2/23, 12pm: EKU @ Valpo Bracketbusters Game Thread (ESPNU)

[LaPorteAveApostle]

From the Richmond (KY) Register:

OVC HOOPS: Colonels fall short at Valpo

http://richmondregister.com/localsports/x36428645/OVC-HOOPS-Colonels-fall-short-at-Valpo

"They put four small guys out there on the court and really spread us out ...

they DO grow 'em big on the farm down there if Rowdy is a "small guy".

wait a second, Stutz is as big as KVW (6'8).  Rowdy (6'7) is bigger than Tarius Johnson (6'5).

Walden's their tallest guard at 6'2 (Cosey 6, DiNunno 5'11). 
Kenney's our tallest guard at 6'4 (Bogan 6'1, Buggs 5'11).

just WHO is flooding Homer Court with all these small guys, anyway?

Or is Jeff Neubauer from the Gary Waters coaching tree?

[talksalot]

Lack of families was probably caused a little bit by the ticket prices... They used the Detroit Prices for the BBuster game:   $20/seat in the Upper Deck ($43.50 for front row chair backs)... 

[letsgovu]

However, those that don't go to a Saturday game at noon on ESPNU, are not true fans.

Does anyone really care any more about being on tv?  Perhaps this isn't as big of a deal to the kids as it used to be.  They came out for the big games that were meaningful which is the biggest deal to me.  There are other things to do on campus, being a fan of the bball team might not be the same as it was when you and others were in school.  I still see a huge increase of kids attendance in the past two years.  Some performance groups are also on tour this weekend so that may have been a small dent in the empty space

[agibson]

they DO grow 'em big on the farm down there if Rowdy is a "small guy".

Yeah, I don't know if there were more minutes of "One of KVW, Rowdy, and Bobby, but not two" than in a typical game.  I suppose with Rowdy playing only 20 minutes, there probably were.

But, if Boggs or Kenney are playing fourth in a smaller lineup, I don't know that they're acting like "small guys".  But, I suppose this does feel like four guards.

[agibson]

They do seem to always get up and play well for the bracketbuster games.

For the bracketbuster games at home, at least!  5-0 at home, 0-4 on the road?

[agibson]

Lack of families was probably caused a little bit by the ticket prices... They used the Detroit Prices for the BBuster game:   $20/seat in the Upper Deck ($43.50 for front row chair backs)... 

Yeah - that wold be tough.  Given the limited number of day games, I might have ponied up the cash, but $20 a piece for the upper mezzanine probably would have made me think twice.  Too bad they couldn't have had one of the family day promotions - could perhaps have had a big crowd, well before even early bed times.

[agibson]

30-44 from the field.  68.2%.  The best since...

The best in at least six years.   We don't even have a game better than 60% every year.

Could it be our best FG% in a game, ever?

Valpo Basketball ‏@ValpoBasketball
The Crusaders shot 68.2% from the field today, their highest FG% in a game since shooting 68.8% in a win over Northern Ill. in January 1998.

Best in 15 years, not bad!  And EKU's lowest in almost twelve months.

[wh]

Lack of families was probably caused a little bit by the ticket prices... They used the Detroit Prices for the BBuster game:   $20/seat in the Upper Deck ($43.50 for front row chair backs)... 

IMO more than affecting the attendance problem "a little bit," ticket pricing killed the attendance we should have had, which in turn killed the atmosphere and showing we should have made on national TV. How do I know ticket pricing was the culprit?  Consider this:

---How many on this board - some of VU's most avid fans - were really pumped for this game?  I know I wasn't.  It's like 'E. Kentucky who?'  They're a program no one knows anything about out of a low major conference we have no connection to or ever hear about, unless it's Belmont or Murray State. Contrast that with Missouri State 2 years ago.  They were leading the MVC, a high ranking mid major conf. that everyone knows about, with teams we are familiar with like Evansville, Indiana State, Bradley, S. IL, etc. 

---No one even started a game thread until the day before and even then it got very few posts- before, during or after. 

---The pre game newspaper write-ups were boring - just some basic facts about an unknown opponent pulled from stat sheet.com or somewhere, followed by some less than enthusiastic quotes from Bryce Drew.  I don't blame the writers or Bryce.  They're no different than we are.  It's hard to fake enthusiasm. 

---As we all know, the whole Bracket Buster thing lost its luster a long time ago.  Teams are more concerned about someone getting hurt than anything else.  And, look what happened?  EKU's best player goes down with a knee injury.  Imagine how we would be feeling about now if that was Ryan.

---We all remember what happened 2 years ago after the MSU game - we ran out of gas, lost the conf. lead, and basically fell apart.  More evidence to dampen enthusiasm about a basically meaningless game.

