Selection Sunday Discussion 2015

[vu84v2]

I really don't know much about Maryland, so I look forward to reading up on them. As mentioned, any big conference team tends to cause Valpo problems even when we seem to have the matchups. Based on the description of Maryland above, I like Valpo defensively matching up well with Nickerson and Carter on Tremble and Peters or Tevonn Walker on Wells.

On a different note, why is everyone thinking West Virginia is ripe for an upset against Buffalo. I know that Buffalo has played well, but West Virginia is a pain in the a%$ to play. Full court press for 40 minutes with lots of player rotations, coupled with several strong inside rebounders. Very inconsistent offense, especially if Staten is not back - but their young players are getting better.

[vu72]

We have zero chance.  They are way bigger, their guards are way faster, their shooters are way better, their defense is way better and they haven't really beat anyone.  Should be a "nail biter".

I mean, really,  we start a freshman, a sophomore, two juniors and one senior, who offers zero offense. We have to play another freshman a lot and two more juniors and a sophomore.  How can such a young team compete with a team from the BIG?  Don't expect anything pretty with us having such a young coach and all.  Expect a close game. 

[valpopal]

Anyone else notice how unhappy keith was when we were called? I can't make out what he said but I wanna say "they gonna beat us"

He might have been disappointed that Valpo was seeded 13 instead of 12 and not paired with West Virginia (which would have happened if the Crusaders were the 12), since his cousin plays for West Virginia. However, as it turns out, the whole Carter family can go to Columbus, and if Valpo wins, they might get to face West Virginia in the second game.

[vu84v2]

I should have added that if anyone needs advice on how to beat West Virginia, they probably want to consult with another Drew. Baylor owned West Virginia this year.

[StlVUFan]

Speaking of which, did you notice that Scott Drew gets to go up against an old foe Ron Hunter?  I remember a few light-hearted moments during tight games between those two in 2003 (though not in KC, that's for sure).

[VULB#62]

Anyone else notice how unhappy keith was when we were called? I can't make out what he said but I wanna say "they gonna beat us"

He might have been disappointed that Valpo was seeded 13 instead of 12 and not paired with West Virginia (which would have happened if the Crusaders were the 12), since his cousin plays for West Virginia. However, as it turns out, the whole Carter family can go to Columbus, and if Valpo wins, they might get to face West Virginia in the second game.

We have zero chance.  They are way bigger, their guards are way faster, their shooters are way better, their defense is way better and they haven't really beat anyone.  Should be a "nail biter".

I mean, really,  we start a freshman, a sophomore, two juniors and one senior, who offers zero offense. We have to play another freshman a lot and two more juniors and a sophomore.  How can such a young team compete with a team from the BIG?  Don't expect anything pretty with us having such a young coach and all.  Expect a close game. 

Stop the negativity. Sit back. Enjoy the moment. Then watch.  We have been saying, as well as others, that Bryce is one of the best young coaches in the country. He has  a few days to prepare for Goiath. All he needs is one stone, right ?   Let's see how our TEAM prepares.  Will UM take Valpo as seriously as Valpo takes UM?  Doubt it.  We are where we are because we exceeded expectations all season long. Why not us?

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Stop the negativity. Sit back. Enjoy the moment.

[historyman]

Portland/Seattle > Texas = liberal bias

My thinking was that it was time to get out of Texas because of all the conservative bias. And look who they listened to. The fact the decision was made from Indy is what was quite remarkable.

[valpotx]

Portland/Seattle > Texas = liberal bias

BARF! 

[valpopal]

Here is another photo I took at the moment of the announcement. In addition to witnessing the excitement of the players, there are quite a few familiar faces among the fans cheering in the background, including a number of forum members.

[valpotx]

I really do hope that Keith did not mouth, 'they are going to beat us' lol.  That would be a terrible sign of our PG play going into the game.

[wh]

Are you kidding? Keith would never think that thought, let alone say it.  All he's thinking about is getting in someone's face on defense. 

