Empire 8

[FisherDynasty]

I keep forgetting virginia weslyan is in UofR's bracket so yeah I agree with you on that.  Have you seen Mass Dartmouth? I think they may be better than people think. Dont know for sure though.

[Cards7580]

they're not better than the Coast Guard 

[Cyclone0205]

Final game of the Empire 8 basketball season is tonight (unless Fisher is still runnin, haven't kept up, sry!)


Top Seeded Stevens advanced to the final of the ECAC Metro and will take on 2nd seeded York tonight.  Stevens beat 21-7 Brooklyn College last night.  Gray had 26 and 8 boards. 


Stevens is still undefeated at home this season and has only lost their once in the past 2 years, which was an overtime buzzer beater against SUNY-Old Westbury in the Skyline Tournament last year.  Tough to win against the Ducks in Hoboken.

[gobombers15]

Brockport nips Fisher, 81-80. Fisher trailed by 20+ in the first half but rallies to take the lead in the second stanza. Fisher holds a 4-point lead with 55 seconds left but can't close the deal. Shades of Nazareth. Will be an all-SUNYAC final between Brockport and Cortland.

[magicman]

Plattsburgh State is hosting the sectionals this coming weekend.

Friday night March 14th

Amherst vs Richard Stockton 5:30

Plattsburgh vs Brandeis  8:15

Looks to be some great hoops as well as Hockey in Plattsburgh this coming weekend.

#3 Plattsburgh Men's Hockey team hosting NCAA game.

#1 Plattsburgh Women's Hockey team hosting NCAA game. Update:  Now the NCAA has given the Women's team a bye and they will be hosting the Final Four on March 21 & 22. So no women's hockey game this weekend.

[Cyclone0205]

On the bright side, the Empire 8 finishes with a championship this year....


Top Seeded Stevens finished up another perfect record at home with an 82-54 beat down of #2 seed York College today in Hoboken to capture the ECAC Metro Championship.  Congrats to the Ducks, and to their seniors on ending their career with a victory.


*Not bad ways to finish your college careers:

Farid - 14 pts, 8 boards, 6 assists
Williams - 14 pts, 8 boards
Ayodele - 6 pts, 6 rebounds


Ducks have a lot to replace next year....

[e8bballfan]

Yeah,  SIT has a lot to replace with the loss of Farid, Williams and Ayodele. But I think Fisher has maybe even more to replace with the loss of Beigel, Smalt, McKeever and Bearden. That's 3 starters, 2 "go-to" guys and 1 significant bench player.

[gobombers15]

Proving it's never too early to look forward, here's my guess at how they finish in 2008-09.

1) Ithaca: The Big Three return and the Bombers don't lose a ton to graduation. Bostic and Burton will both be E8 POY candidates. The Bombers will lose starting center Louis Kail but Tom Brown will fill in capably in the pivot. Ithaca also loses Ruffrage and Scanlon, who seemed to regress in his senior year. Freshman Chris Cruz came on at the end of the season and played well in two games against Fisher. He'll be the sixth man. I think Mullins will spell Burton a bit more next year as freshman Matt Ruger will be ready to take on more of the ballhandling duties.

2) Utica: Nice mix of a talented veteran (Herring), quality bigs (McClendon, Goodman), and a lot of good, young players. One of the top teams in the league at the end of the season. They will be good next season.

3) Nazareth: The McAdam brothers return. That is enough to give them a chance each night. The graduation of Joe Canori leaves a void of about 18-20 points per night. Rayvon Higdon will likely step in to fill some of that void, but I think they'll miss Canori's scoring ability.

4) Fisher: Call me crazy, but I think they have enough to do well next year. This team will definitely be guard-oriented but that wins a lot in college basketball. Not a bad nucleus in Newman, Baltz and Franklin. I like Witte and Wopperer (who came on at the end of the season and looks like a more-than-serviceable big), too. We know Kornaker will recruit and will bring in a couple of freshman who can contribute immediately. Coyne and Cornett will contribute, as well. Kornaker has become a better coach over the last few years and I think he gets them to the E8 Tourney.

5) Stevens: The loss of Farid really hurts. Williams could have been one of the top bigs if he had more of an edge to him and/or he was used correctly, but too late for that. Like Fisher, will have to hope someone steps up down low on the blocks. Also like Fisher, will very much be a guard-oriented team with the return of Gray, Passalacqua and Greco. Higgins and Baker move into starting roles. However, team will be lacking depth. Stevens needs to become a better road team, too. However, they will be in contention for the E8 Tourney until the end because of how adept they are on their home floor.

6) RIT: I thorougly believe if McVean just cut his rotation down to 8 players, RIT would be two games better each conference season. Or, just maybe, they can figure out how to avoid being swept by Hartwick and just be two games better that way. Gethers and Colin Roy are gone. Returning are Mark Carson, Whitwood, Korinchak, and E8 Co-Rookie of the Year Shane Foster. RIT can beat anyone on a given night but they can lose to almost anyone, too. Until consistency appears, I'm going to slot them here each year.

