Expectations Poll

[wh]

I thought it might be interesting to conduct one more poll during our current "break in the action."  The poll will run until we play again.

[govalpogo]

Elite 8 here we come!  Voting with my heart and not my mind of course! 

[justducky]

If this team can not make a run then it might be the 2015-16 season until our next good opportunity comes up and I don't want to wait that long. (Might not even be able to!) Not saying we will but if we were to lose to Detroit I have to wonder if we might be placed in position for a second or third round NIT matchup with Baylor? Wherever we go I expect they will look good and do some damage.

[VUfan]

This team could win 2 or three, lets hope!! if the play like at UWGB it will be a breeze
The best I have ever seen.

[StlVUFan]

I was gonna take just getting to the NCAA, but I remember last year the reason why I criticized RayMac Jr was because winning the HL tourney was not good enough to warrant such brash celebration in a conference that had a streak of 7 straight years with at least on NCAA win going, so I'm going to stay consistent and expect Valpo to not only get there but to win at least one game.

[agibson]

I was gonna take just getting to the NCAA, but I remember last year the reason why I criticized RayMac Jr was because winning the HL tourney was not good enough to warrant such brash celebration in a conference that had a streak of 7 straight years with at least on NCAA win going, so I'm going to stay consistent and expect Valpo to not only get there but to win at least one game.

I can't help but note that in that winning streak, the lowest seed was 13.  That only once, and as low as the 12 only twice.

The Horizon League is 4 of 8 in the first game as the 12 seed, 2 of 4 as the 13 seed, and 1 of 9 from the 14 or worse (with a single win as 14).

Detroit, of course, was stuck as a 15.

[StlVUFan]

I was gonna take just getting to the NCAA, but I remember last year the reason why I criticized RayMac Jr was because winning the HL tourney was not good enough to warrant such brash celebration in a conference that had a streak of 7 straight years with at least on NCAA win going, so I'm going to stay consistent and expect Valpo to not only get there but to win at least one game.

I can't help but note that in that winning streak, the lowest seed was 13.  That only once, and as low as the 12 only twice.

The Horizon League is 4 of 8 in the first game as the 12 seed, 2 of 4 as the 13 seed, and 1 of 9 from the 14 or worse (with a single win as 14).

Detroit, of course, was stuck as a 15.

Oh, I wasn't pissed that they lost to Kansas.  Indeed as a 15 seed, a win was a real long shot.  However, as a 13 seed, Cleveland State absolutely destroyed Wake Forest.  It really didn't look like an upset.

[valpo84]

That Wake Forest team was a mess, and goes to what Jim Larranga said at practice earlier this week about this time of year -- to paraphrase -- either you are focused and a close knit unit ready to accomplish the highest goals as a team, or you are falling apart. That Wake team, which had been ranked #1 earlier in the year, did not win an ACC Tourney game and then completely disintegrated in the NCAA. Three underclassman 1st round NBAers on that team and an NBA-D league guy plus an underclassman who is now in the NBA. But are you in it for the team goal or your personal goal. Which leads to point 2, Norris Cole was a senior HL POY player on an experienced team playing with urgency. We have 6 seniors who should be playing with 6x the urgency. But one also has to be wary of matchups, which are also key. Butler's runs (yes they were talented) were also fueled by terrific match-ups for them. If we are a 12 or 13, what 4-5s (schools ranked roughly 13-20) do we want to see?

[valporun]

Not that it matters to me, in terms of the source, but in the lastest Bracketology mess, LooneyBird has us as a 14 seed playing Florida as the 3.

[vuweathernerd]

Not that it matters to me, in terms of the source, but in the lastest Bracketology mess, LooneyBird has us as a 14 seed playing Florida as the 3.

yikes - that one scares me

[vu72]

Not that it matters to me, in terms of the source, but in the lastest Bracketology mess, LooneyBird has us as a 14 seed playing Florida as the 3.

yikes - that one scares me

Florida could be a 1 and more likely a 2.  We aren't going to play Florida.  Looks like we could be a 13 and then we are looking at poosible opponenets like Ohio State, Marquette, K State or maybe even New Mexico.  All winable.

[vu72]

An interesting take on us and a possible first round opponent. I'll  probably get chastised by Historyman again for placing this post here, but, nonetheless, I will.

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/college/basketball/good_dogs_IaEDaEDPl1qB7xq1zyp7NI 

[valpocleveland]

Ohio St winnable? Their defense and our turnovers scare me. I think with their win over IU they will bump up to a 3 seed.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

I'll  probably get chastised by Historyman again for placing this post here, but, nonetheless, I will.

no, by me, because it was already posted two weeks ago:

[vu72]

I'll  probably get chastised by Historyman again for placing this post here, but, nonetheless, I will.

no, by me, because it was already posted two weeks ago:

OK, I quit.

[wh]

I'll  probably get chastised by Historyman again for placing this post here, but, nonetheless, I will.

no, by me, because it was already posted two weeks ago:

OK, I quit.

historyman and apostle - when were you guys appointed forum police?

[historyman]

An interesting take on us and a possible first round opponent. I'll  probably get chastised by Historyman again for placing this post here, but, nonetheless, I will. http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/college/basketball/good_dogs_IaEDaEDPl1qB7xq1zyp7NI

I didn't see anything wrong with your post. The story mentions Valpo very clearly.

If you can't see the Butler obsession that has crept into this board and how it has spread to so many threads you are really kidding yourselves. This board is the laughing stock of many other boards including many HL boards with how Butler obsessed it is. I just thought we could at least keep it to one thread if we have to have this obsession. Which is standard operating procedure for most topics on this board. I'm not asking for anything that isn't already something the moderators haven't asked for before.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

historyman and apostle - when were you guys appointed forum police?

never claimed to be the police.

just anti-redundancy.

just anti-redundancy.

