Empire 8

[sjfcards]

Do teams just not play D gainst them? I have never seen a team at the college level fill it up the way that they do every game this year.

First, Ithaca is very good and can light it up.    And Potsdam just lost their sixth straight game.  They are playing terribly. 

Naz is epically bad on defense. 

And Ithaca's point totals at home are 118, 87, 122, and 116. That's 110.8 pts/game. Dare I say that Ithaca "shoots the lights out" at The Bulb? I'll be here all week, tip your waitresses.

hayoooo....do we have to pay for this show...

Honestly, 110 points/game...that is the most absurd thing I have ever heard.

[sjfcards]

Looks like Naz is leading at halftime at home against RIT. I can't seem to find any live stats or any other coverage of the game. Any ideas?

Any other updates from the other games? I know that U of R took care of Keuka, to set up the game against Fisher on Friday, but how are the other games going?

[thebear]

[[/quote]

And Ithaca's point totals at home are 118, 87, 122, and 116. That's 110.8 pts/game. Dare I say that Ithaca "shoots the lights out" at The Bulb? I'll be here all week, tip your waitresses.

[/quote]

I think scoring has as musch to do with game tempo, and the quality of your athletes.  Burton is a very skilled PG who can create his own shots.  Bostic is a very active rebounder with excellent "range"  that means they typically control the boards  and then run a high octane break.  Cruz is very athletic as well, so you have solid rebounding, a great distributor who can also score, and a couple of athletic marvels who can clean up the offensive glass.

When Mike Deane was running the Potsdam point in 71-72, they averaged 92ppg (pre 3 pt shot) for an entire season, and it was all about tempo.   Typically the shot was going up in 10-12 seconds max.  They played an agressive switching man-to-man, played two strong rebounders who could run, and two wings that could fly and shoot the outside shot.  They created a lot of points from their defense with steals and lightning transition.  Because Deane was a gifted passer, they could also score quickly on in bounds plays etc.

I'd love to see Ithaca play Grinnell, the Bombers might score 200.

Needless to say the Bears six game skid has me perplexed.  At least the women (11-1, winners of 11 straight) are on an historic roll.

I think the three also changes things, as it ups the points per possession if a team is really shooting well.

[FisherDynasty]

yea points don't do much for me.  Its all about controlling the game.  It doesnt matter if you score 100 or 50 as long as you control the tempo to your strengths is how you win.  UofR is the best overall powerhouse in the region based on past years and they have many slow games in the 50s or 60s especially the year they were in the final 4.  Bport always used to run the scores up but didnt always turn into a success.  If Ithaca gets paired against a team that can handle the tempo and control it (slow it down a little) when it wants to they will have trouble.

Good win for Fisher tonight, can never tell with Naz, I think RIT is a good team but on a year when the region is not as down as it is this year they are just above average.  Lets see how good they are on the road.

[Ethelred the Unready]

From the live stats it looks like Fisher beat Roberts tonight. It was tight for a while from what I can tell, but Fisher pulled away to win by 17 (I think). Glad to see that they started the Chase with a quality win, but it only gets tougher from here. Hopefully they can get hot, and sneak up on U of R this weekend. Should be an interesting week and weekend with the Chase in full swing.

I see that Ithaca ran past Potsdam, running up 116 in the process. Do teams just not play D gainst them? I have never seen a team at the college level fill it up the way that they do every game this year.

Grinnell is averaging about 130 a game.  And giving up almost as much

[FROMAFAR]

Naz-87 RIT 73...I hate when I am right..........  :'(I posted we might need 90 to win if NAZ was hot.)  We shoot 50% from the field and lose....... We were killed on defensive boards....I can't even use my sign off today. Can someone give me an upside to this........It's not a league game ...nice try   As PEP would write in the 3rd person, FROMAFAR will live to see the another game........

[gobombers15]

Naz-87 RIT 73...I hate when I am right..........  :'(I posted we might need 90 to win if NAZ was hot.)  We shoot 50% from the field and lose....... We were killed on defensive boards....I can't even use my sign off today. Can someone give me an upside to this........It's not a league game ...nice try   As PEP would write in the 3rd person, FROMAFAR will live to see the another game........

The margin may be surprising, but it is it that surprising that Naz won the game? The first game at Kidera went to OT before RIT pulled away. The Tigers have a solid home mark (5-1) but are just OK on the road so far (3-3). They're still a pretty young team so there will be some ups and downs. I think they'll probably beat Brockport tomorrow (at Clark) and take care of either Roberts/Keuka on Saturday.

[gobombers15]

The bright side of the Naz upset is that it's looking more likely that we'll get a third Fisher-Naz matchup this year. Fisher better not screw this up by beating UR.

[buck1053]

So, does the Naz win over RIT mean trouble for Ithaca when they meet again in February? 
It is at Nazareth!

[gobombers15]

So, does the Naz win over RIT mean trouble for Ithaca when they meet again in February? 
It is at Nazareth!

I'm guessing that Ithaca will have little trouble disposing of Naz in Pittsford. Normally, I wouldn't be that confident, and Ithaca has had their issues at Naz, but Naz's lack of commitment on the defensive end must have Ithaca salivating. Naz isn't smart enough (or well-coached enough) to slow the tempo. They can't help themselves and will get sucked into a high octane pace. I'll be surprised if Ithaca doesn't hang 100 on them the second time, too.

[buck1053]

So, does the Naz win over RIT mean trouble for Ithaca when they meet again in February? 
It is at Nazareth!

