The non-con season is left behind with the rest of 2021.
Will the Beacons rise to the potential that has been on display recently? This game should provide a good measuring stick for the rest of the season.
Shake off the rust quickly, and demonstrate that predictions that Valpo can be in the upper echelon of the conference are accurate!
The argument could be made this is the most important two+ months of Vu Basketball in many years. Either prove we belong here with one of the most talented teams we've ever fielded, or be in position to fire the first coach in over 30 years. (Or we fall flat and don't fire the coach because we're too cheap to buy him out, but that would be the darkest timeline).
Dream with me if you will fellow Crusaders Beacons. It's July, and we're fresh off a surprising 10-6 conference finish (couple of COVID "no contests" in there) and a stunning upset of (insert #1 seed here) in the conference tournament final and our first NCAA berth in the MVC. We lose in the first round, but only because we're matched up with Duke and the officials refuse to call fouls on the Blue Devils so K's last game won't be a loss to Valpo. Final score Duke 73, Valpo 58. Free throws favor Duke 58-4. As the summer deepens, our new President announces a 2 year renovation plan for the ARC, including a bowl of padded chairbacks in the lower level, all new LED lighting and sound system, and bathrooms with urinals that actually flush. Embrace hope for 2022!
Quote from: NativeCheesehead on January 02, 2022, 08:52:34 AM
The argument could be made this is the most important two+ months of Vu Basketball in many years. Either prove we belong here with one of the most talented teams we've ever fielded, or be in position to fire the first coach in over 30 years. (Or we fall flat and don't fire the coach because we're too cheap to buy him out, but that would be the darkest timeline).
Dream with me if you will fellow Crusaders Beacons. It's July, and we're fresh off a surprising 10-6 conference finish (couple of COVID "no contests" in there) and a stunning upset of (insert #1 seed here) in the conference tournament final and our first NCAA berth in the MVC. We lose in the first round, but only because we're matched up with Duke and the officials refuse to call fouls on the Blue Devils so K's last game won't be a loss to Valpo. Final score Duke 73, Valpo 58. Free throws favor Duke 58-4. As the summer deepens, our new President announces a 2 year renovation plan for the ARC, including a bowl of padded chairbacks in the lower level, all new LED lighting and sound system, and bathrooms with urinals that actually flush. Embrace hope for 2022!
I'm with you right up to the urinals that flush. That won't happen.
We start off the conference season ranked the 201st best team out 358 according to KenPom. Most teams did not play in-conference games.
We should win this one today (4pt favorite with 62% chance of winning.) Then it gets tough. Not favored to win the next 6 games after today. But we haven't had King in the lineup for most of the NC season. We SHOULD be much better than 201. Buckle up and enjoy the ride. We fixin' too find out what this team is made of.
Ill St is playing well and this could be a big one! In the old days I might have showed up feeling miserable and with a fever but not today and not with these circumstances. I don't know or care what I have (fully vaxed) but fanning the flames makes little sense. Any kind of a win under any kind of shorthanded situation would still be great.
I kind of expect some faces to be missing so this should be interesting. Go Beacons and Redbirds--Lets play if we can!
https://twitter.com/Pg_Benson/status/1477357908723744771
Good MoveQuoteMVC change
The MVC changed its policy this week on games impacted because of COVID-19. Instead of teams having to forfeit if they don't have at least eight players and one coach available, the league said "the contest may be considered a 'no contest' following a review by the conference office."
Loyola's game at Southern Illinois on Sunday was postponed because of COVID-19 problems with the Salukis. The game will be made up, if possible.
Quote from: humbleopinion on January 02, 2022, 09:34:22 AM
Quote from: NativeCheesehead on January 02, 2022, 08:52:34 AM
The argument could be made this is the most important two+ months of Vu Basketball in many years. Either prove we belong here with one of the most talented teams we've ever fielded, or be in position to fire the first coach in over 30 years. (Or we fall flat and don't fire the coach because we're too cheap to buy him out, but that would be the darkest timeline).
