Empire 8

[FisherDynasty]

agreed Dave, its going to be a shame seeing people getting rejected at the door.  I almost feel like there wont even be a lot of fisher students there, if they dont get there for the game before, they may not even make it in.

[superman57]

First off, parking is not that bad...and the lot where they gym is is no longer student parking.... second off yes the floor seats to the varsity gym are very handicap accesible you just need to go to the SLC main entrance...

[bamm]

1. Quality and availability of the facility and other necessary accommodations;
2. Geographical location (which may include such factors as rotation of sites, weather, accessibility and transportation costs);
3. Seeding; and
4. Attendance history and revenue potential, which shall be considered necessary to assure fiscal responsibility.

If the NCAA followed that guideline, I am baffled by their conclusion.  There's no way you can consider Fisher's gym of higher quality than either Wooster or Brockport.  Geography is only a minor concern considering the teams involved. 

Any of the cities (Cleveland, Wooster, Rochester) can accommodate four teams. 

#3 had to be the deciding factor (unless the committee had some residual guilt for sending Fisher to Amherst two years ago, as has been suggested).  And, as has been said, that's too bad.  Because some fans aren't going to be able to go to the games. 

Anyway...  I think Brockport will beat Fisher.  They are exactly the kind of team that can exploit the Cards weaknesses.  They will press hard, they have a ton of athletes, and they'll stay up on the perimeter guys. 

[bamm]

And with all that said, it's pretty cool to have an Empire 8 team hosting a regional.

[bamm]

Something else about this choice -- I've seen more crazy/impressive plays and endings in that gym over the last 7 years than I can remember (and not just by Fisher players, thankfully).  See the Plattsburgh miracle on Friday.  Strange things happen there.  There will be drama next weekend.

[Cadillac]

Be warned:  the parking can be atrocious.

The SLC (large gym connected to the varsity arena) is often booked with youth basketball events.  For the E8 championship, campus security was waving cars through to the other side of campus.  I had to park halfway to Naz.

Get there early, even if you have tickets.

[keystonelight]

yes whoever said parking isn't a concern... must have a student parking permit? because that parking lot i assure you is still for students. I suggest parking at the park n ride and walking to the gym around the football field. The other lot that they send people to is poorly marked and littered with construction and maintenance vehicles. At every home game this season there has been a man with some sawhorses and an orange light and vest waving past any car who attempts to park there... if you are smart you'll lie, say you are just dropping someone off and then park there, thats what some of the parents do. And as far as fishers facilities go even though i dont' think they are good enough to host this type of even solely based on seating capactity there is ample court space available for practicing for all teams which is important. There are basically 3 gyms between the varsity gym and the other gym with the divider. The weight room is small but it is a d3 school.

and as far as the "garbage plates" go if you want a garbage plate you HAVE to go to nick tahou hots... thats the only place "garbage plates" techinically exist. and my second choice would also be Penfield Hots for a "Varsity Plate."

[keystonelight]

and as far as plates go i am amongst the foremost connoisseurs of the subject... if you will

[Cards7580]

IF you are a fan from any of the other three schools

A. get their 2 hours before the 1st game time.  
   Like Cadillac said, the lot next to the gym was full more than an hour before game time.
   And it wasn't with all the SJF-CYP youth basketball crowd.   There maintenance department
   hasn't cleared all the snow-plowed piles away yet.  So they loose close to 10 spots that are
   covered.  Maybe they will fix that before this weekend.

B. Eat before you go, you may not be able to get anything there other than soda and candy.

C. If you are handicapped or have others in your party who need handicapped access call the school
   and talk to them as to what their procedures are because the students doing tickets at the door
   were clueless as to floor access for wheel chairs and there are NO signs stating go to the other entrance
   that was spoken about in an earlier post.   The men's room in the lobby is also a tight squeeze for a
   person who requires a wheel chair.

D. wear warm clothes for standing in-line (maybe outside of the lobby).  
   Tickets went on sale 1 hour before each 1st game and the doors were not open before 5 pm on
   Friday for anyone.  On Saturday, the doors were opened 10 minutes before 6pm for the 7 pm game
   because there were a good number of elderly standing in the 20 degree cold.