---The students are no different than we are.  They simply were not interested.

---One personal point - I was going to bring several extended family members beyond our usual 3 - which I have done many times before - but when I found out the tickets were $20 each, I changed my mind and told everyone that we would do the group thing for the YSU game.  Not that I couldn't have shelled out the cash, but I just thought this game simply is not worth what they're asking. 

[letsgovu]

---How many on this board - some of VU's most avid fans - were really pumped for this game?

all good points.  I bought 2 tickets ages ago since last year I got crammed into aa when I waited until the last minute to get my tickets.  I ended up having a hard time getting someone to come with me.  a lot of the same reasons as you and we are all coming back on Tuesday for senior night.

[talksalot]

I know you are all dying to find out... we did hit the 151,000 lifetime point total in the game yesterday... Bobby Capobianco with 8:16 to play scored the 68th point... for the magic number.  we are now at 151,012 ...

[valpotx]

So, are we saying that we will have a sellout for YSU?  This will be a huge indication of student interest, as we are playing to clinch the #1 seed, host the conference tournament, and gain a huge advantage in getting back to the NCAA tournament.  If they don't come out for that, then it is embarrassing.

[Smj]

I have faith that on Tuesday the place will be crazy...

[VULB#62]

GO BUCS!!!

eku over valpo by 30 or more . . .

Just wondering.  Relatively speaking, does this mean we actually won by 52?   

[govalpogo]

That Mo St. game was also on my list of favorite games while being a student.  Higher profile matchup, Dickie V, ESPN2, packed house, dominant performance, many of us had friends from Missouri that made the trip, it was a lot of fun!  Of course, the following home game against Loyola was among my least favorite games to have attended, followed shortly by that Iona game in the "PB&J tournament" as BWood put it at Pepe's the night prior...still a lot of bitterness there...still a lot of bitterness about the end of the last two seasons really.  Let's hope that trend does not continue.

According to the above pic, it doesn't seem like anybody shows up in Eastern Kentucky to see the them play either, why should we expect any differently?  RPI wise, it made sense, but I think there would have been a bigger crowd if say, Ohio or even Evansville had been the match-up.

[wh]

That Mo St. game was also on my list of favorite games while being a student.  Higher profile matchup, Dickie V, ESPN2, packed house, dominant performance, many of us had friends from Missouri that made the trip, it was a lot of fun!  Of course, the following home game against Loyola was among my least favorite games to have attended, followed shortly by that Iona game in the "PB&J tournament" as BWood put it at Pepe's the night prior...still a lot of bitterness there...still a lot of bitterness about the end of the last two seasons really.  Let's hope that trend does not continue.

According to the above pic, it doesn't seem like anybody shows up in Eastern Kentucky to see the them play either, why should we expect any differently?  RPI wise, it made sense, but I think there would have been a bigger crowd if say, Ohio or even Evansville had been the match-up.

I was hoping to see a highlight slam in person yesterday, but No.23 didn't get into the game.  I see he only averages 3.7 min/game, so that dunk may be his only highlight of the year.

I watched most of the Detroit game yesterday.  They were overmatched.  The matchups would have been better if we would have been the road team against WSt and Detroit hosted EKU.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

"PB&J tournament" as BWood put it at Pepe's the night prior...

did that really happen, or is that just a realistic interpretation of what transpired??

it doesn't seem like anybody shows up in Eastern Kentucky to see the them play either

true, but they have averaged just under 3K for their last 3 home dates.  Last year they averaged over 2500 for the season, about 75 more per game than detroit.

[govalpogo]

"PB&J tournament" as BWood put it at Pepe's the night prior...

did that really happen, or is that just a realistic interpretation of what transpired??

it doesn't seem like anybody shows up in Eastern Kentucky to see the them play either

true, but they have averaged just under 3K for their last 3 home dates.  Last year they averaged over 2500 for the season, about 75 more per game than detroit.

Well, various members of the team was at Pepe's the night before, but now that I think of it, they were just bragging about how badly they were going to beat Iona.  I believe I heard Brandon's comments from another member of the team a few days later....So, yes, it happened, more or less.  The whole team was not happy to be in the CIT, understandably so, but it was a terrible way to end my career in the student section.  Sorry to bring that up again...the bitterness still flows through me about that experience.

Also, I imagine the photo was taken during a scrub match explaining their lack of attendance and a fella who averages 3mpg getting a wide open dunk.  It was in jest. 

[lowposter]

Did they actually charge $20 for upper deck seats yesterday?  I certainly am glad my boys and I stayed home (tried to talk them into going).

How in the world does VU charge $20 for a poor seat?  What kind of "sports marketing" was that?