[vu72]

An interesting take on us and a possible first round opponent. I'll  probably get chastised by Historyman again for placing this post here, but, nonetheless, I will. http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/college/basketball/good_dogs_IaEDaEDPl1qB7xq1zyp7NI

I didn't see anything wrong with your post. The story mentions Valpo very clearly.

If you can't see the Butler obsession that has crept into this board and how it has spread to so many threads you are really kidding yourselves. This board is the laughing stock of many other boards including many HL boards with how Butler obsessed it is. I just thought we could at least keep it to one thread if we have to have this obsession. Which is standard operating procedure for most topics on this board. I'm not asking for anything that isn't already something the moderators haven't asked for before.

OK, I'm back. "Laughing stock", really?  There isn't a board covering Horizon League teams that is even close to the broad, interesting, basketball AND non-basketball topics we cover. Not even close. If I had the time  to dig into their boards I'm sure I'd be overwhelmed by there 3 or 4 posts concerning a Valpo game.

On to Butler.  They left LAST year.  Not sure how old you are or what your "history" is with Valpo, but some of us go back to the ICC days when Butler was one of our biggest rivals.  They are just down the road and on the national basketball map.  The notion that somehow we would just stop mentioning them is just silly.  The idea that we would get a chance to play them once more is beyond exciting--it would be a national story if it happened.

As for redundancy, my guess is apostle is retired or should be because he spends so many hours on this board.  Sorry if I don't study the board each and every day so when I come across something I find interesting I don't run it through a maze of cross references to be sure I don't "offend" another poster.
Look, I've been posting here since before apostle retired or probably ever heard of this board.  Check it out--probably at least ten years.  If this sort of nit picking continues I will quit.  Just don't have the time for nonsense.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Get over yourself.  We've already established that you're twice as old as I am.

Pay attention to the board, and don't post old news.

It's that simple.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

my guess is apostle is retired or should be because he spends so many hours on this board

oh, and you're one to talk?



see me on there?  don't think so.  even if you doubled my stats because you've been on two years and I one, I'm not within 3 days of you.

[valporun]

vu72, do I need to come along and get you off the ledge now? Seriously, some of the posting on the boards has been very much about Butler, and yes, I understand that many on this board remember the good days of Butler-Valpo rivalries in football, basketball, maybe baseball, but then there are some on this board that don't remember the good ol' days. In my case, I only remember Butler-Valpo rivalries in our decent PFL seasons of 1999-2004 and then the HL recent years, but nothing prior to then, and so I don't miss them as much as others on this board do.

I have been a member of this and the previous two or three incarnations of Valpo message boards, and we are probably the most active of any of the Mid-Con or Horizon League boards in existence in that time. We don't just talk basketball here, but we have topics for almost all of the sports we offer, or at least have a post here and there about all sports in one way or another. We also discuss things that other sports-centered conference message boards don't, like the improvements and random goings-on around the Valpo campus and local community, as we all still love the city we called HOME for anywhere from 2-5 or more years. In looking at a lot of the board postings over the years, we're very passionate about Valparaiso University, not only in its athletics, but also in its history, story, academics, and life. Go to any of the other boards in the Summit or Horizon League, and most of them only discuss their basketball program, if they even really discuss it at all. What we have here as a forum says more about what we feel about our university and what we want to remember and love about it, not just that we have a great community here, but that we can also be open to others coming in and discussing basketball and other things with us here. We have a great thing going here, let's stop the bickering now, and gather around the fire here in a rousing chorus of Kumbaya...

[vusupporter]

Is it 7:30 p.m. Saturday night yet?

[vu72]

vu72, do I need to come along and get you off the ledge now? Seriously, some of the posting on the boards has been very much about Butler, and yes, I understand that many on this board remember the good days of Butler-Valpo rivalries in football, basketball, maybe baseball, but then there are some on this board that don't remember the good ol' days. In my case, I only remember Butler-Valpo rivalries in our decent PFL seasons of 1999-2004 and then the HL recent years, but nothing prior to then, and so I don't miss them as much as others on this board do.

I have been a member of this and the previous two or three incarnations of Valpo message boards, and we are probably the most active of any of the Mid-Con or Horizon League boards in existence in that time. We don't just talk basketball here, but we have topics for almost all of the sports we offer, or at least have a post here and there about all sports in one way or another. We also discuss things that other sports-centered conference message boards don't, like the improvements and random goings-on around the Valpo campus and local community, as we all still love the city we called HOME for anywhere from 2-5 or more years. In looking at a lot of the board postings over the years, we're very passionate about Valparaiso University, not only in its athletics, but also in its history, story, academics, and life. Go to any of the other boards in the Summit or Horizon League, and most of them only discuss their basketball program, if they even really discuss it at all. What we have here as a forum says more about what we feel about our university and what we want to remember and love about it, not just that we have a great community here, but that we can also be open to others coming in and discussing basketball and other things with us here. We have a great thing going here, let's stop the bickering now, and gather around the fire here in a rousing chorus of Kumbaya...

Well said and agree.  Nonetheless I need to clarify one thing about the "stats" apostle dug up.  I have been on THIS board for a full year longer than he has.  So, his 1117 posts equals 93 per month while my 1525 equals 64 a month on average.  Put that in your pipe and smoke it. Just having the site up so I can check it from time to time says nothing about the mindless drivel some people post. OK, I'm backing off the ledge but will take a break.  Apparently I need one.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Yeah, I post more than you do.  I also think and write more quickly, though, and spend far less time on here.

[pip'd & smok'd]