AA Boys Playoff Open Thread.

[costanza]

I agree with you 100%....

[HSD6FAN]

I've seen 3 of the 4 district 6 teams play.

Blairsville will struggle against a team with the same type of athletes. Their two big guys (Williams and Henderson) protect the paint very well. The point guard (Livingston) handles pressure well and can score. The rest of the team is very average. The guards consistently got beat off the dribble. If the team can kick it out and make shots, Blairsville is very beatable. Blairsville didn't handle pressure well in the game I watched. If Livingston wasn't in the game, they had a terrible time breaking the press.

West Branch is a solid team all-around. They can shoot the lights out if they have space and get hot. They play very fundamentally. Downside is that they are not extremely athletic. A team that is athletic and can play tight man-to-man defense will give them a lot of trouble.

Bellwood seems to be a one man offensive show. Stop Davis and they have a terrible time putting points on the board. They seem to be a solid defensive team. Man-to-man defense while trying to create turnovers. I don't think they have enough to move past the first round.

Central Cambria….doesn't matter. They will struggle to keep the game within reason by the end of the first quarter.

My predictions:

Aliquippa over CC….. (by at least 30)
West Branch over Mercyhurst (just a guess)
Redbank over Bellwood (team offense will beat a one man offensive team)
GCC over CR
Neshannock over Blairsville (Neshannock has more offense that Blairsville)

[onlyone23]

I've seen 3 of the 4 district 6 teams play.

Blairsville will struggle against a team with the same type of athletes. Their two big guys (Williams and Henderson) protect the paint very well. The point guard (Livingston) handles pressure well and can score. The rest of the team is very average. The guards consistently got beat off the dribble. If the team can kick it out and make shots, Blairsville is very beatable. Blairsville didn't handle pressure well in the game I watched. If Livingston wasn't in the game, they had a terrible time breaking the press.

West Branch is a solid team all-around. They can shoot the lights out if they have space and get hot. They play very fundamentally. Downside is that they are not extremely athletic. A team that is athletic and can play tight man-to-man defense will give them a lot of trouble.

Bellwood seems to be a one man offensive show. Stop Davis and they have a terrible time putting points on the board. They seem to be a solid defensive team. Man-to-man defense while trying to create turnovers. I don't think they have enough to move past the first round.

Central Cambria….doesn't matter. They will struggle to keep the game within reason by the end of the first quarter.

My predictions:

Aliquippa over CC….. (by at least 30)
West Branch over Mercyhurst (just a guess)
Redbank over Bellwood (team offense will beat a one man offensive team)
GCC over CR
Neshannock over Blairsville (Neshannock has more offense that Blairsville)

I think you will be suprised by Mercyhurst they are big and athletic and play very good man to man defense. Don't be fooled by thier record they lost to 4 AAAA teams, West Middlesex twice and Fairview twice.

[Panther 1]

Add to the list of Mercyhurst defeats a 30 point loss to Neshannock.

Mercyhurst is big, but really, they were losing to Saegertown by 8, and could have easily lost that game in the first round of playoffs. the only thing that saved Mercyhurst was a switch to a zone against Saegertown as Saegertown drove through the MTM to build that 8 point lead in 3rd. Valimont hit a bank 3 with two seconds left to tie DX cons'y game with Reynolds and then the 6'6" player hits a deep three at buzzer of overtime to win it. Both Saegertown and Reynolds were 10 loss teams and not very good. Mercyhurst had a rough time getting by them. Hearing through the grapevine that West Branch can shoot from outside, a zone could be lethal to Mercyhurst. If Mercyhurst beats West Branch then I would deduce that Dist 6 AA Basketball is going through a down year.

[Crimson's Ghost]

District Six AA is very down this year.

[onlyone23]

Add to the list of Mercyhurst defeats a 30 point loss to Neshannock.

Mercyhurst is big, but really, they were losing to Saegertown by 8, and could have easily lost that game in the first round of playoffs. the only thing that saved Mercyhurst was a switch to a zone against Saegertown as Saegertown drove through the MTM to build that 8 point lead in 3rd. Valimont hit a bank 3 with two seconds left to tie DX cons'y game with Reynolds and then the 6'6" player hits a deep three at buzzer of overtime to win it. Both Saegertown and Reynolds were 10 loss teams and not very good. Mercyhurst had a rough time getting by them. Hearing through the grapevine that West Branch can shoot from outside, a zone could be lethal to Mercyhurst. If Mercyhurst beats West Branch then I would deduce that Dist 6 AA Basketball is going through a down year.

I guess that is why they play the game. I still think that Mercyhurst has a good chance against West Bank. Who have they really played?

[Panther 1]

onlyone23....you are absolutely right, it is why they play the game. As stated earlier, I am a DX guy and hope that Mercyhurst can pull it off. West Middlesex is the best DX AA has to offer, and chances do not look real good for them. Maybe Mercyhurst can pull off the win because you are right about another point: Who has West Branch played? Good Luck Lakers

[onlyone23]

onlyone23....you are absolutely right, it is why they play the game. As stated earlier, I am a DX guy and hope that Mercyhurst can pull it off. West Middlesex is the best DX AA has to offer, and chances do not look real good for them. Maybe Mercyhurst can pull off the win because you are right about another point: Who has West Branch played? Good Luck Lakers

It will be hard to win. I heard the Bald Eagle has a small gym and MPS does not travel well so the gym will be packed with West Branch fans. I did a little digging and 17 of the 21 wins WB has come against team with losing records 12 of those wins have come against teams that have less then 10 wins. I think MPS win the strength of schedule battle. They did take Fairview (a good team) to overtime on Fairviews court. I think they will have a big advantage inside the WB big kids don't have alot of meat on their bones. It should be fun.

[HSD6FAN]

onlyone23....you are absolutely right, it is why they play the game. As stated earlier, I am a DX guy and hope that Mercyhurst can pull it off. West Middlesex is the best DX AA has to offer, and chances do not look real good for them. Maybe Mercyhurst can pull off the win because you are right about another point: Who has West Branch played? Good Luck Lakers

It will be hard to win. I heard the Bald Eagle has a small gym and MPS does not travel well so the gym will be packed with West Branch fans. I did a little digging and 17 of the 21 wins WB has come against team with losing records 12 of those wins have come against teams that have less then 10 wins. I think MPS win the strength of schedule battle. They did take Fairview (a good team) to overtime on Fairviews court. I think they will have a big advantage inside the WB big kids don't have alot of meat on their bones. It should be fun.

Bald Eagle has a decent size gym for the D6 area. West Branch will not be traveling very far, so I would expect they will bring a lot of fans. I would also give the upper hand to Mercyhurst with the schedule. West Branch played some quality competition, but not much. Most teams they played were either very good, or very bad. Not too many teams that fall in the middle. One thing that West Branch has is that they are deceptive. When you watch them on tape, or see them in warm-ups, nothing stands out. However, they are fundamentally sound. They play team basketball. Not flashy, but they get the job done.

[Oohmy]

my picks

Quips
Mercy
Redbank
GCC
Nesh
I do not believe D5 or 6 teams are ready for the full court pressure they are going to face. They haven't seen it all year.

West Midd over Lincoln Park
Seton L also wins