Empire 8

FisherDynasty · January 09, 2009, 09:18:47 AM

I agree with Nosyer on all of his points.

gobombers15 · January 09, 2009, 11:30:34 AM

Re: What Stevens is lacking?

I think this is a no-brainer, they desperately miss Waleed Farid. He was their do-everything guy. He was a primary ballhandler and always seemed a lock to be at least a 10-5-5 guy each game, in addition to playing good defense. He gave them a second scorer who could get his own shot, something that Passalacqua can't seem to do. The defense can now focus on Gray, play no-help defense on Passalacqua and really limit the Stevens attack. Also, Farid was a guy you felt comfortable with when he had the ball in his hands during the deciding minutes. Williams was a nice player, but I don't think Stevens ever used him properly. We're seeing how much they miss Farid. They still have a nice homecourt advantage, so they're far from out of the race. But they need to start playing better.

gobombers15 · January 09, 2009, 12:15:55 PM

One man's guess at this weekend's results:

FRIDAY

Alfred (63) at Hartwick (73)
Fisher (61) at Utica (66)
Nazareth (82) at Ithaca (101)

I'm intrigued by the Hartwick-Alfred game. Both teams are improved. I'll give the edge to the homestanding Hawks. I think tonight's game is a must-win for Utica. They can't afford to go 0-3 and take a home loss to a team with whom they'll be competing for an E8 Tourney berth. I think Utica survives, for now, against a youthful Fisher club. This is a tough matchup for Naz. They want to run, but I'm not sure they want to get into a high-tempo game against Ithaca. The Bombers have too much firepower for the Golden Flyers.

SATURDAY

Alfred (65) at Utica (69)

Tough place to play for the Saxons. I think Utica takes a close one.

SUNDAY

Fisher (77) at Elmira (65)
Ithaca (83) at RIT (81)

Fisher should win fairly easily. That brings us to the game of the weekend: Ithaca at RIT. Ithaca seems to win at Clark and RIT seems to play Ithaca better at The Bulb. I think Ithaca will step up their game in front of a full house in a game for early conference supremacy. I'm guessing Burton gets to the line late in the game and IC makes just enough defensive stops. It should be a great game.

Nosyor · January 09, 2009, 04:45:26 PM

Friday

Alfred (68) at Hartwick (71)
Fisher (66) at Utica (69)
Nazareth (75) at Ithaca (87)

I think the first two games are a toss up. I don't want to sound cliche but I think it really comes down to which teams play harder. Nazareth has yet to beat anyone and Ithaca has yet to lose to anyone, no reason to think that will change tonight.

Alfred (60) at Utica (69)

Utica always plays tough at home and even though they are 3-5, none of their losses are to very bad teams. Alfred: I have yet to see enough out Alfred to give them a win on the road.

Fisher (71) at Elmira (54)
Ithaca (81) at RIT (71)

Fisher wins handily. While I am an RIT fan and a Mark Carson for MVP supporter. I do not think they have enough fire power for this one. Ithaca has a lot of scorers and I'm not sure RIT can keep up that pace. They will need to have a very good shooting night especially from 3. But who knows, maybe the young guys will be jacked up for the big crowd and they'll play better then anyone knew they could.

gobombers15 · January 09, 2009, 09:05:13 PM

Bombers up 62-40 at half. Can they hang 120 on Naz?

magicman · January 09, 2009, 09:29:17 PM

Quote from: gobombers15 on January 09, 2009, 09:05:13 PM
Bombers up 62-40 at half. Can they hang 120 on Naz?

They now lead 96-67 and there's still 9:03 left. At this rate 130 isn't out of the question.

gobombers15 · January 09, 2009, 09:45:37 PM

Quote from: magicman on January 09, 2009, 09:29:17 PM
Quote from: gobombers15 on January 09, 2009, 09:05:13 PM
Bombers up 62-40 at half. Can they hang 120 on Naz?

They now lead 96-67 and there's still 9:03 left. At this rate 130 isn't out of the question.

122-90, Bombers. They pulled up and yanked the starters with about 7 mins left, if I remember correctly.

gobombers15 · January 09, 2009, 09:51:50 PM

Freshman Jordan Marcus with 25 off the bench, including 5-10 from distance. Burton with 17 pts, 14 assts and 4 rebs. Bostic with 13 pts and 15 rebs in 28 mins of play. Leahy (17), Ruffrage (11), and Cruz (10) also in double figures.