E. If you want to sit floor level get down there and stake out your seats and don't leave.  They may not
   be available if you get up.   Also note the bleacher down there are very narrow for foot space. So if you
   are over 5' 10" you need to sit either in the 2nd row (no seating allowed in the first row) or in the back row
   that is at the end of each aisle.   These seats are on the opposite side of the court from the team benches.

F.  Hope that none of the other schools brings a pep band like the U of R.   15-20 piece band took up 30 or more
   seats on Friday.  coats, instrument cases, extra stuff.   Good band however.      Added a great touch to the
   game.  

G.  If you have trouble hearing don't worry, the P.A. system is pretty bad.  This fact comes from the SJFisher fans
   who were sitting next to me.   Complaining that they couldn't hear and why isn't there a better sound system
   at this school.  

H.  All seats are bench type, not individual chairs.   I did not see a coat check room (didnt look) so be prepared to sit
    on your coat or wear it all game long.  I think there must be a SJFisher special alumni room or something
    because I noticed many of them not having coats with them at their seats.  OR maybe they know where the
    coatroom was in the lobby.   Like I said, I didnt look.  

I.  If you are a smoke call ahead for the rules at this facility.   There were signs saying "no re-entry" in the lobby.
   I don't smoke so I don't know if there was an out-side smoking section that allowed re-entry from and to the
   lobby.  

J.  I was also told there was "NO advanced ticket sales" for round 1 and round 2 games.  I asked again after round 1
   to get a ticket for Saturday and was told no sales until 6 pm ( 1 hour before 7 pm game time).   So unless that
   rule changes,  you really really need to get there early to see these games.    Even in the event that Brockport
   beats Fisher on Friday, they may have a ton of people show up for Saturday.  

[BBallfan930]

1. Quality and availability of the facility and other necessary accommodations;
2. Geographical location (which may include such factors as rotation of sites, weather, accessibility and transportation costs);
3. Seeding; and
4. Attendance history and revenue potential, which shall be considered necessary to assure fiscal responsibility.

If the NCAA followed that guideline, I am baffled by their conclusion.  There's no way you can consider Fisher's gym of higher quality than either Wooster or Brockport.  Geography is only a minor concern considering the teams involved. 



Any of the cities (Cleveland, Wooster, Rochester) can accommodate four teams. 

#3 had to be the deciding factor (unless the committee had some residual guilt for sending Fisher to Amherst two years ago, as has been suggested).  And, as has been said, that's too bad.  Because some fans aren't going to be able to go to the games. 

Anyway...  I think Brockport will beat Fisher.  They are exactly the kind of team that can exploit the Cards weaknesses.  They will press hard, they have a ton of athletes, and they'll stay up on the perimeter guys. 

The way the cards are playing, I don't see many weaknesses...  Brockport beat fisher the first game of the year.  They have come a long way since then (even avenging that loss).  They probably would have beat any team in the tourney this past Friday or Saturday... 

[bamm]

The way the cards are playing, I don't see many weaknesses...  Brockport beat fisher the first game of the year.  They have come a long way since then (even avenging that loss).  They probably would have beat any team in the tourney this past Friday or Saturday... 

Puh-lease.  The overconfidence is entertaining, but the reality is that Fisher's competition in the tournament has been subpar thusfar -- exactly as it's been the previous 2 years.  Wentworth was wildly overmatched on the road and Plattsburgh was inconsistent and the 2nd or 3rd best team in a mediocre SUNYAC (a conference that was weak relative to the previous few years). 

Things will change dramatically this weekend.

[BBallfan930]

The way the cards are playing, I don't see many weaknesses...  Brockport beat fisher the first game of the year.  They have come a long way since then (even avenging that loss).  They probably would have beat any team in the tourney this past Friday or Saturday... 

Puh-lease.  The overconfidence is entertaining, but the reality is that Fisher's competition in the tournament has been subpar thusfar -- exactly as it's been the previous 2 years.  Wentworth was wildly overmatched on the road and Plattsburgh was inconsistent and the 2nd or 3rd best team in a mediocre SUNYAC (a conference that was weak relative to the previous few years). 

Things will change dramatically this weekend.

subpar?  By what standards?  what weaknesses are you talking about? 

