Empire 8

[FisherDynasty]

I hate naz, but still think Naz is as good as bport. 

[gordonmann]

For what it's worth, I'd take Brockport on a neutral court against Nazareth.  I like the Golden Eagles depth and would love to see McAdam and Harris go at it.

[FROMAFAR]

Scooterman, your a regular Mad Dog Russo, ( he too loves to stir the juices), I'll bite, you just may get that match up, OR Stevens in the NCAA, or whoever gets in from E 8.  Whoever in E 8 it is, should be good game. I've got my eye on B-port now, thanks to you.......

[scooterman]

That's all I wanted to accomplish--I am not a Naz hater or Empire hater--good friends graduated from many E8 schools!! Coach Burton at Ithaca will get those boys rolling---Watch out!!

[gobombers15]

Predictions for tonight's games:

ITHACA over Fisher, 76-67.
Big advantage for the Bombers to be playing this one in Ithaca. I think the key matchup in this one will be Baltz v. Burton. Fisher can't allow Ithaca to have a huge advantage in that matchup if they expect to get the road win. Fisher's chances go up exponentially if Baltz can have a good night. If Ithaca is hitting their shots early, could be a long night for Fisher. I think, though, this is about a 5-point game with 5 minutes left before Ithaca pulls away with FT's. I can't ignore the fact that Fisher is 2-4 this season against RIT/Naz/Stevens this season and has no big road wins to date.

Naz over HARTWICK, 82-81 (OT)
I really wanted to pick the upset in this one and I may be kicking myself for not doing so if it happens. Again, this is one of those gut feelings, the same type as I had for Stevens at Fisher. I really have this inkling that Hartwick is going to pull the stunner in this one. We already know that the unexpected should be expected in the E8 this season, but we haven't had any games where the bottom third of teams (Hartwick, Elmira, Alfred) has pulled the upset, though they have come close in several instances. Interesting fact: Hartwick has won FOUR in a row against Nazareth. Screw it, I've talked myself into it...HARTWICK beats Naz, 85-82 (OT).

Bamm, received something in the mail from you and the significant other yesterday. Quality.

[bombersquadron]

Predictions for tonight's games:

ITHACA over Fisher, 76-67.
Big advantage for the Bombers to be playing this one in Ithaca. I think the key matchup in this one will be Baltz v. Burton. Fisher can't allow Ithaca to have a huge advantage in that matchup if they expect to get the road win. Fisher's chances go up exponentially if Baltz can have a good night. If Ithaca is hitting their shots early, could be a long night for Fisher. I think, though, this is about a 5-point game with 5 minutes left before Ithaca pulls away with FT's. I can't ignore the fact that Fisher is 2-4 this season against RIT/Naz/Stevens this season and has no big road wins to date.

Just got back from a class and working out. I think the x factor for tonight's game will be the crowd. Ithaca has had some big ones this year and tonight is suppose to be the biggest. The game has been highly publicized on campus and a lot of other sport teams are going to be there to show support. I expect the big crowd to help the Bombers get on some big runs. Besides that I agree with you GB15, i think it will be a games of runs until Ithaca makes one last push and wins by 10-15.

[FisherDynasty]

Fisher up 6 on Ithaca with 1 minute to go, looks like its a wrap.  bieal weith 20, newman with 22 and smalt with 16.  Looks like the Naz game woke them up a little bit. I liked the match up with Ithaca this year thats why I predicted them to sweep Ithaca.  Tonights was what i was waiting for to see exactly where Ithaca stands, and what i thought was going to happen, happened.  They are still a year away, although could get hot in the tourny and get wins just like any of the other teams that make it.  I think as smalt gets more games in, newman hopefully keeps coming on similarly to last year at the end of the season,  fishers freshmen get a little more experience they could peak at the right time.  Who knows though, not sure if they can beat Naz and Stevens away from their home floor.

[gobombers15]

Bad luck for the Bombers, rallying from 11 down to take a short-lived one point lead before Fisher answers with a 7-0 run. It was frustrating watching LiveStats. Looked like Fisher got 2 offensive rebounds off missed front-ends of 1-and-1's late and another one where Ithaca got the rebound but lost it out of bounds. Not sure if Fisher is a bad matchup for Ithaca. Newman has a birthday game tonight with something like 24 points. Color me wrong if he duplicates that effort in Pittsford, but methinks he won't.

