May as well get one going since the game starts in 4.5 hours. This game might go like the Nevada one did, hopefully someone besides JFL steps up? Wish Sackey's shot was better from long range. Maybe he can get some easy transition buckets. McMillan and Robinson need to step up! Line is at -12.5 for Cincy, I'll be buying a point and taking Cincy.
Cincy-76
Valpo-60
Sorolla revenge game! I'm afraid our guys are running out of gas in this one. Get back for some home cooking on Wednesday and finish this month out 5-3.
I will say that Lottich pulling some guys with 8 minutes left against Nevada is a sign he is starting to learn when to hold guys back and keep them fresh and injury free. That was one of my pre-season expectations from him. Perhaps saving some energy yesterday will pay dividends today, either with a W or just keeping people healthy to fight another day.
This could be a trap game for Cincy. After all they've been through to get the frantic comeback win on Friday and going to OT and losing to BGSU in the night cap last night, they might be low on energy or overlooking a Valpo team that got stomped last night...OR...they may be playing angry and kick the snot out of a possibly down Valpo squad. We will see how good the team chemistry is when it's put to the test in adversity here.
Not much to really lose for us here...most everyone would understand a loss (at least a competitive one) and a win would get the team and fans fired up heading into a winnable stretch of games.
The line is 13.5...at VegasInsider
Teams Win-Loss Streak ATS Current
Valparaiso (4-2) (2-2 A) L-1 4-2-0 o/u 136
Cincinnati (3-2) (3-0 H) L-1 1-4-0 -13.5
75-61 is what they are gambling on ...we are ahead on covering the spread and Cincy has only covered once.
Sorolla, Jaume "Jay" - Game Statistics - he hasn't played at all in this tournament.
Opponent PTS MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA REB AST BLK STL TO PF
Ohio St. 6 23 3-3 0-0 0-0 4 2 0 0 1 3
Drake 8 17 3-5 0-0 2-2 6 2 0 0 1 2
Ala A&M 5 13 2-3 0-0 1-2 5 1 1 0 0 1
Line moved in Valpo's favor to -11 for Cincy, IDK what Vegas is seeing but man that's easy money IMO. Hopefully I'm wrong , Valpo is +525 on the money line
Ahh the AAC player of the year is out , now I know why the line moved .
Great D and shooting through the first media timeout ! Valpo up 11-4.
I am done with these travels .....
Pleased with most, just an observation...
McMillan and Kiser having difficulty not fouling and keeping their man in front of them. We are playing with a lot of contact defending their bigs. Won't get away with that all season. Noticed Frees-Villain playing D with some tenacity as well, hope he tamed it down slightly with his reaching.
All else pretty positive, just some observations.
Valpo up 4 at the half. Sounds like the effort has been great so far. Valpo has forced 11 turnovers from Cincy and has a 15-11 rebounding advantage.
Mileek, you are a conundrum...why must we always play help defense in the post and get burned by layup/dunks?
It was like this with the Drew's if memory serves. Do we get a high degree of TO by doing this?
For those not watching, nearly 100% of UC scoring has been layups or dunks. It's simply situational awareness failure. Oh and Sackey is 1/6 and forcing right now.
As I've said all year the talent is there. This team has a chance to be pretty good. But they're not there yet.
For all the players on the court, this is Lottich's year to shine.
Or not. We'll see in March.
sackey is not who you want shooting in crunch time
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Quote from: truth219 on November 25, 2019, 06:58:25 PM
sackey is not who you want shooting in crunch time
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Unless he is in Canada...
Sackey REALLY struggled offensively. I am surprised Lorange didn't get some run given that he is supposed to be a shooter.
Gotta call a timeout there. Tie game: play it out. Down one you have to get your team together and draw something up.
