Empire 8

[gobombers15]

Fellas, I don't want you to think I harbor some irrational hatred for Hartwick College. Sure, I think RTH is the biggest space cadet since JoshReed, but I understand every school has a few bad apples and I don't hold it against the school or team.

Here's why I say Hartwick will be a two-win team, at best, in the conference:

0-8 before they even play their first conference game

I think we all agree that Hartwick will get swept by Fisher, Utica, Alfred, and RIT. They don't have the talent to hang with these teams. Sure, they may play one of them the close for a half at home(and we'll hear about it all season from RTH), but they don't have enough to beat those four teams.

Young teams struggle on the road

They won't beat Ithaca in The Bulb, I don't care what anyone says. Ithaca dominates them on the South Hill. Naz is also too good to let Hartwick come into their gym and take them, despite Naz coach Mike Daley's best efforts(I think he's a pretty bad coach). We're at 0-10 now.

Four winnable games

That leaves us with these four games: vs Ithaca, vs Naz, @Elmira, vs Elmira. As much as we talk about them passing Elmira, when's the last time they actually beat Elmira? Definitely not in the last two years. Elmira probably thinks the games against Hartwick are some of their better chances to win games.

For the sake of argument, let's give Hartwick a split of those two games(something that isn't guaranteed). They're now 1-11.

That leaves us with two games; vs Ithaca, vs Naz. Both teams are pretty poor road teams but I honestly just don't see Ithaca losing to Hartwick. Call it bias, I don't care. Naz is young, but plays hard and they'll need that game at Hartwick to stay in contention for the E8 tournament.
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That, my friends, is why I don't look for much from Hartwick this season. It's not because I think Oneonta is a disgusting city(which I do). It's not because I hate Hartwick college, because I don't. It's gonna be a tough road for Hartwick. If they can keep this core together they may be pushing for a E8 tourney berth when they're all seniors, just like Alfred will be doing this year. Alfred got pummeled when guys like Hallett, LeMasters, Stein, et al., were all underclassmen. But they kept their team together and will be a strong, experienced squad this year. Hartwick may do the same thing, but it won't be this year.

[gobombers15]

And the REF's in Rochester suck. You have to be 15 pts better than any of theose 3 Rochester schools to win a game. That is a fact.

Later

I think D3 refs everywhere are not good, not just in Rochester. Utica is 5-16 vs the three Rochester teams since '02-'03, that's more than reffing.

Good luck to Fisher this weekend at the R-MC tournament. Gotta support the conference.

[ricco1]

Fisher 26 Lake Erie 18. McGee high with (

[clearconceit]

Good luck too all conference teams over the holidays!!!!!!


Bomber I do hear ya buddy but you are sticking neck out there about Hartwick.  Don't let RTH get to you - he is defintely over the top about this team.  I will say one big difference between Alfred and Hartwick is the coaching.  If Hartwick keeps its nucleus together I don't think it takes them until seniors to win.  That is where coaching comes in and I think they are very well coached. 

It will be a fun year.  Of course I think Utica beats them by 20!!!!!

[GPT]

Just for the record all the refs that do DIII games. Also do DI and DII Games.

[Pat Coleman]

Obviously D-III Hoops user interface must be difficult.  They have the score reversed.  St. Lawrence 70, Ithaca 61.

Nope, not difficult at all. Just requires reading. I think sometimes schools assume they will be on the bottom or on the top box when it's always away team on top, home on the bottom. But it couldn't be easier -- two teams, two boxes for a score to be punched in.

[the bird man]

Fisher by 2, 57-55 over Lake Erie. Fisher was up by as much as 13 in the 2nd half but let Lake Erie back into it. Still nice to see a win against a quality team.

As far as the refs in the Rochester area being better or worse than refs from other areas I will say this, I agree with what I believe the original post was trying to say, the refs are not better or worse than other areas just much different.
I am not sure about them being so one sided that you have to be 15 points better to beat a rochester area team. I think Fisher and RIT being 2 of the stronger teams in the conference for the past several years has something to do with all the poor records from other teams playing in Rochester.

I know teams, all teams, struggle to win at fisher (have not lost a home game in 3 years), but I think many factors contribute to that, like having the best talent, having a strong fan base, and every other advantage that comes with playing at home.

One more thing, I hope one Fisher fans posts do not ruin it for all of us and create a situation where everyone hates Fisher, which tends to be the case. A few bad eggs just kill it for the Fisher fans I know, which are pretty dedicated, reasonable, and all around good fans.  I know I have wanted to get on here and tell some of em to stop.

GO FISHER...win a big one tomorrow against a good Randy Macoun team

[bamm]

Let's put an end to this crap about the refs being different in Rochester or somehow being biased towards Rochester schools.  We all know that referees can be influenced by the crowd, and sometimes home teams benefit from that influence.  Second, the reason the Rochester schools (Fisher, Naz, RIT) have been very good at home over the last 6 or 7 years is because they've had the best teams.  Take a look at the recent history of the All-Conference teams, it's pretty simple.  The only team outside of Rochester that has been as consistent is Ithaca.  Stop the conspiracy crap, it's boring.

[fisheralum91]

Good win for the alma mater.
Bring another one home!
Gobombers- thanks for your unwitting defense of fisher against Hawkbacker.

[gobombers15]

Fisher at R-MC tonight at 6pm.

However, for those who feel like listening to the game, it will be simulcasted on tape delay at 8pm. Here's the link for those who feel like listening:

www.wysl1040.com

I listened a bit yesterday and the Fisher broadcaster(he does games alone) is pretty good. He was a lot better than I expected for a D3 broadcaster. Not the obnoxious homer that many in that profession tend to be at this level(see: Naz broadcasters). You can definitely hear in his voice when Fisher is doing well but he gives the opponents their due praise when it's warranted. Also, he's not afraid to make criticisms of Fisher when he has to.

If Fisher wins it'd be a huge win for the conference and could potentially help another E8 team to slip into the tourney, provided said team has a good enough record to get consideration.

[fisheralum91]

Go Fisher,
But if they do lose-does that drop them out of the top 25?

[Hawk Backer]

Just wanted to come on and eat the proverbial crow.  I pumped up Lake Erie to win, and although they did not play bad, they did not play well enough to be a nationally-ranked squad.

Good luck this season.  With the addition of Bennett for the second half and the way Beigel stepped up yesterday, your team will be much better by the end of the season.

[bamm]

Fisheralum -

I think that depends on the manner of the loss.  If they get blown out, then yes, I think they'll fall out.  If it's a tight loss then I suspect they will fall a few spots to 24 or 25.  The pollsters here are generally reasonable, and a loss on the road to the #11 team isn't a reputation-crusher. 

[gobombers15]

Fisheralum--unless they lose by less than 5, I think they drop out. At this stage of the season pollsters tend to take a quick glance at records and then fill out their forms. Fisher will be 5-2 if they lose with a 1-2 record against teams with winning records. After what happened against Potsdam last year, I think people are going to be skeptical of Fisher.

That said, the top 25 doesn't matter right now. Ithaca was ranked #7 at one point this year in football...needless to say, they didn't finish close to that. If Fisher reels off a nice winning streak they'll be right back in it. Fisher should just worry about beating teams in the conference and they'll be fine.

[fisheralum91]

Polls are overrated.  However the limelight that they show for conferences is good.  Fisher dropped places last week even without a loss!