Valpo @ UDM Wednesday February 25, 2015 6pm Central Time

[crusaderjoe]

Detroit 67-62, I think we are getting the wagon ahead of the horse.

Looks like this was the right call.  Good job.  I was dead wrong.  Got to give Detroit their due and credit for tonight.  Looks like we've got a nice little rivalry budding, which is a good thing.  Bad result tonight though for sure.  ON TO CLEVELAND.  I still have the faith.

[a3uge]

Not going for a 2 for 1 even after calling the timeout to set up a play has to be one of the poorest decisions I've seen from this team.

But then I saw Walker fouling on a jump back three, which immediately topped that.

[HC]

That was disappointing. Guess I will have to find someplace to go watch tv Friday night. On the plus side, I can finally wash these "lucky" socks.

[valpotx]

There was no way that Howard was making that shot, even if you are 1 more foot off him.  I just don't get why you try to block that shot?  What an extremely dumb move, probably one of the dumbest I have seen from a Valpo player since I began following the program.

[justducky]

On the plus side, I can finally wash these "lucky" socks.

Better put in a little extra bleach!

[nkvu]

A well deserved loss. Now we'll see what kind of character the team has when they have a must win game against a tough team at their place.

[govalpogo]

I saw the last 35 seconds and based on the result and looking back over everyone's comments, I won't be going back to watch the other 19:25.  Remember that a bad/not focused game doesn't  limit the ceiling of this team (although it reminds us of the basement).  Hopefully the boys will get a fire lit under themselves rather than being demoralized.  The rankings and such are all shot to hell (hoping that tones down the rpi debates but it will probably exacerbate it) but the the title is still within our own control.  Gotta see 26-5 by the weekend and that's still possible.   

[valpotx]

D Walker owes his team a win at CSU, after that ending.  He had a good game until that last 12 seconds, and basically pissed in his teammates' Cheerios with that last boneheaded play.  That is going to bother me until the CSU game, as it just doesn't make any sense.  If he makes that shot playing normal defense and a fade-away 3, I feel fine tonight, as you just have to give it to them.  But to let them decide it on the FT line?

[valpo4life]

The more I watch the replay the more I believe that Darien didn't foul him. Plus the fact that the ref who makes the call watches the ball coming up short before blowing his whistle isn't making me feel any better. There is absolutely no body contact. And based on how Jr. shoots the ball, it looks like the type of release that says "oh he's going to block this" where you typically short arm it. Which is what happened. Just my speculation. If I could get a look where I get to see the spin on the ball that would tell me a lot more.

[Valpofan00]

The more I watch the replay the more I believe that Darien didn't foul him. Plus the fact that the ref who makes the call watches the ball coming up short before blowing his whistle isn't making me feel any better. There is absolutely no body contact. And based on how Jr. shoots the ball, it looks like the type of release that says "oh he's going to block this" where you typically short arm it. Which is what happened. Just my speculation. If I could get a look where I get to see the spin on the ball that would tell me a lot more.

Paul oren tweeted Darien said after the game he tipped it.

[valpo4life]

If there's anything there. It's that Darien does hit a piece of it. And Jr. follows through into this arm. That could be a foul in some people's book. But in mine, that's nothing.

[a3uge]

It was one of those - well he shouldn't have been in that situation, but still questionable - calls. Maybe the reff is the same idiot that gave SFA the free throw vs VCU in the opening round last year. Usually you never see that called.

[justducky]

I saw the last 35 seconds and based on the result and looking back over everyone's comments, I won't be going back to watch the other 19:25.

This a good game to watch.Yes we made some offensive and defensive mistakes and maybe the coaches can learn something as well. Still we did a lot extremely well.

The rankings and such are all shot to hell (hoping that tones down the rpi debates but it will probably exacerbate it) but the the title is still within our own control.  Gotta see 26-5 by the weekend and that's still possible.   

I thought all along that we should or would leave for Detroit armed with a wonderful CSU game plan. Hope that proves to be true. 

[valpo4life]

Pretty much. He played great defense not allowing him inside the 3 point line. Forced him into what was a tough shot. Just needed to go straight up. If he hits a fadeaway 3 at the buzzer I can live with that. Sigh. Either way, I'm really looking forward to Friday night. It's going to be a highly motivated CSU team going against a pissed off us. Going to be another fight to the end. But I think we'll be much better in the paint as CSU does not have nearly the length that Detroit does. Which is why they are tough, when they show up. Which they did tonight.

[wh]

There was no way that Howard was making that shot, even if you are 1 more foot off him.  I just don't get why you try to block that shot?  What an extremely dumb move, probably one of the dumbest I have seen from a Valpo player since I began following the program.