Dream with me if you will fellow Crusaders Beacons. It's July, and we're fresh off a surprising 10-6 conference finish (couple of COVID "no contests" in there) and a stunning upset of (insert #1 seed here) in the conference tournament final and our first NCAA berth in the MVC. We lose in the first round, but only because we're matched up with Duke and the officials refuse to call fouls on the Blue Devils so K's last game won't be a loss to Valpo. Final score Duke 73, Valpo 58. Free throws favor Duke 58-4. As the summer deepens, our new President announces a 2 year renovation plan for the ARC, including a bowl of padded chairbacks in the lower level, all new LED lighting and sound system, and bathrooms with urinals that actually flush. Embrace hope for 2022!
I'm with you right up to the urinals that flush. That won't happen.
Era of the Vid... toilets need to flush freely, water has to run by sensors, dryers must be hands free and Todd Ickow has to be heard from speakers above. It's the only way!
Gordon making a statement early!
11 pts (3) 3's
3 rebounds
2 assists.
Virus or not, I remain convinced that Sunday afternoon games are terrible for fan attendance
Big Joe does not block out nor physical enough to grab a rebound. They go right over him or block him out easily.
Also, Taylor can be lazy on D frequently.
Kudos to Eron for stepping up so far.
Anyone know why Kitthier is out today?
Kithier has virus
Nice to see the offensive rebounds leading to the last-second shot by Gordon. Up until then the deficit in offensive rebounding was 10-1 and 8-0 in 2nd-chance points, perhaps attributed in part to Kithier's absence.
Offense looks crisp, though some missed shots late in the half and some point blank shots blocked (with great blocks). Gordon played exceptionally well. Perimeter defense decent, defensive rebounding poor.
Valpo is going to continue to get what they want offensively in the second half. Surprised they aren't doubling Ben K. Need to clean up offensive rebounds and limit Redbirds open looks from 3. This game is far from over. See if Valpo can play 40 minutes!
We are letting them hang around. We need to put this game away now!
Why is Gordon on Reeves?
Game ball to the whole team for 16-16 from the free throw line for the win! :clap: :clap: :clap:
Feels nice to win.
Glad we could pull that one out. Even without Kithier (hope he's back asap), would've been disappointing to lose a home game against what will probably be a bottom half MVC team. Krikke did what he had to do, Gordon played well, Andersen, King, and Edwards with some critical plays down the stretch. And how about that FT shooting?!?
Man, Reeves is a player for them.
Some work to do on defense and getting half court plays that go to the bucket. But we'll definitely take the W.
A win is a win, especially in conference. But we have to clean up our late game execution.
If I were Matt and Luke, I would spend the next 2 days working on nothing but rebounding. This is the worst group of rebounders I have seen this year in college basketball. Complete lack of awareness when it comes to blocking out and proper rotations. Redbirds were soooo much more aggressive on the boards it was embarrassing.
A well played game by two shorthanded teams. This really shows the upgraded quality of basketball that the glutted transfer and eligibility situation has created. This was fun to watch and fun to win and we should expect this from us and the Valley every time on the floor. :thumbsup:
First off, gotta give some props for Gordon's play. I certainly have not been shy about my comments regarding his play this season, but he absolutely balled today.
Honestly I liked what we did on offense most of the game, but we need to set up more cuts to the basket for easy layups to offset these scoring droughts we have when jump shots aren't falling. Trevor needs to be one of our focal guys on offense, he has done so much good for us on offense this year he should be taking more shots.
Defensively, I don't feel any different than I have, I think we still gave too many open three shots to ISU and they just missed a lot of them. And of course, we can't rebound to save our lives but we also didn't have our good rebounding big in today.
Glad we got this win, going to be a very tough stretch now.
Nice game by Gordon. Good to see him play well. Krikke and King's turnovers at key points toward the end and bad play on the boards gave me some indigestion, but hitting all their free throws provided relief. Nice to see the team pull out another close one.
