Empire 8

superman57 · February 27, 2006, 12:06:25 PM

I would love to see that, just for the fact of what it could do for the E8

fisheralum91 · February 27, 2006, 12:15:44 PM

Great for the E8,
and I hope that it comes true.
Anyway- E8 shouldn't dissapoint-

BTW Utica guys-
The O-D made it a non story that you are in!?
Hopefully it was just overlooked.

gobombers15 · February 27, 2006, 12:28:44 PM

Ah, yes. The Gordon Fighting Scots. A girl I've known since I was very young goes to Gordon. The school is a small, Catholic school in suburban Boston. Unfortunately, I can't get a scouting report because this girl is spending the semester abroad in Thailand. It sucks because she's a big hoops fan and would have probably told me at least a little something about them.

However, it looks like they play a VERY easy schedule. From the looks of it, the only team they played from a decent conference was Emory and Emory beat them. WPI could be a difficult 2nd round matchup for Utica. They went 21-3 this season and played in a good conference. Utica's coach would be smart to get McVean on the phone as RIT played WPI early this season, losing to them 61-56 on a neutral floor.

I agree with the consensus that it looks like Fisher has a nice road to the Sweet 16. That'd be pathetic if they put it up in Amherst again.

superman57 · February 27, 2006, 12:35:16 PM

Well 1 P-State or Hamilton need to pull off the upset, and then we are looking logically either Amherst or Fisher, and unlogically WPI or Cortland

gobombers15 · February 27, 2006, 12:57:05 PM

ECAC's are out. Here are the 1st round matchups:

Wednesday

#8 RIT @ #1 Oswego
#7 Ithaca @ #2 Union
#6 Brockport @ #3 SUNYIT
#5 Keuka @ #4 Potsdam

Semi-finals will be held Friday night

bamm · February 27, 2006, 01:01:35 PM

Very pleased to see the Tigers made it. Can they beat Oswego twice?

gobombers15 · February 27, 2006, 01:02:00 PM

Four SUNYAC teams ranked above the two E8 teams. Ouch.

dewcrew88 · February 27, 2006, 01:23:05 PM

Quote from: gobombers15 on February 27, 2006, 12:28:44 PM
Ah, yes. The Gordon Fighting Scots. A girl I've known since I was very young goes to Gordon. The school is a small, Catholic school in suburban Boston. Unfortunately, I can't get a scouting report because this girl is spending the semester abroad in Thailand. It sucks because she's a big hoops fan and would have probably told me at least a little something about them.

However, it looks like they play a VERY easy schedule. From the looks of it, the only team they played from a decent conference was Emory and Emory beat them. WPI could be a difficult 2nd round matchup for Utica. They went 21-3 this season and played in a good conference. Utica's coach would be smart to get McVean on the phone as RIT played WPI early this season, losing to them 61-56 on a neutral floor.

I agree with the consensus that it looks like Fisher has a nice road to the Sweet 16. That'd be pathetic if they put it up in Amherst again.

What kind of chance do you think Utica has to get past Gordon on Friday, gb15?

superman57 · February 27, 2006, 01:38:10 PM

From what I've heard, if you hit your shots, and shot better then you did on saturday then you can win

gobombers15 · February 27, 2006, 01:39:08 PM

I very much expect Utica to win that game. They will have quite an edge in athleticism and Utica has played a far tougher schedule (it's rare that an E8 team would be able to say that). I think if the Pioneers don't let Gordon out to a lead early--Gordon will probably start strong--Utica's size, skill and athleticism should be too much for Gordon.

If I had to guess, I'd say Utica wins by 7-10 points. A nice road win for an NCAA tourney game.

Knightstalker · February 27, 2006, 02:31:04 PM

ECAC Selections

tigerfan2 · February 27, 2006, 03:30:36 PM

I'm guessing RIT snuck in because UR declined. Can anyone confirm this? Seems like UR would have been in no problem if they had wanted to be.

Maybe they think ECAC's is below them, who knows.

lileyes · February 27, 2006, 03:44:38 PM

Fisheralum...
The news that Utica made NCAA's didn't come out till after 10 p.m. so that is probobly why the OD doesn't have anything on it. Hopefully tomorrow!

gobombers15 · February 27, 2006, 04:08:24 PM

Quote from: tigerfan2 on February 27, 2006, 03:30:36 PM
I'm guessing RIT snuck in because UR declined. Can anyone confirm this? Seems like UR would have been in no problem if they had wanted to be.

Maybe they think ECAC's is below them, who knows.

Agreed. Same way Ithaca used to feel about receiving ECAC bids in football. Luckily, that has changed recently in the years the Bombers missed the playoffs.

fisheralum03 · February 27, 2006, 05:23:19 PM

I would like to congratulate Utica on making the NCAA tournament as well as conference champ ST JOHN FISHER. I hope both schools represent the E8 very well. Utica has a tough game on Friday. From what I've heard and read on the web (D3HOOPS.COM) Gordon has been playing pretty well. (Obviously, you need to play well to win the conference championship). There are a couple things UTICA needs to be careful of on Friday. The first is the trip to Worcester, MA. I know it is shorter to Worcester from UTICA than Pittsford, NY but with it being the first time in the NCAA tournament, the trip might be a little different than if they had been here before. The second is the atmosphere, they need to be aware that this is not just another game like most would like them to believe. I know they have probably played tournament style basketball for 2 months (since the start of E8 season) but you need to be patient and not rush things on Friday. The third is to relax and play your game. You don't want to have a game that you can lose in the first half.

With that being said, good luck to UTICA on Friday night against Gordon and make the E8 proud.