Pleasant surprise to see Potsdam 3-1 in SUNYAC. Too bad about the 1-6 non-conference record though.

Shoot! wish I lived a little closer to Buffalo! (or anywhere else that carried it)

SUNYAC is 5 wins and 8 losses against the E-8 this year.  But more to the point, Brockport lost both of their games to E8 teams by double digits. Downed by Nazareth in the Wendy's tournament (by 12) and lost to St. John Fisher earlier in the season (by 17). I think it would be hard to make a case for them being ranked in the region but who knows?  Maybe it's just me, but it feels like the 'YAC as a whole is on a bit of a downward slope relative to the E8 the last few years. 

What is going on with Potsdam?! 1 win, 9 losses!

Have to agree with Bear Nation. I'm not exactly disagreeing with Freddy State's prediction; I have no clue where teams will wind up at the end of the season. But Potsdam men's basketball finishing last, in my mind, would be a sign of the impending Apocalypse. I might have to start wearing a sandwich board saying THE END IS NIGH!

Out of curiosity, has Potsdam EVER finished the season with the worst record in the SUNYAC? I have a feeling it might be a first, or at least the first time in the ~30 years since I was a student. If they should happen to finish in the cellar this season this Potsdam alum will be very, very sad.

Hope to catch the Bears when they visit the Rochester area in January (weather permitting). Good luck to all the teams.

And by "They're in the ECAC" I meant those four other Liberty League schools - not RIT which is in Atlantic Hockey. Sorry! Wonder if RIT hockey will wind up in the ECAC when it joins the LL? That's not a topic for this board though.

Sounds right Pep, re RIT's reasons for the move... the hockey angle makes sense. LL has a number of decent D1 hockey schools like Clarkson, RPI, Union, and St. Lawrence. Although I don't think there is such a thing as 'Liberty League hockey.' They're in the ECAC, not the Liberty League, right? RIT sports program is similar to those four other colleges - D1 hockey and D3 pretty much everything else.

Agreed. Maybe that's part of why we love D3? Last bastion of the true athlete scholar?

It's been 21 years since ANY team from what is now the E8, LL or SUNYAC (I guess you could say the upstate NY conferences) has made a Final Four appearance... and that was Hartwick before there was an E8 Conference. It's been 23 years since Potsdam won it all. Let's go! I'm not getting any younger.

Regardless, I'm hoping Ithaca can make a solid run in the tournament. The East region in my opinion is extremely weak this year, even weaker than it normally is; but hope springs eternal. Good luck to the Bombers.

QuoteThey gave up 156 in one game.  Which was pretty bad, but since they scored 253, well...it worked out OK for them.

Well said! Almost fell out of my chair laughing when I read that.

Quote from: bombersquadron on February 03, 2009, 09:20:06 PM
St. John Fisher, either have the play by play people give them time more often or point the camera at the scoreboard during time-outs. About six minutes left, a Fisher player (Jordan Gettings) just hit a shot to put them up 1-point.

Burton just hit a deep three, now Ithaca is up four. I think the Fisher female annoucer has a crush on Burton.

2:30 left, IC up three.

Indeed, I kept wondering how much time was left too. The announcers went LONG periods of time letting us wonder about the clock.

P.S. That Fisher gym!
Now I get it. It really IS a bandbox. The crowd seemed pretty quiet tonight, but I can see where it could be a nightmare to be a visiting team there. They're practically sitting on the court. It's claustrophobic!

I agree ("the E8 is the best conference in NY this year"). Can't speak for the Liberty League relative to E8; but SUNYAC teams have been taking a beating by both E8 and LL teams this year and it seems to be getting worse as the season progresses.

Currently SUNY is 4 wins 10 losses vs E8, also 4 wins 10 losses vs. Liberty. This '82 Potsdam alum is sad. Very, very sad.

According to the tournament guide the seedings are determined by a vote of the head coaches just prior to the tournament. Don't know how the "vote" is turned into a seeding though. St. John Fisher vs. Nazereth in the final. Based on what I saw last night I think St. John Fisher should be favored. They played very well against a decent U of R team. Geneseo showed just how far the SUNYAC Conference has fallen over the years. The McAdam brothers appear to be the real deal, but once you get past them and Major.... (those three accounted for 75 of the 80 points Nazereth scored, the rest of the team barely touched the ball and were 1-10 from the field with 5 points).

I remember the amazing Leroy Witherspoon's shot in 1981. The difference was that Witherspoon was FACING the basket from half court so we all knew he would make it! Now if he'd made that shot while facing the other way it would have been impressive.

Just saw the clip. WOW!  Great stuff. Thanks for the link.