You must have forgotten about TW fouling Lewis from behind the 3-pt line of the CSU game. Fortunately, he missed 1 or that game would have gone to OT. Of how about KC's attempted steal of an inbounds pass to Howard at the end of the Detroit game last year. He whiffed and Howard drains a wide open 3 to win the game. How many times is this stuff going to happen before our guys decide to do what everyone knows starting in middle school basketball - stand (not jump) with your arms extended and hope for the best. 3 times out of 4 the guy will miss a defended do or die 3 pointer. It amazes me that a team as disciplined as we are can have mental like these where you forget everything you ever learned.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

From someone who wasn't able to watch anything except the PBP scroll by on the game cast (what an excruciating way to watch the last 3-4 minutes of a CBB game, which last 15 minutes in real time...it's like water torture):

--It's always a bummer when your board's resident Eeyore (Paul) was more right than everyone else.  We were overlooking UDM, and VU was due for a clunker of a game--this is still better than it happening at home against Loyola, right?

--Obviously at-large gone now.  Feel a little sorry for indulging in it as much as I did.

--No one will now object to KC replacing EVN in the starting lineup, right?

--While the team may not be as good as we thought before the game, neither is everything suddenly as dark as some want to make it seem.  I think how we respond will say a lot about the team--how resilient and how mentally tough they are, which in turn will say a lot about our postseason aspirations.  (And not just because it will be a lot harder to win a tourney on the road.)

--Kind of proud of everyone on the board that our first reaction wasn't "bleep the refs" but "how could you put yourself in a position to allow that call?"  It took several posts before the call was even questioned. 

[nkvu]

This next game, however it turns out, could be a defining moment for this team. Win it and I think they gain the confidence that propels them to win the conference tourney. Lose it and still win the tournament and regardless of what we do in the dance it bodes well for next year.  Lose and don't win the conference tournament and it provides even more motivation for next year.  Pretty much all good regardless. After all the team has already surpassed expectations for this year.

[valpo84]

So was that a trap game?

[covufan]

So was that a trap game?

no, just a crap game.

[covufan]

I was not able to watch the game. If someone had told me before the game that we'd shoot 40% from 3pt land, 83% from the stripe and only 10 turnovers, I'd say we would win. Two away games on senior night is proving to be very tough in the HL.

We need a much better effort against CSU, which I think this team is very capable of doing. The question is: will they?

[oklahomamick]

If we lose, what's the lowest seed we drop in the HL tournament? 

[Kyle321n]

I was not able to watch the game. If someone had told me before the game that we'd shoot 40% from 3pt land, 83% from the stripe and only 10 turnovers, I'd say we would win. Two away games on senior night is proving to be very tough in the HL.

It sure felt like more than 10 turnovers (it was 11, but it felt closer to 20). I'm not sure how EVic wasn't credited with at least one TO. I'm ready to move on from the 6'8" PG experiment. It was good when KC was out, but now he's back. Let's start KC, back him up with Max with EVic backing up the Walkers. I kind of want to see a line up of Max-Skara-EVic-Jubril-(Pick: Alec/Darien/Tevonn) as our second unit.

We had done so well defending New Jr. that I was near tears when that foul was called. He routinely hits those long distance threes (and then struts around like a chicken) against us I understand defending him close out there. It sure looked like Darien got a piece of the ball but the way New Jr. reacted he's going to get a call 9 times out of 10.

Also can we get Bryce into a clock management class? You call TO with 45 seconds left then you proceed to not play for the 2 for 1? Also why did you call time out after we tied the game? According to the PbP it was to get Keith in for Max, but I don't remember Max in at that point. Even if he was, you should have had Keith in after the final media time out.

[classof2014]

I'm not terribly upset with the loss. It was an upset and just about every team has them. The way the game ended stunk, poor clock management and that damn foul with 1.6 seconds left on a contested 3. Win tomorrow night and this game doesn't matter.

I do not want to see Detroit again. They have the ability to knock anyone off. From the bottom half of seeds Detroit could easily make it to the finals.

[usc4valpo]

14, Detroit has some talent and plays well in spurts.  I noticed this in their win over CSU a couple of weeks ago.  You do not want to play these guys in the conference tournament. When you are a team out of contention you tend to play loose with little pressure not to choke. Valpo was obviously in a different situation last night.

That being said, I give Detroit credit but Valpo played a very sluggish game as described by Todd during the radio broadcast. What a bummer.

[a3uge]

14, Detroit has some talent and plays well in spurts.  I noticed this in their win over CSU a couple of weeks ago.  You do not want to play these guys in the conference tournament. When you are a team out of contention you tend to play loose with little pressure not to choke. Valpo was obviously in a different situation last night.

That being said, I give Detroit credit but Valpo played a very sluggish game as described by Todd during the radio broadcast. What a bummer.

I think it was a little bit of both. We seemed to play slow, uninspired on defense. We got eaten up on the boards. Offensively we were okay, but just too many wide open shots that we normally bury. We seemed to miss a fair share of bunnies.

Detroit played well. They made their shots, got inside, and went to the line.

The concern for CSU is that we looked gassed yesterday and are playing them on 2 days rest. At one point Jubril had a layup happen right in his face and then keeled over.