UWGB @ Valpo, Friday 2/13/15 6:00 CST tip ESPN2

[crusaderjoe]

Green Bay pulled it out.  Good.  I personally wouldn't want it any other way. This sets up a monstrous conference game on Friday.  Not to mention a potential classic epic trap game 40 or so hours later, but now I'm getting ahead of myself. First things first obviously, but it's an entire weekend of basketball really.

It will be interesting to see if Green Bay's RPI continues to hover around 50 when they come into the building on Friday.

[a3uge]

They almost lost to YSU tonight. I think that's why some people are saying they are overrated, or at the very least beatable.

No arguments on "beatable". The question is, who's saying they're great? At this point, preseason predictions and rankings are water under the bridge and not even their early-season defeat of a ranked opponent has currency.  We almost lost to UIC and yet we've got votes in the two major polls. That sounds more overrated than anything I'm aware of about GB and yet I don't consider us overrated.

I wouldn't call preseason rankings and predictions water under the bridge. Shifting expectations are a good way to always be depressed and disappointed at sports. I'm not going to argue that Valpo has had a better season than Green Bay or that UWGB isn't a top 10 mid major. I don't think anyone has argued that. Valpo shouldn't really be receiving votes in the top 25, but hey, they did. This is something nobody would have predicted at the beginning of the year, whether it's justified or not. Until we're alone in 1st, UWGB is still the team to beat - they're still in the vast majority of predicted brackets and were expected to finish 1st. But the position we're in with 5 games left has exceeded expectations of 90% of the board. I'm not going to play Lucy and the football and ignore expectations at the beginning of the year to depress myself.

[classof2014]

GB nearly losing to YSU shows that on any given night anybody can beat anybody. YSU is arguably the worst team in the league while GB one of the best in the league. Force them to take outside shots, they are very beatable, they are an awful 3-point shooting team. YSU had one of their best games from the 3-point line going 10-18 wile GB was 5-17. Force GB to shoot can't let them get to the rim and score. We did that last game but our offense floundered and so did GB's.

Have an average to above average shooting night we should win. Our defense forces outside shots, that's not GB's forte. Thus our strength on D plays into their weakness. I think we match up well, we're on our home-court. I'd love to see us jump out to an early 10+ point lead, poor outside shooting teams have difficulty getting back into games where they're down a moderate deficit. GB did it against YSU but can they do it against one of the toughest defenses in the HL?

I'm extremely excited for this game, hopefully we step up in front of a national audience on a Friday night!

[agibson]

It will be interesting to see if Green Bay's RPI continues to hover around 50 when they come into the building on Friday.

49 after the road win?  But, for bracketing, what will matter is UWGB's RPI at the -end- of the season.

[Kyle321n]

It will be interesting to see if Green Bay's RPI continues to hover around 50 when they come into the building on Friday.

49 after the road win?  But, for bracketing, what will matter is UWGB's RPI at the -end- of the season.

Since we control our own destiny we want GB and CSU to keep their RPI as high as possible so when we play them it only helps our RPI. Despite nearly losing to a very inferior team, according to RPI a W is a W and they won't drop because of that.

[a3uge]

It will be interesting to see if Green Bay's RPI continues to hover around 50 when they come into the building on Friday.

49 after the road win?  But, for bracketing, what will matter is UWGB's RPI at the -end- of the season.

Since we control our own destiny we want GB and CSU to keep their RPI as high as possible so when we play them it only helps our RPI. Despite nearly losing to a very inferior team, according to RPI a W is a W and they won't drop because of that.

But if YSU would have won, their RPI would increase, causing our RPI to increase... BUT... Having a top 50 RPI win would look nice :p

[Kyle321n]

It will be interesting to see if Green Bay's RPI continues to hover around 50 when they come into the building on Friday.

49 after the road win?  But, for bracketing, what will matter is UWGB's RPI at the -end- of the season.

Since we control our own destiny we want GB and CSU to keep their RPI as high as possible so when we play them it only helps our RPI. Despite nearly losing to a very inferior team, according to RPI a W is a W and they won't drop because of that.

But if YSU would have won, their RPI would increase, causing our RPI to increase... BUT... Having a top 50 RPI win would look nice :p

I'm looking at our future schedule. Plus if we want to host the HL and play in the big tournament we're going to have to beat GB twice and CSU at least once. We won't face YSU again, so GB and CSU have bigger impacts on our RPI than YSU  and UIC and the like.

[oklahomamick]

Could haves and should haves......UWGB are two points away from being 6-4 instead of 8-2.  1 point against Valpo and 1 point at YSU. 

[a3uge]

It will be interesting to see if Green Bay's RPI continues to hover around 50 when they come into the building on Friday.

49 after the road win?  But, for bracketing, what will matter is UWGB's RPI at the -end- of the season.

Since we control our own destiny we want GB and CSU to keep their RPI as high as possible so when we play them it only helps our RPI. Despite nearly losing to a very inferior team, according to RPI a W is a W and they won't drop because of that.

