WBB: Empire 8

[Bombers798891]

I believe the winner of Utica & Ithaca game will win the title.  My guess is Ithaca.  As always,  Utica is peaking at playoff time, but I agree that Ithaca's depth will prevail this year.   That said, Utica is certainly capable of pulling off another tournament upset. 

If I were Ithaca, I'd want no part of Stevens in the final. Lot of pressure on the Bombers to win it all, as I doubt an at-large bid is coming for them. Certainly won't for anyone else

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Final Regional Rankings before Selection Sunday: http://www.d3blogs.com/d3hoops/category/ncaa-stuff/regional-rankings/

[Bombers798891]

Kean's loss in the NJAC tournament is another blow to any at-large hopes Ithaca may have. Looking increasingly like it's win or go home for the Bombers.

[TheNextLevel]

Kean's loss in the NJAC tournament is another blow to any at-large hopes Ithaca may have. Looking increasingly like it's win or go home for the Bombers.

I would agree.

[Bombers798891]

ord to the wise: The weather/roads in Ithaca are absolutely BRUTAL. The college has apparently started "monitoring" the weather in regards to closing. What this means for the games tonight, idk, but if the weather gets much worse...

[Bombers798891]

Bombers make quick work of Utica, win in a rout, 76-49.

Absolute domination by the Bombers. They opened with a 19-2 run, and the Pioneers never got closer than 12. Ithaca led by at least 19 in the whole second half.

As I suspected, Utica has no answer for the Bombers depth. Berry scores 23 of Utica's 49 points, and hits 11 of their 19 field goals.

Meanwhile, Ithaca gets astounding production all around. Shea goes 6-for-6 from the floor. Farley goes 10-of-12. Campbell goes 6-of-10. Klie has 10 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists and four steals. Unreal.

In a somewhat related story, certain Utica fans need to quit screaming about the referees. There's a collection of fans who complain non-stop about them, and it's just classless.

For one, the officials only called six fouls on Utica the whole game. Second, Ithaca shot 64% from the floor, 71% in the second half. It's one thing if it's a back-and-forth game, but to criticize referees when you're

A) Getting most of the calls and
B) Unable to play even a modicum of defense

Is just lame IMO. Ithaca was, and is, clearly better than Utica. It's not meant to be rude, but it is what it is. They played three times this season, and none of the games were even competitive in the second half. Screaming at the refs in a 30-point game just looks childish

[7express]

Stevens with a nice win @ Ithaca to win the E-8 championship.  I still look for Ithaca to be playing in the tournament though.

[Bombers798891]

Stevens with a nice win @ Ithaca to win the E-8 championship.  I still look for Ithaca to be playing in the tournament though.

D3hoops has both in as well.

[7express]

How does Richard Stockton get in but Ithaca doesn't??

[Bombers798891]

How does Richard Stockton get in but Ithaca doesn't??

Wins over William Patterson (#3 in Atlantic), Barusch (#5 Atlantic) help. Ithaca did not beat a single RR team this season, losing to Rochester, Mt. Saint Mary, Cortland, and Thomas More.

The E8 was just bad as a conference and so going 15-1 in it, while impressive, means it was a record devoid of great wins. There's no way to sugarcoat it. Only four teams finished above .500 and 15-11 for Fisher and Utica means those aren't wins you can hang an NCAA resume on. Beating Stevens the last game of the season might have helped, but honestly, the one game you point to is the Thomas More game where the Bombers let a big lead slip away.

IDK if they were snubbed or not. It was a great season, but I think one that was just light on big wins--most of that isn't Ithaca's fault, but it is what it is. Congrats to all the seniors on great careers and here's hoping next year nets another NCAA run

[TheNextLevel]

Congratulations to Jess Berry...D3HOOPS East region POY

[Bombers798891]

Bomber women continuing to run away with the E8 so far, winning games by 32, 18, and 14 so far, and currently up by 10 at Stevens. If they hold on, they will have beaten the three other teams who have looked the best so far this season in the E8. Plus, getting a win at a tough place like Stevens is always great.

Also, because the Bombers went 8-2 OOC, there likely won't be a scenario where, even if they falter in the conference tournament, they miss out on the playoffs, as they'd probably do better than last year's 20-7.

[7express]

This Stevens team this year isn't as good as they've been the last 2, 3, 4 years.  I'm not sure whether it's a coaching change or high roster turnover (transfers, injuries, graduation, etc), but Ithaca should run away and hide in the E8 this year since their toughest competitior (Stevens) is really having a down year.

[Bombers798891]

So what's the tiebreak for the E8 if both IC and the Wick go 13-1 in conference? Overall record? SOS? Does Ithaca's loss to D-I Cornell factor in?

In a related story, what happened to this conference? Ithaca and the Wick are 39-7, the rest are 55-79. And there's a chance no one but them finish better than .500. How has the level of play dropped so far?

[7express]

Assuming the losses were to each other I'd probably say SOS or the old coin flip.