HL Tourney

[valpo84]

Another guru picks against Valpo. Bulletin Board material.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/forde-minutes--with-march-proving-ground-upon-us--every-team-is-fighting-for-something-070500998.html

[vu72]

Another guru picks against Valpo. Bulletin Board material.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/forde-minutes--with-march-proving-ground-upon-us--every-team-is-fighting-for-something-070500998.html

Another goofy opinion.  What did he mean when he said "but can they do it again, particularly with no Butler around" (or some such wording).  If I didn't know better I would think that they beat Butler for the title.  So, does it mean that Butler was easy and now they aren't around to be the cupcake?  We beat Butler and they had no impact on the tourney.  Just don't get these ESPN writers.

[KL31NY]

Dark horse: Detroit, which has won eight of its last nine league games.
...
Minutes pick: Detroit. Ray McCallum Jr. raised his game and carried the Titans to the title last year, and he can do it again, especially with no Butler to deal with this time around.

Does Forde not know the definition of "dark horse" or could he not think of a better word to use? A dark horse, by definition, would be an entity little is known about or has only a small chance to win. Simply put, a surprise team. If all these people are picking Detroit to beat Valpo, what's the surprise?

All these picks bug me because it implies to me that these people don't think Valpo can win "the big one." I say we prove those people wrong next Tuesday, but of course, we need a win on Saturday first.

[oklahomamick]

Detroit will be lucky to see 2 games in the ARC.  Titans are going to tripp against WSU like they have once already this season.  Ray Jr. will get upset and declare he's leaving for the NBA. 

[valpotx]

He's saying that it should be easier this time for Detroit since Butler is no longer in the conference.  Obviously, he didn't pay attention last year.  The bottom of his article has Homer/Bryce talking about the shot on video as well.

[govalpogo]

It's a pretty neat video: http://sports.yahoo.com/video/father-son-relive-epic-shot-023000437.html

[StlVUFan]

Some guy purporting to be from the Horizon League called me on my cell a half hour ago and left me a message about ticket opportunities for the HL tourney.  I called him back and got his voice mail which said he was with the Michael Jordan foundation, so I hung up and deleted the voice mail.  He called me back because he saw that I tried to call him.  I told him that his voice mail says he's with the Michael Jordan foundation and he had no idea what I was talking about.  At any rate, I told him I already have my tickets.  He asked me if I had any questions, and I just said no and hung up.  I didn't have the heart to tell him that I could probably answer his questions since I grew up there and was there last March.

 

[KL31NY]

If the first game is any indication of how exciting the whole tourney will be, we're gonna have a lot of fun.

YSU 62, LUC 60

DJ Cole went 1-on-1 on the Penguins' last possession, drove in and banked in a contested shot from the left side of the lane in the last seconds. LUC could not score to tie or win it at the buzzer. Very dramatic final moments to say the least.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Indeed.  He probably heard all the awful things I was saying about him.

Wonder if Perry can come back the later they play into the tourney?

[Goraiders93]

Do you all know if they'll be selling tickets game day Saturday at the ARC or would it be easier just to have them at will call?

[milanmiracle]

He's saying that it should be easier this time for Detroit since Butler is no longer in the conference.  Obviously, he didn't pay attention last year.  The bottom of his article has Homer/Bryce talking about the shot on video as well.

Um, correct me if I am wrong but didn't Detroit WIN the HL tourney?

[StlVUFan]

He's saying that it should be easier this time for Detroit since Butler is no longer in the conference.  Obviously, he didn't pay attention last year.  The bottom of his article has Homer/Bryce talking about the shot on video as well.

Um, correct me if I am wrong but didn't Detroit WIN the HL tourney?

They didn't have to play Butler last year.

[valpotx]

He's saying that it should be easier this time for Detroit since Butler is no longer in the conference.  Obviously, he didn't pay attention last year.  The bottom of his article has Homer/Bryce talking about the shot on video as well.

Um, correct me if I am wrong but didn't Detroit WIN the HL tourney?

