they trying to nickel and dime us when there's very little audience for D2 basketball in the first place (at least relative to D1)?

That's hilarious. I'm sure it will do really well at the pay-per-view office lol.

[Scrub]

Don't the women always play on Friday (Round 1) ?

Not sure about the women (unfortunately WLU hasn't given us much opportunity to care about the women's tourney recently).

But the men traditionally play Saturday-Sunday-Tuesday (with exceptions made for religious schools, venue issues, etc.). Just not sure which exception hit our region this round.

Unless you're right that the women typically play Friday and because Gannon is doing a men's/women's quadruple-header that dragged the men to Friday? Could be. Not sure. As I said, I haven't had much call to pay attention to the women's tournament since the like of Kailee Howe & Kiki Simpson were in the black and gold.

[Chuck Norris]

Anyone know why the Atlantic is playing Friday night?

Is it a religious issue (i.e., Gannon not allowed to play on Sunday)? I know that's been the case occasionally in other regions--if Point Loma makes it, they play that region Friday-Saturday because their college charter says they can't do activities on Sundays. That kind of thing.

Or is it an issue of access to the HFEC in Erie?

The west region has played Friday-Saturday-Monday for as long as I can remember. It could well be a religious issue, I’m not sure.

With a men’s and women’s regional both happening in Erie, it’s just logistics I think. If you just play the two women’s games today it would make no sense to play them in the afternoon, but then tomorrow you’d have two men’s games that would take the evening slots and asking the women to play Friday night and then Saturday afternoon probably isn’t even allowed. This way you get a full day on Friday and presumably an evening doubleheader tomorrow.