Empire 8

dcahill44 · January 04, 2013, 05:01:09 PM

Nazareth wins by 4 tonight against Hartwick.

buck1053 · January 07, 2013, 07:43:51 AM

With the early slate of league games underway, any thoughts on how the E8 is going to shake out this season. It seems that Elmira and Alfred are bringing up the rear, as usual, though it looks like Elmira has played a lot of teams tough thus far, while Alfred has been getting blown out of the water.

Also, why hasn't Houghton played any league games yet?

dcahill44 · January 07, 2013, 09:32:08 AM

The top 5 teams in the Empire 8 i think will be Stevens, Nazareth, Ithaca,Fisher. Hartwick in that order. At the bottom half of the Empire 8 will be Utica, Elmira, Alfred, Houghton in that order.

Bombers798891 · January 07, 2013, 09:57:47 AM

Quote from: buck1053 on January 07, 2013, 07:43:51 AM
With the early slate of league games underway, any thoughts on how the E8 is going to shake out this season. It seems that Elmira and Alfred are bringing up the rear, as usual, though it looks like Elmira has played a lot of teams tough thus far, while Alfred has been getting blown out of the water.

Also, why hasn't Houghton played any league games yet?

Houghton has, but they're a provisional member and the games do not count in the standings. They're not good however, so it's largely irrelevant. I think dcahill's top four are correct. The Wick's early two-game hole spells trouble. Utica's 4-8, but they've lost to a lot of good teams, so they won't be an easy out. But they've also got two conference losses. I think their game Tuesday against Ithaca is an early must-win. There's some conference depth this season

magicman · January 07, 2013, 10:05:52 AM

Quote from: buck1053 on January 07, 2013, 07:43:51 AM
With the early slate of league games underway, any thoughts on how the E8 is going to shake out this season. It seems that Elmira and Alfred are bringing up the rear, as usual, though it looks like Elmira has played a lot of teams tough thus far, while Alfred has been getting blown out of the water.

Also, why hasn't Houghton played any league games yet?

buck,

Houghton has played 2 conference games against Hartwick and Stevens. They lost to Hartwick 81-73 and Stevens beat them 80-61. Houghton is a provisional member of D3 this year and consequently they are ineligible for postseason play. Their games against other E8 teams will not count in the standings and will not affect the conference won-loss records of other E8 teams. They will play a full slate of games in the conference however. Here's a quote from the article on 11-15 announcing the preseason vote on who was picked to win the league.

"What's New?
The 2012-23 season marks the inclusion of Houghton College as a competing Empire 8 program. The Highlanders are an NCAA provisional member and are not eligible for post-season play but will complete a full league schedule. However, games against the Highlanders will not impact conference records/standings for post-tournament seeding."

I see Bombers beat me to the punch while I was typing.

buck1053 · January 08, 2013, 12:45:08 AM

Thanks Bombers and Magic, I wasn't up on my D3 stuff yet, though I knew Houghton was/is not going to be a factor in this league. They're merely a space filler.

Bombers798891 · January 08, 2013, 09:50:13 PM

Bombers put together a fantastic second half and pick up a big road win at Utica, 89-71. Bombers outscore Pioneers 47-24 in the second half.

Ithaca is hitting their stride clearly, and is showing that they are going to be a player for the conference crown. The Bombers have won 7 of their last 8 games, and guys like Oztemel are hitting their stride. Travis Warech has a huge game, scoring 24 and picking up 9 rebounds. Frank Mitchell also adds 24. He was averaging 16.6 points a game coming in, and is turning into a dominant interior player.

The Bombers defensive intensity will be key. For the second time in three games, Ithaca turned in a bad defensive half, allowing 47 to the Pioneers. Much like the Alfred game, the Bombers clamped down in the second half.

With three conference losses, Utica's digging a deep hole.

dcahill44 · January 09, 2013, 03:36:23 PM

Starting the year in the Empire 8 there have been some surprises. When i saw Hartwick play twice they arent nearly as tough as last year but will definetly be much improved by the end of the season. Nazareth has a favorable next 3 games at Elmira friday, Saturday home against Utica and Tuesday at Fisher. they could definetly be 4-1 playing at Stevens 1/18 and 1/19 At Hartwick. I was definetly impressed with the toughness of Stevens watching them on Saturday. Russ Thompson is a tough Point Guard along with Patrick Sabitino and Sheldon Jones. Ithaca has won 7 of 8 sitting at 8-3 playing at home against Hobart. the Teams i just mentioned i believe will be the top 4 teams in conference going into the Empire 8 Tournament.

Bombers798891 · January 12, 2013, 10:12:29 AM

What has happened to Hartwick? St John Fisher is a good team, and they're going to be in the conference tournament, but a 28-point loss at home? They even struggled to beat Houghton, which is 0-13.

sjfcards · January 12, 2013, 04:51:01 PM

Quote from: Bombers798891 on January 12, 2013, 10:12:29 AM
What has happened to Hartwick? St John Fisher is a good team, and they're going to be in the conference tournament, but a 28-point loss at home? They even struggled to beat Houghton, which is 0-13.

Watched every second of the game last night and I was not all that impressed with Hartwick. Fisher started the game really slow, and basically gave Hartwick a 12 point lead to start the game. Otherwise it would have been that much worse.

Fisher played well all in all, but far from a complete game and still was able to win the way they did.

Today Fisher started slow again, and has worked their way back into the game, but are facing a much better team in Stevens. Currently down 5 with about 2 left in the first half.

sjfcards · January 12, 2013, 04:58:56 PM

Fisher continues to frustrate me to no end. Weir hits a three with less than a minute left to cut the Stevens lead to 3. Fisher proceeds to give a bad and 1 with the Stevens payer not even facing the basket, throws away an inbounds pass, and gives up a tip in as the clock expires to go into the locker room down 8.

Argh....

Bombers798891 · January 12, 2013, 05:57:28 PM

Bombers pick up a huge OOC win, beating a good Hobart team 80-74. Travis Warech is turning into an offensive force, as he puts up 21 with 11 rebounds. Andrei Oztemel shows why he's one of the best pure shooters in IC history, with a 6-of-12 performance from downtown. Bombers are on a roll, as they improve to 9-3.

The Bombers have played well at home, and now go on the road for three conference games. With two of the games being Elmira and Alfred, I think it's likely the Bombers are 11-4 at worst.

dcahill44 · January 13, 2013, 12:10:57 PM

Ithaca really is coming on to start the Empire 8 season after a win against a very good Hobart team. Stevens I think will be ranked this week after the win against Fisher. Nazareth beat a quality Utica team regardless of their record they are tough to get a win against. Nazareth plays at Fisher Tuesday in a Big game for both teams. The Clear 3 best teams in this league are Stevens/Ithaca and Nazareth in that order. Fisher I think will be the 4th team in the Empire 8 championship which will set up Stevens/Fisher and Ithaca/Nazareth. 3 very good teams team In this league and I think everyone can tell me who they are.

dcahill44 · January 13, 2013, 07:02:15 PM

any ideas on who will be Player of the Year and First Team in the Empire 8?

Bombers798891 · January 13, 2013, 10:33:58 PM

Brad Ford (19-10) and C. Cassidy (17-8) are good picks for POY. I'd bet Ford right now. Sean Rossi will be the first-team point guard for the third straight season.