I will gladly correct you  .  I was speaking to the fact that they didn't play Butler last year, as Stl mentioned 

[Kyle321n]

Do you all know if they'll be selling tickets game day Saturday at the ARC or would it be easier just to have them at will call?

I would go will call so you can secure a better seat.

[Goraiders93]

Do you all know if they'll be selling tickets game day Saturday at the ARC or would it be easier just to have them at will call?

I would go will call so you can secure a better seat.

Hope we don't lose Friday

[wh]

Do you all know if they'll be selling tickets game day Saturday at the ARC or would it be easier just to have them at will call?

I would go will call so you can secure a better seat.

Hope we don't lose Friday

I will be there and am looking forward to seeing what should be two really good games. I love college basketball, and this is a unique opportunity to see some additional HL action right where I live and at a very reasonable price.  Good luck to the Raiders (and the other teams). 

[valpopal]

I was at the university this afternoon, and for those coming to Valpo to attend the tournament this weekend from other regions, I thought you might like to see what the campus looked like today after almost a foot of snowfall. The forecast is for warmer weather by Friday and Saturday, with temperatures in the 40s on Friday and perhaps 50 on Saturday, so much of this will have melted by then.

[Goraiders93]

Beautiful. We got about 4 inches here and they're forecasting 57 degrees tomorrow. Haha. Came up for the regular season game. Not expecting quite that crowd for the WSU/UDM game but it should be a good match up. (Again, assuming we get by YSU). Good luck to the Crusaders until Tuesday   They tend to represent the HL with class.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Not that we care, but if we did:  UIC or GB?

UIC I
January 9:  Valpo 75, @UIC 70. 
POG:  Rowdy 21 & 10.
Enemy POG:  Talton 25 & 4 ast.


Was it Father's Day?:  No, but close:  13 ties, the last at 2:34 of the second half (61-61) .

Looked bad when: Hayden Humes and Josh Crittle went on an outside-inside run that put the Flames up 44-35 with 16:00 to play in the second half.

But then: The Flames actually increased the lead to double digits on a Talton trey at 15:20, but then were held scoreless for precisely 5 minutes, while Rowdy and LVD (yes, truth, look it up, 13 second-half points) went to work and whittled it down.

Until finally:  SIX different Crusaders scored in the last 2 1/2 to pull away.  That...I'm guessing is not often done.

Putting the fun in fundamentals:  FTs:  43 for 48 (89.6%), VU 25-30, UIC 18-18.  VU 6-6 in the last 12 seconds to ice it.

Quotes:

"I saw a Chicago kid that came home and played with a purpose," UIC coach Howard Moore said of Dority. "He was very aggressive and he inserted his physicality right away."
...
"I was just playing to win," Dority said. "Just taking good shots and making it through the stretch. I was able to step up and hit some shots."

UIC Part Deux
February 5:  @Valpo 86, UIC 61. 
POG:  Rowdy 22 & 6.
Enemy POG:  Crittle 12 & 5.
Just because:

Is there a rhyme about UIC you've been dying to share?:  I thought you'd never ask.
Crittle's not little / And Talton's not tall
But Hayden Humes might be / The best of them all
Because I'm biased.*
(note: my bias is simply pro-VHS, thank you.)

Looked bad when: Hayden Humes hit 2 FTs to open up the critical 7-2 lead with only 37:23 to play.

But then: We do what we do, or rather, Rowdy did what only Rowdy can do (5-6 1st half 3 pointers).  The lead ballooned to 35 points with under 5 to play (84-49) until the Flames decided to make it (more) respectable.

Until finally:  My man Vashil got 13 minutes, 2 boards, and an acrobatic layup.

Putting the fun in fundamentals:  VU 60% from the floor.  57.7% from behind the arc.
Oh, and the teams, 30-36 (83.3%) from the line (VU 11-12, UIC 19-24).  For the series:  73-84, or 86.9% (VU 36/42, 85.7%, UIC 37/42, 88.1%).  For the season, though, VU 73.5% and UIC 75%.  Slackers.

For a while:  This was VU's best performance of the season, statistically, until the EKU game.

