Saint Louis @ Valpo, Sat., Dec. 7th, 7:05 p.m. Game Thread

[wh]

Opening spread: Valpo +3

I'm surprised it's that close.  I was expecting 5 or 6.

http://statsheet.com/mcb/games/2013/12/07/2013-12-07_saint-louis_vs_valparaiso/spread

Edit: Bovada has Valpo +5

[wh]

Familiar foe coming to the ARC in St. Louis

http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/basketball/college/familiar-foe-coming-to-the-arc-in-st-louis/article_32d1251c-355e-5053-994b-2f644beea1fa.html

[HC]

I will go with Valpo by 1 at the buzzer in OT, 81-80.

[valpopal]

[bbtds]

Saint Louis  69
Valpo         59

[covufan]

I will go with Valpo by 1 at the buzzer in OT, 81-80.

I like the optimism. I'm going with a Valpo win, 72-71, no OT. We continue our good defense and limit our turnovers, hitting some key FTs down the stretch.


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[historyman]

I see this game being one that Alec Peters really wants to win and him making a lot of late shots and scoring over 25 points. I think the game will go down to the last minute and if Valpo wins it will be Lavonte Dority who takes the last shot that wins it for Valpo.

ST.LOUIS   68
VALPARAISO  70

[Kyle321n]

This game is a great use of Alec.  I say he goes for 20 and 12.

We win 80-74 with it going back and forth until the very end.

[Valpofan00]

Will the students for sure be at the game tonight?

[talksalot]

YOU BET!  Students are "into" things this year.  The tree lighting ceremony on Thursday night had by far the largest crowd I've ever seen.  and it was really cold !!  They came out in force for Murray State and will be there for the Billikens !!

This is from the game notes:

- There are a number of familiar foes on both sides of the Crusaders' matchup with Saint Louis on Saturday.
- Valpo's LaVonte Dority and SLU's Mike McCall Jr., both seniors, were teammates at Foreman H.S. in Chicago.
- Valpo's Lexus Williams and SLU walk-on Royce Simpson, both freshmen, were teammates at Marist H.S. in Chicago as well.
- Valpo's Jordan Coleman and SLU's Austin McBroom both hail from North Hollywood, Calif.  (Different high schools)
- In addition, Keith Carter started his career at SLU last year before transferring to Valpo at the semester break.

[classof2014]

What Valpo needs to do to win this game: Outscore SLU, pretty simple.

[atkins]

If Carter were playing, Valpo would likely win.  Without him, very unlikely. 

[bbtds]

If Carter were playing, Valpo would likely win.  Without him, very unlikely. 

I don't buy into this. Carter may be very motivated but he would still need live game time to be at his best with his teammates and he hasn't played in almost a year.

[sliman]

I fear St. Louis is too athletic inside for us to capitalize on any height advantage.  Hope the team can prove me wrong again.  StLU by 7

[valpotx]

I see us pulling one out in regulation time, learning from our Mercer mistakes:

Valpo 74
SLU 71

[vu72]

Chairbacks are now sold out with 131 seats left on the reserve side.  Obviously LOTS of space upstairs.

[valpotx]

I really hope that there is a walk-up crowd.  It would be ridiculous to see the upper stands empty for a game like this...

[atkins]

SLU by 10.

[atkins]

If Carter were playing, Valpo would likely win.  Without him, very unlikely.

I don't buy into this. Carter may be very motivated but he would still need live game time to be at his best with his teammates and he hasn't played in almost a year.

Perhaps.  But Carter is that good.  None of Valpo's guards are even close.  We could really use his skills.  We're not a particularly agile or quick team (with a few exceptions).  Carter is quick and agile but also strong.  He would have been the second-best player on SLU's team this year, just behind Jett (who is a superb basketball player).

[govalpogo]

Ya know, every time the discussion arises to retire the crusader mascot for political correctness I always suggest the new nickname, the "Valpo Valiants."  It has a nice alliteration, it's pretty unique, the two syllable nickname is useful for crowd cheers (unlike "Crusaders"), and you could even keep the same mascot!  It's also a very accurate description of how our sports teams seem to play; valiantly. 

A valiant effort by a team that has proven time and again that they have a ton of heart and never give up!  Another great game of college basketball that we came out on the wrong side.  We're still paying back the karma to the sports gods for Kenney and Broekoff's shots against GB last season.  I'm still excited for this team this season and beyond!

[valpotx]

Good sign for the rest of the year, in being able to play with teams such as SLU.  I believe we would have won it in OT if that tip wasn't in time, so it hurts, but we move on!  For as young as we are, we hung with a team that started 5 Seniors, and had 7 upperclassmen play most of the minutes.  Curious why Jubril seemed to be absent for most of the second half?

[classof2014]

Bummer ending to a fantastic game. The difference in the game was the first five minutes when they jumped out 15-3. Valpo never quits, if we go to OT we probably win but not guaranteed. Teams with 5 freshmen don't win games like this and Peter's 3 was a godsend so I guess it all evened out in the end. To play with a SLU team that's 2 losses came to ranked teams and to nearly knock them off isn't all too bad. Like I said the outcome was disappointing, wish we would've had a chance in OT but still it's not a guarantee.

Just one more game till KC is eligible and I think he'll elevate this team to a different level. With KC we probably win this game and you can reasonably say we win against Ohio, Evansville, Mercer, and Illinois. Tough game, I'd rather get the tough one's out now, before conference play start.

[HC]

Our freshmen played like freshmen tonight and we still almost won it. C'mon clock person you got to start that thing a hair early!

[truth219]

I'm going to say this and Im not going to be liked for it but Jordan Coleman attempts some layups he has no business attempting. He looks like a clown sometimes.

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[truth219]

The one moment tonight that sticks out was when we cut the lead to 4 for the first time. Back to back possessions Coleman blew attempts to score one being an airball dunk.

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