7) Elmira: Young team that made significant strides this season. Twice put a scare into a good Stevens team and played well at Ithaca late in the season. Team's ability to play hard defense will allow them to stay close in a bunch of games. I think this team can win 5 or 6 games in the conference next season.

8 ) Hartwick: Unfortunately, Coco just never had any help during his career, an excellent player languishing on terrible team. He should have pulled a Pierre Garcon and transferred to a top program. He could've been a great 3rd option on a very good team. If Carson brothers return, they could possibly overtake Elmira. I'm not betting on it, though.

9) Alfred: If any D3 coach should ever be fired, Jay Murphy should. A bunch of players returning, but not all that much talent in that group. I think they have the basement on lockdown until Coco graduates from Hartwick.

[FROMAFAR]

CONGRATS to Stevens for their ECAC championship, nice finish for seniors. Go Bombers your pretty close on your 08-09 assesment I THINK. I would put Nazareth on top, just based on experience. Yes the Canori loss is big, But they have enough to make up his numbers. They need to cut down the turn-overs. Ithaca and Utica could be in the top 3 IF they share the ball the ball.  If Herring and Burton's shots per game decrease they will probably be at the top. ( sounds crazy... watch).  Fisher will probably come up with some recruits, they'll be young if they play, maybe a year away. Stevens is interesting. While they lose Farid and Williams, Greco can shoot and has the ability to average double digits , (should be given the green light with Farid gone). Higgins and Baker can rebound and play defense. As you said they should be around for the Tourney. They need to recruit some tough forwards to be ready for 09-10. RIT is a  wait and see team.. Elmira is definitely on the rise, could cause trouble for top 5. Hartwick and Alfred need some serious recruits....It's been fun, 220 days to Midnight Madness            

[gobombers15]

FROMAFAR, it's interesting that you project Naz ahead of Ithaca when the Bombers return almost everything and Naz loses such an important piece in Canori. I don't think they have any player who can step in and do what he did. The McAdam brothers will definitely have to raise their game a level. The top four teams this year were evenly matched, so a loss as significant as Canori will hurt them. Keep in mind that Ithaca swept Naz this year and finished ahead of them in the standings, too.

[FROMAFAR]

Bombers all good points, BUT as I said, they need to spread out the offense a little. Burton has to think more like a point guard, and dish more and shoot less. If you look at the year end run the other guys were involved more offensively. That got to the Tourney and back to the Burton show. They lost. hey, I'm not big on NAZ and will probably change my mind 6 times before we even begin next year. They certainly have flaws. Corey turns the ball over way too much, and Ryan will really be the only real offensive threat. Higdon tends to hide during games at times, and I'm not impressed with their inside game. Utica needs to get something from someone other than Herring who sometimes pulls a Burton, and that's when they suffer. Look at their year end run. Herring numbers down and rest up.  Fisher needs some instant help from whoever they recruited. Stevens loses toughness underneath, losing Williams and Ayodele, big problem. The loss of Farid will not be that devistating, except for rebounds, his points will be made up by Grey, Pasalaqua and Greco.  They will see the ball more and all three can have big scoring nights. They need Baker and Higgans to come up big on the boards BUT they will need some bench help..That could cause them a top 4 finish.  That being said look for Elmira to win it all.


   

[FisherDynasty]

I think Ithaca could win it all next year, Utica, or Naz.  I always like Dehimer for Naz not sure why he didnt start this year at the 5.  I think he will have a big year next year.  Also, Bozzeli for naz 6'6 about 250 was out this year I think if he plays next year will be a descent for inside as well.  Then you go with Higdon who had a good soph year off the bench and started his fresh year,  and two McAdams they will definatly be in the hunt.  Also naz is good at recruiting im sure they will bring in another player or 2 that can play off the bat.  Fisher will be okay with their all guard line up, they used to do it before the past 4 years. They will have a shot at winning E8 but wont be able to do any damage in the NCAA's without some bigs.  I really like branden Witt 6'4 3 guard came on late as of last year, Ozell will be a soph and and baltz and newman 3 year starters will be back.  They will need a few more guys for the 4-5 spots, they can play with 4 guards but will need someone other then wopperer to fill out the 5.  They will cause match up problems, spread the floor and get the good ball movement and shooting going that Fisher is known for.  However, I don't think they will do much better than 3rd or 4th.  Fisher could really use 1 or 2 Junior College transfers, that woudl make them an instant contender but that isnt the way fisher recruits so not likely.

RIT will be close to the same as they have been the past few years in the hunt for the 3-6 position.

[scooterman]

Hey has Coach Burton gotten that UC job yet?

[UCgrad45]

Hey has Coach Burton gotten that UC job yet?

I don't think he will. I'd watch for someone with ties to the program.

[e8bballfan]

Empire 8 POY Sean Burton named NABC 2nd team All-American as well as 1st team All-District

                http://bombers.ithaca.edu/index.asp?path=mbasket

Farid & Corey McAdam named to NABC All-District Teams as well...

                http://www.stevensducks.com/sports/mbball/release.asp?release_id=3646

                http://www.nazathletics.com/News/mbball/2008/3/20/mcadam_3_20_08.asp


Congrats boys for your honors!