Quote from: justducky on January 02, 2022, 03:23:46 PM
A well played game by two shorthanded teams. This really shows the upgraded quality of basketball that the glutted transfer and eligibility situation has created. This was fun to watch and fun to win and we should expect this from us and the Valley every time on the floor. :thumbsup:
Agreed. Redbirds are going to give people fits, crazy athleticism and shooting. Reeves and Strong are hard to contain, throw in Chatman and this team can compete against anyone in the MVC. I watched the Wisconsin game and it really reminded me of the 2007 game that we lost to Wisconsin after leading a good part of the game. The last 3-4 minutes of that game we got zero calls and Wisconsin could do no wrong. Illinois State had a really good chance to win that game.
Quote from: IndyEIT777 on January 02, 2022, 03:46:02 PMbut we need to set up more cuts to the basket for easy layups to offset these scoring droughts we have when jump shots aren't falling. Trevor needs to be one of our focal guys on offense, he has done so much good for us on offense this year he should be taking more shots.
I watch Kobe King hiding in the corner on a lot of possessions and really wonder why we don't run something to have him cutting through the lane more often. Really love it when he and Krikke play a little two man game, it worked several times and puts pressure on the defense because you have to decide who you are going to potentially double. One time King entered the ball to Ben and ISU doubled, King cut to the basket and Ben had a nice pass for the score.
5 players in double figures and Kevion with 8. It kept ILSU from keying on anyone.
Trevor keeps getting better and better. He drives and scores despite going against quicker, more athletic guards. He's amazingly physical and uses his body for leverage like few players his size can do. He also had 6 assists. FT's are automatic.
Impressive win, when you consider that we were without Kithier. It's odd, but during the game, I didn't even realize that he wasn't playing, even though he is one of our best players. That is a good sign, as it means that other people were stepping up. Hats off to Gordon's best game for Valpo in quite a long time.
Interesting postgame press conference, much of which focused on covid protocols and consequences. Odd to see the mixed messages in the mask wearing: Lottich wears his, Ben removes his during the discussion, while Trevor and Eron don't wear a mask (and one hears Trevor's innocent coughs and sniffles that would have gone unnoticed in the past). Also, Trevor's response about what it will be like when a mass of other students return to campus shows concerns about transmission. In any case, given the likelihood of players' absences due to the virus, as with Kithier and Woodyard today, the benefit of an additional year of eligibility and increased numbers of players this season should give some teams a buffer of experience and depth.
With the facial hair, Trevor looks like a shorter Alec Peters with the way that his hair was styled, but has a voice/response style similar to Bryce Drew. Interesting combination. Both he and Sheldon can scare the crap out of me with how comfortable they are in dribbling while bodied up against a defender, and then splitting two defenders for a drive down the lane, but their Assist/Turnover ratios are fantastic, when you consider how aggressive both are on the court.
Quote from: valpopal on January 02, 2022, 04:31:46 PMas with Kithier and Woodyard today, the benefit of an additional year of eligibility and increased numbers of players this season should give some teams a buffer of experience and depth.
Hedstrom played pretty well in his nearly seven minutes and getting 7:23 from Ruedinger didn't really hurt us. I'm thinking Keyondre Young might also have gotten 5 minutes had he been healthy just because of defensive quickness matchups.
Quote from: wh on January 02, 2022, 04:20:52 PMTrevor keeps getting better and better. He drives and scores despite going against quicker, more athletic guards. He's amazingly physical and uses his body for leverage like few players his size can do. He also had 6 assists. FT's are automatic.
For Valley fans who preseason dismissed our point guard potential (me included) Trevor now has 41 assists to 10 turn overs while Darius sits at 26-11. Ruedinger chips in at 5-1. Our team season number is 204-149 with King nearly our worst with 5-14. Just wait until he gets all the mental and physicall rust worn off!
Big Joe seems to have some untapped potential on offense. He just needs to get physical and rebound.
6-8 less turnovers per game = 6-8 more possessions/shot attempts per game this season. Will make a difference when it comes down to two or three possessions to decide many league games. Good free throw shooting, better decisions with the ball, will keep us in most games this season. Kitheir would have erased some of those second chance points the Redbirds got in the first half. Mullen's teams have too many costly turnovers. His team will keep both teams in the games this year.