Also, can someone tell me why Bostic had taken only 7 shots with 6 minutes left??Why in all of God's goodness is Ithaca not pounding it to him on every play when Fisher has two bigs that are seemingly in foul trouble every game. I just don't understand that. Nice night for Burton, though, with 36 and 10 assists, but missed 3 big FT's down the stretch...very unlike him. I'm guessing he was gassed.

Ithaca's chances of hosting are gone after this bad loss.

[sjfcards]

Just got back from the Fisher/IC game...

It was a good game, very high scoring, closely contested the entire way. I have a couple thoughts. Ithaca is good. They can shoot the lights out, and Burton is amazing. I can see why they beat teams, and the could be very dangerous in the tournament if they shoot well. A good crowd as well. Seemed like they were trying to keep the team in it till the very end.

I was impressed with Fisher's ability to put a way a pesky IC team. They played well down the stretch, and really responded to Ithaca taking the lead with about 4-5 minutes left. Good games from Smalt, Beigle, and Newman. When Fisher can work the ball inside to Smalt, and Beigle, they are a much better team. Both had good games against Bostic and crew. A good win all around, especially on the road.

The next game between these teams should be another great one. Just as high scoring hopefully. Should get easier for Fisher from here, being done with Naz, and Stevens, as well as getting IC at home.

[sjfcards]

Also, if anyone has any word on what the deal is with Beigle I would appreciate it.

He went down with about 13 seconds left, and it did not look all the great. He got up, and was carried to the bench, looked like an ankle?

[NYBB]

NAZ 73, WICK 61.  WICK = another weak season + upsetting alumni by trying to dismantle the D1 soccer program yet again.

A good question : when was the last time Hartwick had a winning season?  Their best team to date was in 2002-2003 but they didn't really convert their talent with Blackwell + others into success.

[jasper]

Also, if anyone has any word on what the deal is with Beigle I would appreciate it.

He went down with about 13 seconds left, and it did not look all the great. He got up, and was carried to the bench, looked like an ankle?

He sprained his ankle...it was swollen after the game but he'll be fine.....

[jasper]

Predictions for tonight's games:

[

Just got back from a class and working out. I think the x factor for tonight's game will be the crowd. Ithaca has had some big ones this year and tonight is suppose to be the biggest. The game has been highly publicized on campus and a lot of other sport teams are going to be there to show support. I expect the big crowd to help the Bombers get on some big runs. Besides that I agree with you GB15, i think it will be a games of runs until Ithaca makes one last push and wins by 10-15.

I didn't think the crowd was a factor at all. Fisher controlled most of the game and jumped out early. Burton did have a great night shooting but let's face it Ithaca lost. I think the X factor in the game was the 13 points from McKeever. Baltz didn't get many open looks and McKeever didn't miss a shot from the floor. Should be another good one next weekend.

[sjfcards]

Predictions for tonight's games:

[

Just got back from a class and working out. I think the x factor for tonight's game will be the crowd. Ithaca has had some big ones this year and tonight is suppose to be the biggest. The game has been highly publicized on campus and a lot of other sport teams are going to be there to show support. I expect the big crowd to help the Bombers get on some big runs. Besides that I agree with you GB15, i think it will be a games of runs until Ithaca makes one last push and wins by 10-15.

I didn't think the crowd was a factor at all. Fisher controlled most of the game and jumped out early. Burton did have a great night shooting but let's face it Ithaca lost. I think the X factor in the game was the 13 points from McKeever. Baltz didn't get many open looks and McKeever didn't miss a shot from the floor. Should be another good one next weekend.

I don't think the crowd really did anything to fisher either. Fisher jumped out to a lead early, and responded to most of IC's runs. However, living in Cortland I get to a lot of IC games. Usually the crowd is thin at best, and does not seem very interested (also they have a tendency to leave early). Last night the crowd seemed a lot more into the game, and did not stop cheering till the very end.

[gobombers15]

Newman with 22 is what killed Ithaca. No reason he should ever score that many. When I saw him play against Utica a couple weeks ago, I honestly thought he was a game or two from losing his starting spot to Franklin for the rest of his career. He just looked lost and had no confidence on the offensive end.

Bostic needs to be more involved second time around for these two teams. He's too much of a matchup problem for teams to not be used properly. He's capable of getting Beigel and/or Smalt in foul trouble