[valpotx]

Looking at Maryland's schedule, they obviously have some great wins, and are a solid team that will be difficult to beat.  However, they didn't really blow anyone out as flinger29 mentioned, and this was against several teams that are worse than us. Our Missouri loss looks terrible, but that was our second game with a very young team just learning their way together.  I take solace in the below scores:

MD 67 - SC Upstate 57 @ MD
MD 67 - NC Central 56 @ MD
MD 61 - Monmouth 56 @ MD
MD 73 - Rutgers 65 @ MD
MD 60 - Rutgers 50 @ Rutgers
MD 64 - Penn State 58 @ MD
MD 76 - Penn State 73 @ PSU
MD 64 - Nebraska 61 @ Nebraska
MD 69 - Nebraska 65 @ MD

Obviously, the key is that they won each of these games, but it shows that we can play with this team regardless of how good they are, and in NCAA tournament games, anything can happen in close games!!

[Just Sayin]

Funny... I was just thinking the same damn thing.  I'm done with this arbitrary process.  What can we do aside from running the table to get a seed 12 or better? 

Play a stronger schedule, not a weak RPI schedule. Don't have bad out of conference losses to teams that you should beat like Missouri and New Mexico. What good wins out of conference did Valpo have other than Murray State? These two things are the reason Valpo is not a 12 seed this year. Even had Valpo beat Missouri and New Mexico, that wouldn't have been anything special in the eyes of the committee. That should have been expected. But to lose to these teams made it extremely difficult for them to argue for a 12 seed.

[vu72]

Here is another photo I took at the moment of the announcement. In addition to witnessing the excitement of the players, there are quite a few familiar faces among the fans cheering in the background, including a number of forum members.

You sure that isn't the bowling team?

[bbtds]

Timing could not be worse for me personally--not that that matters to anyone, least of all the good people at Turner Network Television, but...

...actually, it could, because my wife could be in labor at that point (due date is saturday).

Ye gods.

So when do you fly to Columbus?

This is Valpo in the Big Dance! There must be exceptions made.

[bbtds]

Weren't going to get Georgetown due to geography.

Huh?  Isn't Georgetown more west than Maryland?

Best way to get from Georgetown to U of Maryland is a 45 minute taxi ride through the DC area. U of M is in College Park, a DC suburb (not Baltimore) in the northeast part of suburban Washington. College Park is on the Metro (WMATA) Green Line.

Google map showing Georgetown and College Park

[classof2014]

No matter what we were gonna be underdogs. I like this matchup, we have shutdown the best guards in the HL, I know Trimble is better than anyone in the HL but EVN should be able to matchup with him. They aren't big at scoring down low and they aren't a 3 point shooting team either but it still is an option.

This is a very winnable game. Although Maryland is ranked top 10, I don't think they are a top 10, like our team they have never played in the NCAAs (we had Vashil who played 1 minute in 13), they seem to be a team that keeps games close thus we should be in the game.

In 2013 we got royally screwed. Michigan St in Auburn Hills was awful. We have a winnable game this season. Do I expect a win? No. I don't expect to beat anybody that's a significantly higher seed, but I do believe that we can certainly knock off the Terrapins.

Good time, good location, and a winnable game. Looking forward to Friday afternoon!

Peters drains a 3 as the clock expires...

Valpo 70
Mary 69

[valpo84]

Have tried to have very low expectations for this team all year as we thought this would be the year before the big year. We are ahead of schedule, and this experience reminds me of 1997 and the matchup with Boston College. That confidence in playing a major tough set the stage for the 98 team's year. You have to play the team on the line opposite you and that is all that matters. One at a time.

Maryland poses a good matchup for us. It's a tough team with a couple big time players in Wells/Trimble (who is only a frosh). They have won close games as we have. Neutral court. What we need is to come out and play our game. We need someone to shoot the ball well. So many times our shooters disappear in these games (Barton, ex A vs Maryland and UK, 2013 team). We will have open looks and our offensive sets will find the gaps available. By the way, E Vic has shown he can provide offense.

As to Buffalo-WVA, interesting matchup. Shannon Evans for Buffalo is one of the better frosh PGs I've seen this year. Exceptionally quick and can deliver the dimes. Moss, their PF, played on a bad ankle in the MAC finals and dominated the interior, esp O glass. Reminds me of a bigger, more aggressive Jubril. Plus, they have Bobby "Bartman" Hurley coaching. Huggybear's WVA team is beatable, although don't forget WVA is not that far from Columbus and they travel well. See you in C-Bus.

[talksalot]

So I posted earlier about watching Ron Hunter and GaState.  as soon as the game was over, I switched back to the UConn game... and missed the celebration.  In case you missed this, • Georgia State coach Ron Hunter watched the bracket unveiling with his left foot in a cast. He tore his Achilles' tendon while celebrating his program's first trip to the tournament since 2001. The 14th-seeded Panthers open against Baylor.