But if YSU would have won, their RPI would increase, causing our RPI to increase... BUT... Having a top 50 RPI win would look nice :p

I'm looking at our future schedule. Plus if we want to host the HL and play in the big tournament we're going to have to beat GB twice and CSU at least once. We won't face YSU again, so GB and CSU have bigger impacts on our RPI than YSU  and UIC and the like.

That's true about facing UWGB or CSU an additional time, never thought of it that way... But having a cushion in the league would also be nice. I'm not sure another UWGB loss would mean that much - I ran a simulation of GB losing and winning to YSU. With a W, their RPI is 46, with a loss, its 57. Then I had Valpo beating the 46th RPI team at home (Michigan St lol) and the 57th team (Saint Marys) and the result was 59 RPI vs 60 RPI.

But, like I said, beating a top 50 RPI team would look good.

[FWalum]

GB nearly losing to YSU shows that on any given night anybody can beat anybody. YSU is arguably the worst team in the league while GB one of the best in the league. Force them to take outside shots, they are very beatable, they are an awful 3-point shooting team. YSU had one of their best games from the 3-point line going 10-18 wile GB was 5-17. Force GB to shoot can't let them get to the rim and score. We did that last game but our offense floundered and so did GB's.

Have an average to above average shooting night we should win. Our defense forces outside shots, that's not GB's forte. Thus our strength on D plays into their weakness. I think we match up well, we're on our home-court. I'd love to see us jump out to an early 10+ point lead, poor outside shooting teams have difficulty getting back into games where they're down a moderate deficit. GB did it against YSU but can they do it against one of the toughest defenses in the HL?

I'm extremely excited for this game, hopefully we step up in front of a national audience on a Friday night!

I think a little note for those that didn't catch the game is warranted.  Sykes sat out much of the first half with a nasty gash over his left eye caused by an elbow from one of his own teammates.  He did not score until the second half with most of it coming in the last 10 minutes.

[valpo4life]

GB nearly losing to YSU shows that on any given night anybody can beat anybody. YSU is arguably the worst team in the league while GB one of the best in the league. Force them to take outside shots, they are very beatable, they are an awful 3-point shooting team. YSU had one of their best games from the 3-point line going 10-18 wile GB was 5-17. Force GB to shoot can't let them get to the rim and score. We did that last game but our offense floundered and so did GB's.

Have an average to above average shooting night we should win. Our defense forces outside shots, that's not GB's forte. Thus our strength on D plays into their weakness. I think we match up well, we're on our home-court. I'd love to see us jump out to an early 10+ point lead, poor outside shooting teams have difficulty getting back into games where they're down a moderate deficit. GB did it against YSU but can they do it against one of the toughest defenses in the HL?

I'm extremely excited for this game, hopefully we step up in front of a national audience on a Friday night!

I think a little note for those that didn't catch the game is warranted.  Sykes sat out much of the first half with a nasty gash over his left eye caused by an elbow from one of his own teammates.  He did not score until the second half with most of it coming in the last 10 minutes.

His team was also up by as much as 13 in the first half with him out. He reentered during YSU's spurt to take the lead into halftime and was on the court the whole second half. Him missing some time in the first half didn't change the game much at all really.

[oklahomamick]

GB nearly losing to YSU shows that on any given night anybody can beat anybody. YSU is arguably the worst team in the league while GB one of the best in the league. Force them to take outside shots, they are very beatable

I think that was Bryce's game plan in Green Bay.  We packed it in.  Or in soccer we say, "park the bus in front of the goal." 

[agibson]

We won't face YSU again, so GB and CSU have bigger impacts on our RPI than YSU  and UIC and the like.

Just to make sure I follow you, it's because we're unlikely to see YSU or UIC in the tournament that GB and CSU's RPI matters more, right?

We'll play all of these teams twice in the regular season.  Some we've already played twice, some not yet.  We have this slightly funny (not crazy) way of calculating RPI where we include teams we've already played, but not teams that we _will_ play.  But, it's the record of _all_ of our opponents, and our opponents' opponents, at the _end_ of the season that goes into the final RPI calculation that the selection committee will see.

[classof2014]

No matter what if we win the rest of our games we're probably gonna be a 12. It'll definitely have at the very least a win against GB and CSU on the road, and probably a second against GB. This team is much better than the tournament team two seasons ago, we were a 14. GB and CSU aren't going anywhere and I don't think their RPIs will be effected a whole lot barring a collapse from either squad.

Not to mention we could have wins over two other possible tournament teams in IPFW and MSU... Those will also look very good on our resume.

[a3uge]

No matter what if we win the rest of our games we're probably gonna be a 12. It'll definitely have at the very least a win against GB and CSU on the road, and probably a second against GB. This team is much better than the tournament team two seasons ago, we were a 14. GB and CSU aren't going anywhere and I don't think their RPIs will be effected a whole lot barring a collapse from either squad.

Not to mention we could have wins over two other possible tournament teams in IPFW and MSU... Those will also look very good on our resume.

Disagree strongly with this being a better team than 2013. For one, the season isn't close to over and our RPI is still in the 80's. Way, way too early to say that. Two, the 2013 team finished with the best RPI in the history of the program, hosted, and won the conference and had probably the best player since Bryce Drew on the team. That team was absolutely shafted on both its seed and opponent. Pretty much every top team won their conference that year as well. Seeding is a bit of a crapshoot at this point still - maybe Wofford and SFA lose to Mercer and Sam Houston. These things could shift the Horizon team up or down a couple seeds.

