West Chester to Host PSAC Men's Basketball Championship
Live Stats for all games
After a quarterfinal night that saw the top two East seeds upset on Tuesday, East No. 3 seed West Chester is the benefitiary of those upsets as it will host the 2012 PSAC men's basketball championship this Friday and Saturday at Hollinger Fieldhouse. The Golden Rams will take on West top seed and two-time defending champion IUP while East Stroudsburg and Mercyhurst will square off in the other semifinal.
The NCAA Tournament selections will air live on NCAA.com on Sunday night, March 4 at 10:30 p.m. The winner of the PSAC Tournament will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
PSAC Men's Basketball Tournament
Semifinals - Friday, March 2 (at West Chester)
Mercyhurst vs. East Stroudsburg, 5:30 p.m.
IUP vs. West Chester, 7:30 p.m.
Championship - Saturday, March 3 (at West Chester)
Mercyhurst/East Stroudsburg vs. IUP/West Chester, 7:00 p.m.
PSAC Tournament Quick Hits
- IUP will be shooting for its third straight PSAC Tournament championship. If successful, the Crimson Hawks would be the first team since Cheyney won five straight from 1976-80 to win at least three straight PSAC titles.
- The Crimson Hawks own eight all-time PSAC championships, which is tied for the third most in conference history with California. With another tournament championship, IUP would move into third place alone with its ninth all-time title, behind only Cheyney's 15 and Millersville's 10.
- East Stroudsburg is appearing in the semifinals for the third straight year. Prior to its semifinal run two years ago, the Warriors had not appeared in the semifinals since 1992. The Warriors' only championship game appearance and title came in 1990. ESU played IUP in both of its two previous semifinal games.
- West Chester is back in the semifinals for the first time since 2006 and is making just its second PSAC Tournament appearance in the last six seasons. The Golden Rams' last PSAC title game appearance was in 2001 and its lone title came in 1959.
- Mercyhurst is appearing in the semifinals for the first time in this, its fourth year in the conference. This is the third straight season, however, that the Lakers have qualified for the PSAC Tournament.
- Only three times in the last 15 years has an Eastern Division team won the conference tournament. Millersville in 2007 and 2003 and Mansfield in 1997 are the only champions from East in that time span. The Western Division has won 12 of the last 14 tournament titles and 15 of the last 18.
Game Previews
Mercyhurst vs. East Stroudsburg
The Lakers won by five points, 70-65 over East Stroudsburg in the teams' first meeting this season back on December 4. The Warriors went to the free throw line 29 times in that contest and made 23 of them compared to just 11-of-17 free throws for the Lakers, but Mercyhurst held East Stroudsburg to just 38 percent shooting from the floor while shooting 45.6 percent for themselves to come out on top in what was a tight game throughout. Mercyhurst also recorded 20 assists on 26 field goals compared to just nine on 19 for ESU. Both teams allow their opponents to shoot over 40 percent from the floor and the Warriors are coming off a 99-point outing in Tuesday's quarterfinal win over Kutztown, tied for their second-most point output of the season. ESU averages just over 79 points per game and shoots slightly better from the floor on average than the Lakers, so if Mercyhurst may need another defensive performance similar to the one it got in the teams' first meeting. These two teams have the top two turnover margins in the conference and generate the second and third-most steals in the league.
IUP vs. West Chester
In what was also a five-point decision in the teams' first meeting, IUP topped West Chester 71-66 on January 6 at IUP. The play of IUP guard Julian Sanders are largely the difference in that game, as he accounted for nearly half (32) of his team's points while shooting 11-of-19 from the floor. The rest of the IUP team shot just 15-for-35 in the game. West Chester's leading scorer and rebounder, Lance McDowell, was held to just seven points and five rebounds in the first meeting. IUP has been winning this season with its defense, which has allowed the fewest points on average in the PSAC and in holding opponents to a 40.4 shooting from the field. West Chester gives up nearly 12 more points per game than IUP and also is slightly better on the glass than the Hawks with a +3.2 rebounding margin compared to +2.8 for IUP.