Anyone remember him breaking his foot at the ARC stomping his foot to get his player's attention?  (I'm trying to remember if he broke it AT the ARC? or in a game before he came to the ARC.   Some of you will remember the incident.

[a3uge]

Did anyone go to the opening round game in Detroit 2 years ago? If so, did you get them through Valpo and how much were tickets?

[valpopal]

I don't think anyone enjoyed the Selection Sunday party more than Homer Drew, who had a table filled with family members and a grandchild in his arms. Here is the moment when he was standing with Darien Walker and Coach Powell, and he saw Baylor added to the brackets, which meant two plane trips to see his sons coach.


[tweet]577473397363474432[/tweet]

[FWalum]

Weren't going to get Georgetown due to geography.

Huh?  Isn't Georgetown more west than Maryland?

Best way to get from Georgetown to U of Maryland is a 45 minute taxi ride through the DC area. U of M is in College Park, a DC suburb (not Baltimore) in the northeast part of suburban Washington. College Park is on the Metro (WMATA) Green Line.

Google map showing Georgetown and College Park

Know the area quite well.  Wife is from Bethesda and all of her family still live in the area (quite a number of them VU alums). Middle daughter got her doctorate at GW. That is why I said in another post that while Georgetown may be slightly further West, Maryland is actually a closer drive to Columbus because of the proximity to 495.

[wh]

Funny... I was just thinking the same damn thing.  I'm done with this arbitrary process.  What can we do aside from running the table to get a seed 12 or better? 

Play a stronger schedule, not a weak RPI schedule. Don't have bad out of conference losses to teams that you should beat like Missouri and New Mexico. What good wins out of conference did Valpo have other than Murray State? These two things are the reason Valpo is not a 12 seed this year. Even had Valpo beat Missouri and New Mexico, that wouldn't have been anything special in the eyes of the committee. That should have been expected. But to lose to these teams made it extremely difficult for them to argue for a 12 seed.

Well, our Oakland athletic department troll again.  When you and the rest of your "brain trust" up there figure out how to put together a challenging OOC schedule absent 6 buy games against teams you have zero chance of beating, come back and talk.  In the meantime just some friendly advice from someone who once was a huge supporter of adding Oakland to the HL.   Quit prostituting yourself to fund your athletic budget in exchange for perpetually damaging the RPI's of your fellow conference members.  You have squandered all the good will you had when you joined the league.  Man up and do the right thing.       

[a3uge]

Funny... I was just thinking the same damn thing.  I'm done with this arbitrary process.  What can we do aside from running the table to get a seed 12 or better? 

Play a stronger schedule, not a weak RPI schedule. Don't have bad out of conference losses to teams that you should beat like Missouri and New Mexico. What good wins out of conference did Valpo have other than Murray State? These two things are the reason Valpo is not a 12 seed this year. Even had Valpo beat Missouri and New Mexico, that wouldn't have been anything special in the eyes of the committee. That should have been expected. But to lose to these teams made it extremely difficult for them to argue for a 12 seed.

Well, our Oakland athletic department troll again.  When you and the rest of your "brain trust" up there figure out how to put together a challenging OOC schedule absent 6 buy games against teams you have zero chance of beating, come back and talk.  In the meantime just some friendly advice from someone who once was a huge supporter of adding Oakland to the HL.   Quit prostituting yourself to fund your athletic budget in exchange for perpetually damaging the RPI's of your fellow conference members.  You have squandered all the good will you had when you joined the league.  Man up and do the right thing.       

Yeah, considering Oakland finished below .500 and would have been a 16 seed despite only being a game back in the conference standings...

Valpo would have had a much better RPI had the rest of the league played an easier non-conf schedule. It works every year for the MWC and it worked for the MAC this year. There were TWO HL teams with winning OOC records this year. Buffalo didn't have a good OOC win this year. Outside of a home win against South Dakota St, their next best win was Robert Morris at 171. Their high RPI came from the rest of the conference playing an easy schedule. Wyoming's best OOC win was NM State, a +100 RPI team from the WAC. Replace Oakland's and Detroit's abysmal WL record generated from their buy games and our RPI is in the low 40s, which would make it impossible to seed us at a 13. And with conference members winning OOC, SOS is protected and inflated.