I'm guessing that Ithaca will have little trouble disposing of Naz in Pittsford. Normally, I wouldn't be that confident, and Ithaca has had their issues at Naz, but Naz's lack of commitment on the defensive end must have Ithaca salivating. Naz isn't smart enough (or well-coached enough) to slow the tempo. They can't help themselves and will get sucked into a high octane pace. I'll be surprised if Ithaca doesn't hang 100 on them the second time, too.

I'm guessing you realized this, but I just wanted to make sure you knew I was joking. I'm sure IC will handle Naz with ease, I was just poking fun at those who claim their team can beat your team because of the outcome of other games. 

[FisherDynasty]

Naz can beat Ithaca along with Fisher and RIT (mayyyyybe Hartwick, Utica, Stevens on their home floors they are good at home but awful on road. Basically just about anyone but elmira or alfred.  Do i think they will? no, Ithaca has the most talent by far this year.  But its a possiblity especially on there home floor.  If Ryan McAdam is hitting he is as good as anyone, and if cory is playing well he can offset Burton.  I also think Dehimer is way under rated if he were on a normally coached team he would be much more appreciated and his stats would be much better.  However, the lack of roll players allows team to focus on Naz's strengths and they are just horribly coached along with no commitment on D unless there playing Fisher. 

[Bombers798891]

Naz can beat Ithaca along with Fisher and RIT (mayyyyybe Hartwick, Utica, Stevens on their home floors they are good at home but awful on road. Basically just about anyone but elmira or alfred.  Do i think they will? no, Ithaca has the most talent by far this year.  But its a possiblity especially on there home floor.  If Ryan McAdam is hitting he is as good as anyone, and if cory is playing well he can offset Burton.  I also think Dehimer is way under rated if he were on a normally coached team he would be much more appreciated and his stats would be much better.  However, the lack of roll players allows team to focus on Naz's strengths and they are just horribly coached along with no commitment on D unin tless there playing Fisher. 

I know that if we're talking about literally, that anything is technically possible, but I kind of disagree that IC is in trouble against some of these teams.

Naz: Hey, I know they can score, but you've got one of the worst defenses in all of D-III (They were 388 out of 394 when they were allowing 87 points per game. They are now allowing 90.) Ithaca is one of the top scoring teams in the country. How does that add up to a Naz victory? The closest they got in the second half of their game at IC was 16 points. They trailed by double-digits for the last 27 minutes of that game. This wasn't some fluke victory that was enabled by some small correctable flaw. This was an atrocious defense going up against what might  be the best offense in the country that isn't Grinnell. Home court had nothing to do with it. Ithaca could have scored 140 in that game

Utica's a little more interesting. They got it down to 7 against IC in the second half. But I can't see it. They just don't seem athletic enough to stay with IC. They had a nice 12-0 to start the second half, but they only scored 13 points in the next 11 minutes. The question is: Can they score enough? IC's lowest point total of the season was 71 in regulation against Oneonta. They've only been held under 80 points twice. Utica is averaging 68 points. I just don't think they have the horses to score with IC. When your average is below a team's lowest output, it's going to be tough to stay with them

Hartwick: Best shooting team in the E8, and that's a dangerous team. They'll likely try to slow IC down, but here's something staggering: IC has attempted 346 more shots than Hartwick. The Hawks seem to like to work the clock and limit possesions, but if IC gets up early, the slow down pace isn't going to work. If they are able to control tempo and hit shots, it may happen, but again, I do not think they have the horses.

SJF: Best defense in the league, allowing only 59 PPG. Best opponents shot % in the conference as well. They say good defense beats good offense, but man, you have a SJF team scoring only 63 PPG. I could buy that they could keep IC in the low to mid 70's, but then they'd still need to score, and look at these totals for the last seven games: 60, 63, 60, 36, 48, 70, 72. They have a stonewalling defense, but they'd need to really hold IC down. I just don't see how a team that has trouble getting to 50 some nights is going to score enough points.

Maybe my analysis is a little too: "How can you expect these teams to score enough?" but really, that's the problem with playing IC. You have to trade buckets with them. All five starters score in double figures and the 6th man, Jordan Marcus, is a 9.2. For teams like Utica, Hartwick and SJF, I just don't see it happening. Nazareth can score a lot, but man, where is the defense?

IC's only loss came when RIT put up 87 on them. Oneonta got 77 and almost pulled it off. Alfred stuck with them, but would have needed 76 as well.

Am I saying that IC will be 24-1? No, of course not. It's tough to imagine them not getting cold, or someone else getting hot. But there's got to be a more compelling argument than home court advantage.

[Cyclone0205]

Bombers -


Only argument I have for you is to look at UNC.  Most talented team in the ACC, if not country, by a long shot.  Yet already 2 in conference losses.  I guess my point is, these things just sorta happen, regardless of how good one team is or how bad the rest of the conference may appear.  Just hard to consistently beat decent teams that become familiar with each other.

[FisherDynasty]

Good points Bombers and I agree.  However, a point is a point.  By no means is RIT an offensive powerhouse and they beat Ithaca.  My main point is yes Ithaca can score and when the do score a lot they will most likely win.  However, when times get tough on the road and some of the shots are not falling, the home team is a good defensive team and are hitting shots they don't usually hit on the road, the games will be tough and they can be beaten.  I don't think the Ithaca team is unbelievable by any means, I do think they are a very good team playing in a weak region right now and shouldn't lose many more games.  As in the past 2 years, once the e8 tourny starts any 4 can win it and as of right now RIT, Fisher, and Ithaca all have a shot of an at large bid.