Quotes (featuring quote of the year nominee):

"I didn't even realize how deep the shot was," Broekhoff said. "I saw on the clock there were only four seconds left. I'd made the last couple, and I shot it with confidence."
...
"I just try to keep the energy high," Capobianco said. "The numbers are just a testament to our hard work every day in practice. Tonight was just a culmination of that."
...
"It felt like we were in quicksand the entire game," UIC coach Howard Moore said. "Credit to Valparaiso. They played like the top team in the league tonight, and we played awful on defense."

UWGB
January 22:  @Valpo 73, GB 61. 
POG:  Rowdy 19 & 9.
Enemy POG:  Brown 18 & 6.
Actual picture of Alec Brown in high school:


Looked bad when: Well, we never trailed.  We had a first-half lead of 16.  There was a difficult moment when they cut it to 38-37 with 17:11 in the 2nd, and then a KVW 3-pointer (the play not the shot) restored sanity to the world.

But then: We do what we do, or hold them scoreless for 4:46 of game time.  They were held without a FG for a 9:09 stretch in there too. (!!!)

Until finally:  We crushed our enemies and saw them driven before us.

This was:  VU's best performance of the season, statistically, supplanting the aforementioned EKU game, with a BPI score of 96.5 (100 being the perfect game).

Putting the fun in fundamentals:  FTs (again!):  44-54 (81.5%):  VU 27-33 (81.8%, behind 14-15 from Rowdy)
, GB 17-21 (81%). 

This all sounds like the work of:


Quotes:

"I missed a couple of shots that I'd normally make," Broekhoff said. "They were really good at getting through screens and they made sure to locate me. I'm just lucky enough I was able to find my way to the free throw line."
...
"We just kept playing our game," Van Wijk said. "We didn't really set up plays; just trying to find the open man. The perimeter guys did an awesome job."

UWGB the Squeakquel
March 2:  Valpo 75, GB 56. 
POG:  KENNEYYYYYY 21 & the same number of rebounds as 7'1"
Enemy POG:  Alec Brown 15 & 4.
How Cougill intends to go pro after they lose:


Looked bad when: Cougill tied it with 5 minutes in the 1st at 16-all.

But then: We flattened them 13-4 to end the half and then ran them over in the 2nd.

Until finally:  We heard the lamentations of their women.

Putting the fun in fundamentals:  FTs ... eh not so much (14-22 combined, 63.6%).

This sounds more like the work of:


Quotes (not about this, but about the HL POY just because):

"Maybe (I am) a little upset from a personal standpoint, but we won the conference and we've set ourselves up for a chance at the NCAA tournament," Broekhoff said. "In the end it is a team game."

So average score:
VU 80.5, UIC 65.5
VU 74, GB 58.5

So who would you rather play?  Who do you think will win?  (i.e., are they the same?)

[valpotx]

I would much rather play UIC, as they don't have Alec Brown.  Though I don't see him as worthy of the NBA talk he gets, he has prior dominant games against us.  Though Talton had a good game against us at UIC, their team does not scare me at all.  I will be hoping that UIC wins, but predict that GB will win by 8.  Maybe we will get to see if Sykes was worthy of that first team nod, but I think Buggs shuts him down for a third time.

[Kyle321n]

Honestly I would rather play UWGB but I think UIC will have some home court advantage and pull off the win.

[wh]

Crusaders leaning on past Horizon League tournament experience

http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/college/valparaiso-university/crusaders-leaning-on-past-horizon-league-tournament-experience/article_5e0218d1-51bc-56eb-9650-fbd315a4f95f.html

[wh]

Valparaiso itching for another shot at Horizon League title, NCAA bid

http://posttrib.suntimes.com/sports/18704466-556/valparaiso-itching-for-another-shot-at-horizon-league-title-ncaa-bid.html

[KL31NY]

Wright State vs. Youngstown State about to begin: http://www.horizonleague.org/live/8556

[vuweathernerd]

detroit gets wright state tomorrow evening. i'm taking detroit by 25.