Quote from: AB on January 02, 2022, 07:05:35 PMMullen's teams have too many costly turnovers. His team will keep both teams in the games this year.
Their point guard was injured last game against Wisconsin or we likely would have lost today. Great league balance and the champ might have 5 or even 6 losses. :o
An overtime victory after losing a lead they'd kept until the final seconds of regulation is a good sign. And let's not forget that they've gone 8-3 since the Stanford loss.
As for the MVC, any team that stays relatively healthy, has some last season momentum, and avoids a Thursday tourney game has as good a chance as any to win the conference NCAA spot. VU can be among those teams.
Quote from: Chairback on January 02, 2022, 01:31:07 PMBig Joe does not block out nor physical enough to grab a rebound.
Yeah but he makes up for it by being slow afoot and unable to get off the ground.
Th Beacons have been out rebounded in nearly every game and by a significant margin in several games.
Quote from: justducky on January 02, 2022, 07:17:32 PMTheir point guard was injured last game against Wisconsin or we likely would have lost today.
I'm sorry, did you forget that we were also down a starter, double digit scorer and leading rebounder???
Quote from: FWalum on January 02, 2022, 04:05:04 PM
Quote from: justducky on January 02, 2022, 03:23:46 PM
A well played game by two shorthanded teams. This really shows the upgraded quality of basketball that the glutted transfer and eligibility situation has created. This was fun to watch and fun to win and we should expect this from us and the Valley every time on the floor. :thumbsup:
Agreed. Redbirds are going to give people fits, crazy athleticism and shooting. Reeves and Strong are hard to contain, throw in Chatman and this team can compete against anyone in the MVC. I watched the Wisconsin game and it really reminded me of the 2007 game that we lost to Wisconsin after leading a good part of the game. The last 3-4 minutes of that game we got zero calls and Wisconsin could do no wrong. Illinois State had a really good chance to win that game.
The word frenetic comes to mind when thinking about ILSU's playing style:
Marked by fast and energetic, disordered, or anxiety-driven activity.
Quote from: FWalum on January 02, 2022, 10:24:11 PM
Quote from: justducky on January 02, 2022, 07:17:32 PMTheir point guard was injured last game against Wisconsin or we likely would have lost today.
I'm sorry, did you forget that we were also down a starter, double digit scorer and leading rebounder???
Not at all which helps make my unquoted point about our great league balance. ISUr has already won at MSU and challenged at Wisconsin. They can beat anybody even while shorthanded and on the road. Meanwhile our shorthanded win just strengthens my confidence. My thinking has been that taking 3 of our next 5 will put us right where we need to be. Those 5 games are at UNI, home SIU, home MSU, at Loyola and home UNI. I love our depth and we may need to go even deeper into our bench to get through our next two weeks. Line them up and lets see what happens!
I would be remiss if I failed to mention the professional halftime show featuring a 4-man trampoline dunk team. It was very entertaining.
Excellent article from the visitor's local newspaper, the Pantagraph. The Pantagraph and the NWI Times newspapers are both owned by Lee Enterprises. The online appearance of the Pantagraph is a mirror image of the Times.
Included are ILSU's postgame news conference and action photos.
https://pantagraph.com/sports/college/illinois-state/watch-now-valparaiso-edges-illinois-state-in-overtime-as-poor-first-half-dooms-redbirds/article_dbf0018b-418b-5a49-9a37-29a8200c42f6.html
Daily Circulation
30,000 Pantagraph
53,000 NWI Times
Sunday Circulation
34,000 Pantagraph
67,000 NWI Times
Quote from: justducky on January 02, 2022, 07:17:32 PM
Great league balance and the champ might have 5 or even 6 losses. :o
As to league balance, pretty remarkable to look at the standings so far: All the MVC teams that have played two games have at least one loss. Only Loyola and SIU are unbeaten at 1-0 in conference.