[classof2014]

No matter what if we win the rest of our games we're probably gonna be a 12. It'll definitely have at the very least a win against GB and CSU on the road, and probably a second against GB. This team is much better than the tournament team two seasons ago, we were a 14. GB and CSU aren't going anywhere and I don't think their RPIs will be effected a whole lot barring a collapse from either squad.

Not to mention we could have wins over two other possible tournament teams in IPFW and MSU... Those will also look very good on our resume.

Disagree strongly with this being a better team than 2013. For one, the season isn't close to over and our RPI is still in the 80's. Way, way too early to say that. Two, the 2013 team finished with the best RPI in the history of the program, hosted, and won the conference and had probably the best player since Bryce Drew on the team. That team was absolutely shafted on both its seed and opponent. Pretty much every top team won their conference that year as well. Seeding is a bit of a crapshoot at this point still - maybe Wofford and SFA lose to Mercer and Sam Houston. These things could shift the Horizon team up or down a couple seeds.

I guess I meant if this team wins out, I'd say they're better than the 13 team. Think about it before the season began we lost Lexus, many thought the injury would be a significant blow to the season, it hasn't. At the beginning of the conference season we lost KC for a 5 or so weeks, many thought that would be a significant blow to the conference season, it hasn't.

You take away EB, who I compare to KC, the team doesn't win the conference or go to the tournament. We're a deeper team this season with more athleticism. I do think this team can be significantly better than the 13 team. If they don't get to the tourney, then without a doubt its the 13 team that reigns supreme.

[agibson]

Or in soccer we say, "park the bus in front of the goal." 

Funny to try to imagine a basketball game where you would literally play 70+% defense, like happens sometimes in soccer.

Baskets would have to be made a lot rarer for it to be effective.  15' rim, maybe?

And draws, you'd need a draw as a possible consolation prize.

[a3uge]

No matter what if we win the rest of our games we're probably gonna be a 12. It'll definitely have at the very least a win against GB and CSU on the road, and probably a second against GB. This team is much better than the tournament team two seasons ago, we were a 14. GB and CSU aren't going anywhere and I don't think their RPIs will be effected a whole lot barring a collapse from either squad.

Not to mention we could have wins over two other possible tournament teams in IPFW and MSU... Those will also look very good on our resume.

Disagree strongly with this being a better team than 2013. For one, the season isn't close to over and our RPI is still in the 80's. Way, way too early to say that. Two, the 2013 team finished with the best RPI in the history of the program, hosted, and won the conference and had probably the best player since Bryce Drew on the team. That team was absolutely shafted on both its seed and opponent. Pretty much every top team won their conference that year as well. Seeding is a bit of a crapshoot at this point still - maybe Wofford and SFA lose to Mercer and Sam Houston. These things could shift the Horizon team up or down a couple seeds.

I guess I meant if this team wins out, I'd say they're better than the 13 team. Think about it before the season began we lost Lexus, many thought the injury would be a significant blow to the season, it hasn't. At the beginning of the conference season we lost KC for a 5 or so weeks, many thought that would be a significant blow to the conference season, it hasn't.

You take away EB, who I compare to KC, the team doesn't win the conference or go to the tournament. We're a deeper team this season with more athleticism. I do think this team can be significantly better than the 13 team. If they don't get to the tourney, then without a doubt its the 13 team that reigns supreme.

If we win out, yes... But if we make it to the elite 8 we'll be better than the 1998 team as well :p

[vu72]

Not exactly a lot of avid fans over on the GB board.  There isn't even a thread established for our game.  Something like 11 posts for the near disaster game at YSU. But then again, how could you expect any sort of fan following when the school only has 7000 students!   

[classof2014]

Not exactly a lot of avid fans over on the GB board.  There isn't even a thread established for our game.  Something like 11 posts for the near disaster game at YSU. But then again, how could you expect any sort of fan following when the school only has 7000 students!   

I was about to make the same post! LOL

Valpo, by far, has the strongest fanbase in the HL!

[oklahomamick]

I was about to make the same post! LOL Valpo, by far, has the strongest fanbase in the HL!

I would agree.  The problem is that a lot of our alumni do not live around campus like most of the HL schools.  If all the fans watching from 1,000 miles away were at the ARC it would look better. 

[HC]

Did I read a few post up about an Erik Buggs/Keith Carter comparison? I liked Buggs as much as anyone else, but if he had half the offensive skills Keith has.....

[crusadermoe]

Great game to have on ESPN2.   I hope that playing on Friday night means that a big crowd of students will put away their cellos, cappuccinos, and brie for one night and go big!   

Rock it like the Butler games.    It's free entertainment nationally televised, and you have a snowstorm.   

[wh]

Interview with AP:

http://www.horizonleague.org/blog/interview-alec-peters-

[VUfan]

Under rated, over rated no mater just talk, just count wins this time of year the only real talk. Soon we will be into the one and done season. Lets make this a year for the seasons.