Daniel sackey reminds me of Erik Buggs in almost every way
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Tough one to lose. Too bad Sackey and Kiser are no threats on the offensive side, and Kiser also is a weak defender. While this team playing together needs more time to gel, I think ML has them on the right track and is gradually seeing more cohesive play. I think we will be giving Valley teams some fits once the Conference season starts.
https://twitter.com/paradisejam/status/1199105491819024384
Quote from: FieldGoodie05 on November 25, 2019, 05:59:46 PM
For those not watching, nearly 100% of UC scoring has been layups or dunks. It's simply situational awareness failure. Oh and Sackey is 1/6 and forcing right now.
23 FG in the paint as layups / dunks / tip-ins by Cincy.
Gave that game away.
Didn't get a chance to follow game live. Was worried, as Cincinnati could have really whipped us if we showed up like Nevada. Great to come back after yesterday's game with a great effort. This team wants to prove something
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Better performances by Morgan and Gordon! If they find their games and specific roles then the team could be pretty good even without Fazekas.
Quote from: valpo64 on November 25, 2019, 07:18:42 PMKiser also is a weak defender.
Yes he comes up a little short trying to defend 6'10" and above centers. ::)
Another good effort. But this team is still an incomplete team. Lack of overall size and experience has hurt our inside defense and rebounding. Hustle and ball hawking will be our advantage for the foreseeable future. One bad game out of three.
Seeing what Nevada is doing to BGSU... I don't feel as bad as yesterday. Bring on the Trolls.
Great game to watch. We were the better team on the night, and that was an upset that got away from us. Sackey was getting to the basket and not finishing, probably expecting to get fouled each time, causing his attempt to be a little off. Freeman-Liberty willed us back into the game after we let it get to a 12 point advantage for Cindy. He turned on the jets and caused or stole the ball 3-4 times in a row. That was incredible defense over that stretch.
As much as it sucks to be on the losing end of this one, I am encouraged by the effort and performance of the team after yesterday.
I love this team and everyone on it.
Quote from: wh on November 25, 2019, 08:47:02 PM
I love this team and everyone on it.
So you like the play of our front court?
Valpo's has only a few guys with size. One is hurt. Another is sick. A third played 15 mins and the final guy is a cement leg.
So getting beat inside should not only be expected at this juncture but be pretty easy to see why it's happening. That is unless one expects a 6'5" former walk-on who's game is certainly not one which features the ability to leap to defend inside or a freshman Guard to move inside and play underneath defensively.
Quote from: FieldGoodie05 on November 25, 2019, 09:12:55 PM
Quote from: wh on November 25, 2019, 08:47:02 PM
I love this team and everyone on it.
So you like the play of our front court?
No, but that's not where I'm coming from. What I see is a band of brothers who play for each other over themselves, never take a possession off, and refuse to quit no matter how bleak the situation. Case in point, look at Eron Gordon. Here's a guy who's minutes to date have been fairly limited, yet he comes off the bench at a crucial point and plays like a man possessed to get us back in the game. In 21 minutes he was 3-3 FG, 1-1 3PT FG, 2-2 FT, 3 steals and 2 rebounds. Are you kidding me? That's what heart and character are all about. The fact that he's a talented basketball player doesn't hurt either. :)
So, yeah, I love this team.
Quote from: valpo64 on November 25, 2019, 07:18:42 PMToo bad Sackey and Kiser are no threats on the offensive side,
I think you're a little behind the times here. Both Sackey and Kiser have been two of our better scorers this season. Check the stats.
Kiser 7.4 ppg, Sackey 8.9 ppg
Quote from: govalpogo on November 25, 2019, 08:44:14 PM
As much as it sucks to be on the losing end of this one, I am encouraged by the effort and performance of the team after yesterday.
I agree with the sentiment here but why did Bowling Green win in OT and Valpo lose in OT?
I certainly would have liked Valpo to have won the Cincinnati game, but Valpo came back from 12 down in the second half against a team that should be in the top 3 or 4 in the American conference. This is a developing team that seems to put forth a lot of effort. There are encouraging signs with this team and they should be fun to watch as the season progresses.