Quote from: valpo95 on January 03, 2022, 07:51:56 AM
Quote from: justducky on January 02, 2022, 07:17:32 PM
Great league balance and the champ might have 5 or even 6 losses. :o
As to league balance, pretty remarkable to look at the standings so far: All the MVC teams that have played two games have at least one loss. Only Loyola and SIU are unbeaten at 1-0 in conference.
Valpo is in a seven-way tie for third!
Came away impressed.
I really like the 1-2 punch of King and Krikke. As he continues to knock off some rust, King will give us two players who can really put the ball in the bucket and maybe someone who should be double teamed.
Toss in Kithier, Anderson, and the others..we should be pretty good as we keep on finding our how to play with each other. Fantastic game by Gordon.
I know it's not allowed on here, but I'm excited for the rest of this season.
Quote from: elephtheria47 on January 03, 2022, 11:26:08 AM
Came away impressed.
I really like the 1-2 punch of King and Krikke. As he continues to knock off some rust, King will give us two players who can really put the ball in the bucket and maybe someone who should be double teamed.
Toss in Kithier, Anderson, and the others..we should be pretty good as we keep on finding our how to play with each other. Fantastic game by Gordon.
I know it's not allowed on here, but I'm excited for the rest of this season.
A lot of people are hard wired to be adverse to emotional rollercoaster rides. My wife is like that. She tempers her enthusiasm about practically everything for fear of being disappointed somewhere down the road. In her case, I believe it stems from an unhappy childhood, alcoholic father killed in a car accident, and a host of other painful childhood memories. I thrive on emotional rollercoaster highs of all types, so much so that I'm willing to risk deep despair when something crashes and burns. I feel sorry for my wife, and she feels sorry for me. lol Needless to say, I'm thinking a top 3 finish right now. :)
Valpo lost to the pre-season #1 team on their court, though with a decent second-half showing, and beat the pre-season #10 team at home, though in overtime with a 16-16 free throw performance where one missed foul shot in regulation could have meant a loss. Therefore, the conference record stands where we should reasonably expect it to be at this point. No surprises yet; so, I am still in wait-and-see mode.
Quote from: JD24 on January 02, 2022, 09:21:20 PM
Quote from: Chairback on January 02, 2022, 01:31:07 PMBig Joe does not block out nor physical enough to grab a rebound.
Yeah but he makes up for it by being slow afoot and unable to get off the ground.
Little by little I am starting to picture the player he might become and the upside is substantial. To justify any investment you need the promise of a future return. That is true for stocks, bonds, real estate, commodities and college basketball players. With various financial options you can partially hedge your risks in 4 of the 5 mentioned categories. If we figure out a hedge for raw center development I might go all in.
Quote from: wh on January 03, 2022, 12:49:28 PMI feel sorry for my wife,
So do we. :)
Quote from: wh on January 03, 2022, 12:49:28 PMI'm thinking a top 3 finish right now.
Would my 4'th place prediction burst your bubble?
Quote from: justducky on January 03, 2022, 02:08:08 PM
Quote from: JD24 on January 02, 2022, 09:21:20 PM
Quote from: Chairback on January 02, 2022, 01:31:07 PMBig Joe does not block out nor physical enough to grab a rebound.
Yeah but he makes up for it by being slow afoot and unable to get off the ground.
Little by little I am starting to picture the player he might become and the upside is substantial. To justify any investment you need the promise of a future return. That is true for stocks, bonds, real estate, commodities and college basketball players. With various financial options you can partially hedge your risks in 4 of the 5 mentioned categories. If we figure out a hedge for raw center development I might go all in.
Quote from: wh on January 03, 2022, 12:49:28 PMI feel sorry for my wife,
So do we. :)
Quote from: wh on January 03, 2022, 12:49:28 PMI'm thinking a top 3 finish right now.
Would my 4'th place prediction burst your bubble?
Anything from 6-10 is unacceptable. This group has talent, age and experience, and is unselfish almost to a fault. They're starting to look like a well oiled machine running our offense. They work the clock looking for the best shot, yet seldom have to throw up a bad shot with the shot clock running down. Plus, I don't think we're anywhere close to peaking yet. All encouraging stuff IMO.