Corey MacAdam was the only one who got off the bus for the Golden Flyers, going for 23 pts, 8 rebs and 5 assts. Man, Naz is bad. They aren't going to the E8 Tourney if they don't learn to play some semblance of defense.

magicman · January 09, 2009, 10:24:28 PM

ST. John Fisher wins on the road 48-46 over Utica.

Bombers798891 · January 09, 2009, 10:35:51 PM

Quote from: magicman on January 09, 2009, 10:24:28 PM
ST. John Fisher wins on the road 48-46 over Utica.

How does SJF keep putting up these absurdly low scores? I don't think IC's going to have much trouble with them...

Naz is terrible on defense. They don't even try. IC would have scored 135 if they'd left starters in.

Burton was unbelievable tonight, as was Marcus. Ithaca just keeps rolling along...

magicman · January 09, 2009, 10:48:13 PM

Fisher down by 14 early in the 1st half at 18-4 but comes all the way back to tie it at 24 to end the period. 2nd half was back and forth battle that saw 6 lead changes and 2 ties. Cardinals gained the upper hand on a 3 ball by Brandon Witte to go up 45-43 with 1:40 left. Pioneers misfire on next 2 possessions and forced to foul. Matt Newman makes both FT's and Fisher extends lead to 47-43. Utica's Doug Herring get a bucket and 1 to close to 47-46 with 4 secs left. Witte is fouled and makes 1 of 2 for the final margin.

sjfcards · January 09, 2009, 10:53:57 PM

Incredible how many points IC can score. It blows my mind. Since I have been following Fisher I can remember about 4 times they have topped 100 (2 of them with overtime). IC has scored 118, 112, and now 122 in regulation this season. That is absurd. I am starting to think IC has a chance to go undefeated through the regular season. Still a very tall order to complete, but no one seems to be close this year.
Any thoughts on the comparisons between this IC team, and the Fisher team that went 27-0?

I still think the Fisher team that went 26-4 the year after the 27-0 season was the best team in the region in a long, long time, but this IC team continues to impress.

Fisher struggles to score again, but plays good enough defnese to win on the road.

magicman · January 09, 2009, 11:01:25 PM

It looks like Pep will have 1 week to strike up the band when Alfred takes on Stevens next Friday the 16th at McLane. Saxons even their record at 6-6 with an 89-82 win over Hartwick.

Ethelred the Unready · January 09, 2009, 11:05:25 PM

Quote from: Bombers798891 on January 09, 2009, 10:35:51 PM
Quote from: magicman on January 09, 2009, 10:24:28 PM
ST. John Fisher wins on the road 48-46 over Utica.

How does SJF keep putting up these absurdly low scores? I don't think IC's going to have much trouble with them...

Naz is terrible on defense. They don't even try. IC would have scored 135 if they'd left starters in. Burton was unbelievable tonight, as was Marcus. Ithaca just keeps rolling along...

They gave up 81 shots to IC and IC gave up 87 to them.?.?.? Like I said before, defense like Pedrito de Portugal. Must have been fun to watch though.

Bombers798891 · January 09, 2009, 11:12:21 PM

Quote from: sjfcards on January 09, 2009, 10:53:57 PM
Incredible how many points IC can score. It blows my mind. Since I have been following Fisher I can remember about 4 times they have topped 100 (2 of them with overtime). IC has scored 118, 112, and now 122 in regulation this season. That is absurd. I am starting to think IC has a chance to go undefeated through the regular season. Still a very tall order to complete, but no one seems to be close this year.
Any thoughts on the comparisons between this IC team, and the Fisher team that went 27-0?

I still think the Fisher team that went 26-4 the year after the 27-0 season was the best team in the region in a long, long time, but this IC team continues to impress.

Fisher struggles to score again, but plays good enough defnese to win on the road.

Cards--

Talked to an IC coach who thinks 23-2 in the regular season is more likely. He thinks Potsdam may be dangerous because it's a random OOC game that they may have trouble getting up for. He also said SJF may give them some trouble on the road.

Honestly, the 122 is nasty, but it was Naz. This team ranks 388 out of 394 in scoring defense. They're just not good. The Bombers hae weapons, but Elmira, Hobart and Naz aren't benchmarks for offensive success. That being said, it's nice to know the Bombers aren't going to trip up against weaker teams.

IC and Naz shot a lot because the game was high tempo. I don't think the shot clock dropped below 10 all game. IC also hit 28 free throws. It was interesting to watch, I don't know if fun is the word though. Naz really only had two guys with big games.

I don't think we should look at any game Naz plays as a microcosim of D-III.