Quote from: vu84v2 on November 26, 2019, 08:51:54 AM
I certainly would have liked Valpo to have won the Cincinnati game, but Valpo came back from 12 down in the second half against a team that should be in the top 3 or 4 in the American conference. This is a developing team that seems to put forth a lot of effort. There are encouraging signs with this team and they should be fun to watch as the season progresses.
Guys, we were leading a healthy chunk of the game by multiple possessions. The fact that we went down by 12 was a direct results of layups and dunks (unacceptable). I think if more of us had a chance to see the live feed/replay you would be as frustrated as me possibly.
Quote from: wh on November 25, 2019, 10:31:43 PM
Quote from: FieldGoodie05 on November 25, 2019, 09:12:55 PM
Quote from: wh on November 25, 2019, 08:47:02 PM
I love this team and everyone on it.
So you like the play of our front court?
No, but that's not where I'm coming from. What I see is a band of brothers who play for each other over themselves, never take a possession off, and refuse to quit no matter how bleak the situation. Case in point, look at Eron Gordon. Here's a guy who's minutes to date have been fairly limited, yet he comes off the bench at a crucial point and plays like a man possessed to get us back in the game. In 21 minutes he was 3-3 FG, 1-1 3PT FG, 2-2 FT, 3 steals and 2 rebounds. Are you kidding me? That's what heart and character are all about. The fact that he's a talented basketball player doesn't hurt either. :)
So, yeah, I love this team.
I certainly can respect that, we just need to lessen the layups and dunks because that is just lack of situational awareness and boxing out. All other things equal we are as one dimensional as last years team (just with better attitudes). Maybe we can get out of the half court offense funk and possibly get up to 35-37% as a team from deep. That can all be developed, but layups and dunks are maddening. Especially because they were mostly with us trailing the guy rather than getting backed down. Because we lack "weight" in the front court I can see us getting backed down, just not allowing them to cut and layup or put-back with ease.
There's a lot to like about this group. Next year Valpo should be really, really good, especially if they're able to develop their bigs.
Not interested in next year. If the last couple of seasons have taught us anything it should be that we have no idea what the roster looks like next year.
I love the team too, wh. I couldn't watch but followed the gamecast.
In some years we would go up 34-30 or stay close at the half like last night and then get buried fast in and early in half #2. When Cinci caught us and went up 12 points I turned off my phone. I thought I was getting my hopes up again in vain that we can play even with a Cincinatti.
Then I logged into ESPN again really late and saw us tied in the high 70s. Wow. Very impressed with their two late game comebacks vs. SLU and Cincinatti. They were outmanned, but kept coming!! If there was ever a morale victory it was an OT loss to Cincinnati playing the guys we have on our front line.
I also like this team and its hustle, team work, etc. However the lack of offense form Kiser and Sackey was well exemplified in the Cincy game. Kiser played 30 minutes and hit only 2 of 5 shots for 7 points, 2 rebounds and gave up many points on defense if I heard Todd"s calls correctly on the broadcast. Granted, like his hard work but there still is a big lack of offense and being a threat to score. Sackey's numbers: 37 minutes, 1 for 12 from the field including 0 for 4 on 3-pt shots and totaled 6 points. Sorry, but that is not cutting it on the offensive side of the ball. I realize that he had 5 assists and plays hard defensively, but as far as being a threat to put the ball in the bucket, sorry these 2 guys are not getting it done. Hopefully some of the other guys will continue to score and pick up the slack. If and when Fazekas returns should be a big help in front court offense. Ben K's return should help also.
I've always thought that the coach, during crunch time at the end of the game, should give the green light for shooting only to a small number of shooters who have the best chance of making a basket and to red-light shooters like Sackey, especially since he wasn't making any baskets the entire game. Perhaps some coaches give the green light to anyone if they have a good look. Or perhaps the coach thinks someone will pout if they get a red light. But you want set plays for your two or three best shooters. Why Sackey was allowed to take a shot with under a minute (IIRC) is a mystery to me. Or if there is a shooter who is hot, put him in the mix or as an option if shooters one and two aren't open.