[bamm]

The way the cards are playing, I don't see many weaknesses...  Brockport beat fisher the first game of the year.  They have come a long way since then (even avenging that loss).  They probably would have beat any team in the tourney this past Friday or Saturday... 

Puh-lease.  The overconfidence is entertaining, but the reality is that Fisher's competition in the tournament has been subpar thusfar -- exactly as it's been the previous 2 years.  Wentworth was wildly overmatched on the road and Plattsburgh was inconsistent and the 2nd or 3rd best team in a mediocre SUNYAC (a conference that was weak relative to the previous few years). 

Things will change dramatically this weekend.

subpar?  By what standards?  what weaknesses are you talking about? 

Well, Wentworth was certainly one of the worst teams to make the tournament (sorry, to any Wentworth fans still lurking).  And as I said, Plattsburgh was the 2nd or 3rd best team in a weakened SUNYAC.  I think that's as simple as I can say that.

Apparently Lake Erie was the #1 seed in this bracket... and they had a MUCH tougher 2nd round game (John Carroll) than Fisher had.  See what I mean?  The competition is about to get a lot better.

In terms of Fisher's weaknesses, if you've paid attention to the board all season you'd have read plenty of discussion about them.  Their young guards can be rattled with pressure (see losses to UR, Port, RIT).  They MUST shoot well to beat the best teams, so if you contest every jumper you have a good chance to beat them.  Again, this is what Brockport specializes in.  SLU had 22 turnovers in their loss yesterday.  Fisher had 22 and 19 turnovers in the games against Port this season.

I think Port wins this one, but I won't be surprised either way.  Fisher finds strange ways to win in Varsity Gym.

[pg04]

The way the cards are playing, I don't see many weaknesses...  Brockport beat fisher the first game of the year.  They have come a long way since then (even avenging that loss).  They probably would have beat any team in the tourney this past Friday or Saturday... 

Puh-lease.  The overconfidence is entertaining, but the reality is that Fisher's competition in the tournament has been subpar thusfar -- exactly as it's been the previous 2 years.  Wentworth was wildly overmatched on the road and Plattsburgh was inconsistent and the 2nd or 3rd best team in a mediocre SUNYAC (a conference that was weak relative to the previous few years). 

Things will change dramatically this weekend.

subpar?  By what standards?  what weaknesses are you talking about? 

Well, Wentworth was certainly one of the worst teams to make the tournament (sorry, to any Wentworth fans still lurking).  And as I said, Plattsburgh was the 2nd or 3rd best team in a weakened SUNYAC.  I think that's as simple as I can say that.

Apparently Lake Erie was the #1 seed in this bracket... and they had a MUCH tougher 2nd round game (John Carroll) than Fisher had.  See what I mean?  The competition is about to get a lot better.

In terms of Fisher's weaknesses, if you've paid attention to the board all season you'd have read plenty of discussion about them.  Their young guards can be rattled with pressure (see losses to UR, Port, RIT).  They MUST shoot well to beat the best teams, so if you contest every jumper you have a good chance to beat them.  Again, this is what Brockport specializes in.  SLU had 22 turnovers in their loss yesterday.  Fisher had 22 and 19 turnovers in the games against Port this season.

I think Port wins this one, but I won't be surprised either way.  Fisher finds strange ways to win in Varsity Gym.

Yes, I agree.  Fisher fans are already planning where the JCU-Wooster can go after the first game to get drunk as if they are going to win  . 

Should be a good game and look forward to listening to it!! 

[keystonelight]

i don't see many weaknesses in fishers team, especially not this weekend.

the young guardplay... by whose standards? freshmen yes but now they each have a full season behind them with some quality subs if they indeed get "shaken up"

also even with contesting each jumper... mueller and baltz have a beautiful long ball and they can either set up and shoot the trey or catch and realease as quick as need be.

As far as the big men go McSweeney, Beigel and Smalt are playing well and sharing the minutes a little more. When smalt can come off the bench and contribute 11 boards one night and 8 points the next while mcsweeney and beigel are still pouring in 15 or more each its going to be tough for any team to match their frontcourt play.

on any given night someone will step up from the fisher ranks (baltz 27 against wentworth, mueller 25 against plattsburgh)

Fisher does have a tough road ahead of them to get out of this weekend but the way they are playing and given the luck of staying at home they have an excellent chance of taking a trip to salem