It was a good performance (watched it on TV).

[wh]

Did they actually charge $20 for upper deck seats yesterday?  I certainly am glad my boys and I stayed home (tried to talk them into going).

How in the world does VU charge $20 for a poor seat?  What kind of "sports marketing" was that?

It was a good performance (watched it on TV).

Just another instance of not understanding price pointing or how to properly market your product.  Other examples - banner in the hallway fiasco and the men's BB team walking anonymously along side other student athletes at the Popcorn Festival Parade instead of prominently promoting them.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

It was in jest. 

Oh, I am with you on that.

Wow on that story, but most of all about Pepe's itself...my band used to play there back in the day.  never saw that as a university hangout.

[vuweathernerd]

It was in jest.

Oh, I am with you on that.

Wow on that story, but most of all about Pepe's itself...my band used to play there back in the day.  never saw that as a university hangout.

tuesday nights - cheap pitchers and tired rotc seniors after a long day stuck in south bend. we were there just about every week.

but all that aside, perhaps the fact that they were at pepe's the night before that game against iona contributed to the loss...

[agibson]

How in the world does VU charge $20 for a poor seat?

I don't think they're poor seats.  The view's fine, and there's more room to stretch out than there is downstairs.  But, $20 a head starts to seem steep for family entertainment.

[valpopal]

I have posted about 35 new photos I took at the BracketBusters game on my Valpo Basketball Photography blog, which now has close to 400 pictures. There is a real mixed bag of images this time, including a collector's item and a marriage proposal, as well as the sighting of Vashil and Jordan back in the lineup. Below are a few samples, starting with Bryce applauding a team shooting performance he could appreciate, and the other pictures are at http://photography226.wordpress.com/

[StlVUFan]

I left the game as soon as the final buzzer sounded because I had a ticket to the Cleveland State-Western Illinois game.  As I took 30 to I-65 to I-80 and headed across Illinois, our dear departed TV voice of the Crusaders RLH came to mind.  At least once I heard him on a game broadcast talk about travel in the Mid-Con, saying of the trip to MaComb, "You can't get there from here."

It certainly is out in the middle of nowhere

[wh]

Mutka: Cardinals, Crusaders, Mustangs thrive


On bracket busting

Incoming Eastern Kentucky came into Valparaiso with a school-record 22 victories and leading the Ohio Valley Conference with a defensive scoring average of 63.7 points. The Colonels had also scored at least 80 points in five of their last six games, but fizzled dramatically Saturday. They also lost Corey Walden, who scored 20 points before departing with 9:22 left.

"Just a strained knee, nothing serious," said relieved EKU coach Jeff Neubauer.

He compared Valparaiso to Belmont (22-6), which leads the OVC and demolished 20-game winner Ohio Saturday.

"Belmont has an RPI of 28," he said after VU's 22-point victory. "Valpo's very similar, great shooters, pass and move the ball well."

The Crusaders shot a sizzling 68.2 percent to send 3,336 fans home happy.

Will Bogan, one of VU's four 'little' guards, stashed 13 points. More impressive defensively, he muzzled EKU's Glenn Cosey, who brought a 15.7 average into the ARC, but managed just four points.

"I knew he was their scoring leader and shot a lot of threes," Bogan said. "So I took it kind of personal, chasing him."

Cosey went 1-for-10 from the field, missing all six of his 3-point attempts.

Bryce Drew believes Bogan is peaking at the right time.

"In the last three weeks he's been playing his best basketball in two years at Valpo," the coach said. "Offensively, he's moving well without the ball and has been more aggressive driving, getting into the lane. Defensively, this was his best game."

Valparaiso should be rested for Tuesday's game with visiting Youngstown State, which snapped its six-game winning streak on Jan. 30. Kendrick Perry's 28 points and 11 rebounds inspired the Penguins, but injured his knee in practice Wednesday and was negotiating the campus on crutches last Friday.

Subs accounted for 34 points and 16 rebounds in VU's 82-60 romp. Reserve guards LaVonte Dority and Ben Boggs, who hit double figures, logged more minutes than big guns, Ryan Broekhoff and Kevin Van Wijk.

This essentially meaningless game brought EKU-Valparaiso together for the first time since 1985. Interrupting the conference season during crunch time is never a good idea, but since when has ESPN considered the programs involved when punching out its schedule?

"It was a fun game," Bogan protested, "playing somebody you haven't seen before."

Around Christmas, maybe. Not in the last two weeks of the season. Not when it could artificially affect conference championship races.


http://posttrib.suntimes.com/sports/18453011-556/mutka-cardinals-crusaders-mustangs-thrive.html