January Prediction Poll

[wh]

The Crusaders play the first 10 of 18 conference games in January:

JAN 2 UIC
JAN 8 at Oakland
JAN 10 at Detroit
JAN 14 Milwaukee
JAN 16 Green Bay
JAN 18 at Youngstown State
JAN 22 at Wright State
JAN 24 at Northern Kentucky
JAN 28 Cleveland State
JAN 30 Youngstown State

All forum members are welcome to participate, including fans of other HL programs.

[a3uge]

Let's go for 9-1.

[justducky]

9-1 sounds about right. We could lose at Oakland, at Detroit and at home to Milwaukee but we probably take 2 of those 3. All 3 have gained our attention and should receive our best efforts but some of the others might catch us napping.

[valpolaw]

My guess is 9-1.  I think one will be dropped on the road, likely at Oakland or Detroit, but hopefully I'm wrong and they go 10-0.

[wh]

Here's what excites me as we look toward conference play:

***We held 7 of our first 12 opponents to their lowest point total for any of their games this year.
***Of the other 5 opponents, we held 2 to their lowest point total for any of their home games.
***The highest point total any opponent has scored against us is their 7th best.

IPFW 64 Pts. 3rd lowest
Iona 58 Pts. lowest
Rhode Island 55 Pts. lowest
IU Kokomo 40 Pts. lowest
Trinity 42 Pts. lowest
Oregon 73 Pts. 5th lowest; lowest home game
Oregon State 57 Pts.  lowest
Ball State 69 Pts. 5th lowest (played w/I Tevonn and David)
Belmont 57 Pts. lowest
Indiana State 63 Pts. 4th lowest; 2nd lowest home game
Chicago State 53 Pts. 3rd lowest; lowest home game
Missouri State 45 Pts. lowest

This defense is lethal. Against Missouri State I sat 7 rows off the court watching in amazement as our defense repeatedly smothered them and frustrated them into submission long before the final horn sounded.

As others have noted this team is simply too big, too strong, and too athletic for most mids to stay with for 40 minutes. That said, everyone will be gunning for us, including 2 or 3 teams with great scoring ability that will test us to the limit. It should be fun!

[VUfan]

9-1 this team could easily be 10-0, over half of our road games done in January

[SanityLost17]

8-2.  Historically bad UIC is our running partner.  With games moving back to a mostly Th/S or F/Su schedule, game prep during the week for both games will be key.  Other coaches can spend the majority of their week just prepping for us.

[oklahomamick]

8-2.  Historically bad UIC is our running partner.  With games moving back to a mostly Th/S or F/Su schedule, game prep during the week for both games will be key.  Other coaches can spend the majority of their week just prepping for us.

The ol Butler effect

[wh]

My apologies. I inadvertently let our January prediction poll fall off the map.

We still need another 15-20 voters before our Fri. night deadline!

[zvillehaze]

9-1 sounds about right. We could lose at Oakland, at Detroit and at home to Milwaukee but we probably take 2 of those 3. All 3 have gained our attention and should receive our best efforts but some of the others might catch us napping.

I went with this. ^^^^

[circle70]

8-2.  Historically bad UIC is our running partner. 

UIC fan here. You must be about 15 years old if you think we are "historically bad".  It's true, we have sucked for the last 3 years( including this year)---hardly "historical", though .  FYI, we have had a winning record for 8 of the past 14 years.  Included in there are 4 post-season appearances:  2 NCAA, NIT, and CIT. Certainly not Valpo-like, but not deserving of your overall description of our MBB program.  (just venting )

[usc4valpo]

9-1

[justducky]

8-2.  Historically bad UIC is our running partner. 

UIC fan here. You must be about 15 years old if you think we are "historically bad".  It's true, we have sucked for the last 3 years---hardly "historical", though .  FYI, we have had a winning record for 8 of the past 14 years.  Certainly not Valpo-like, but not deserving of your overall description of our MBB program.  (just venting )

I don't know if his statement was precise enough but my interpretation of meaning was quite different. I think he was saying that in the history of the HL this UIC team might be the all time worst travel partner ever. We all very much hope that will completely change in the upcoming years. A strong UIC is very much in our interest but this season we will suffer.

[a3uge]

8-2.  Historically bad UIC is our running partner. 

UIC fan here. You must be about 15 years old if you think we are "historically bad".  It's true, we have sucked for the last 3 years---hardly "historical", though .  FYI, we have had a winning record for 8 of the past 14 years.  Certainly not Valpo-like, but not deserving of your overall description of our MBB program.  (just venting )

They haven't finished above .500 in conference since 2003–04, well before Valpo was in the Horizon and have had five 20+ loss seasons (probably 6 after this year) since Valpo joined the league. That's actually more than YSU during that period. Maybe not historically bad since UIC became D1, but definitely bad since 2007.

[valpocleveland]

Missed the deadline but doing with a pessimistic 8-2. We will be favored in 9/10 games but the favorite does not always win.....

[wh]

Congrats to the 11 of 27 voters who accurately predicted a 9-1 January! I will post the 8-game Feb. poll tomorrow.

[bbtds]

8-2.  Historically bad UIC is our running partner.  With games moving back to a mostly Th/S or F/Su schedule, game prep during the week for both games will be key.  Other coaches can spend the majority of their week just prepping for us.

I wonder if that is what happened to Cleveland State against UIC. Well, it didn't work on either team. The Vikings lost to both Valpo and UIC on their IN/IL swing.