1/10 @ Detroit Mercy Titans

[oklahomamick]

As mentioned, let's separate the Oakland/Detroit game.  Titans bring different challenges.  Big question, will the Crusaders be mentally prepared after a ESPN2 game at Oakland?  The commissioner wrote a good piece on their blog and is worth reading.  I will be catching a 6am flight from Tulsa and will be at the game in Detroit.  Not too many direct flights from Tulsa but Detroit is one of them and after last nights game, I'm very excited.  And I've always wanted to see a game at Mercy.  Hope standby can get a seat and hope our guys are focused with a good game plan. 

The sagarin line has the good guys as 9 point favorites.

[agibson]

The commissioner wrote a good piece on their blog and is worth reading

Link? This piece?
http://www.detroittitanhoops.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2617&sid=f8d5316d884a8dd5d72eea96a70b7222

Looks like a good write-up, though I'm not sure where he's getting his turnover numbers from.

That's their message board, in any case, for reference. And the VU game thread in particular.

[HC]

C'mon commish...no one thinks it was clean foul. It was a harder then necessary foul and he got what he deserved. At the same time, had Doug just dunked it instead of trying to windmill and blow he roof off the gym he probably never gets caught by slow motion Capo.

Onto this year.....
Detroit is the team I always worry about most. They always have athletes and until recently Valpo hasn't had athletes. Now we do, and our athletes are bigger. Valpo made one statement yesterday and will make another one tomorrow. Valpo wins 76-62.

[Valpo89]

Why worry so much about Detroit? Don't you know who their coach is, and he doesn't have his son on the team any more?

[vu84v2]

The athletes and the weird venue always worry me. However Detroit has the worst coach in D1 and Valpo has great defense and knows how to win. Valpo in a close and ugly one: 61 - 55

[valpolaw]

I'm predicting that the momentum from Oakland carries over and we win by 15-20.

[VULB#62]

Are the Titans .....

Bigger and/or
Faster and/or
More Skilled

.... than Oakland?

Can't be all three.  So, if not, regardless of how well our offense clicks, our D will control the game.

UDM Is #10 of 10 in Scoring Defense; we are #1.

[talksalot]

NOTE:  GAME TIME CHANGED TO 1PM EASTERN, NOON -CENTRAL

[justducky]

Any word on Keith's foot and can EVN be asked to go 15 minutes? Who is our 3'rd string point or would Bryce just draw a name out of the hat?

I know Shane has sometimes been bringing the ball up but has his play truly fit the point guard definition? So is our starting point from 2 years back (Lexus) now relegated to the 3rd string, 4'th string, or 5'th string position? A part of me is hoping that Max and Lexus can both find some mid-season playing time but Detroit might not be the ideal location for the experience.

[a3uge]

Kieth looked like he got injured with 1:10 left and came out right away.

[VULB#62]

Might Lexus be red shirted .... Again .... .

[chef]

Might Lexus be red-shirted again?? That's not how it works. So no.

[VULB#62]

So why is he not in the rotation at all?  Two years ago he was brilliant. Can those injuries be that debilitating?

[bbtds]

I think Max could fill in at point and help Valpo win tomorrow's game at Calahan.

[chef]

Bryce is an 8 to 9 man rotation coach, as is pretty common among most top coaches today. He doesn't feel Lexus is in his top 9. Let's not overlook he had 2 major knee surgeries and doesn't have the same speed as he had before the injuries.

[motowntitan]

safe travels to anyone that made the trip.  We got hit with a bad ice storm this morning.

[agibson]

safe travels to anyone that made the trip.  We got hit with a bad ice storm this morning.

Valpo was supposed to pick up as much as six inches, but got barely a dusting. Travel safely everyone! Hopefully anyone out gets their power back soon.

[agibson]

Took me some hunting among the blizzard of small sports channels, but it seems that in Valpo the game's on CSN Chicago.  Channel 37 on my Comcast.

http://americansportsnet.com/schedule/
has a search box which might help you get started in your zip code.

(CSN Chicago is not the same as Comcast Sports Network, etc.)

Also ESPN3 online, which should hopefully mean a quick archive, etc.

[SanityLost17]

Bryce is an 8 to 9 man rotation coach, as is pretty common among most top coaches today. He doesn't feel Lexus is in his top 9. Let's not overlook he had 2 major knee surgeries and doesn't have the same speed as he had before the injuries.

The real question is this...  Is it possible that Lexus may someday regain a good portion of his former speed, or is it now gone forever.  Wishful thinking is that it is just a long slow process to retrain the tendons to be as springy as they once were.  However, the fact that they recruited an undersized/speedy point guard for next year makes me wonder.   

He was my favorite player on the team when he was a freshman, so I really hope that sometime in the next 2 years we see him back to normal. 

[SanityLost17]

As mentioned prior, this team exerted a lot of energy on Friday night.  I expect us to be a step slow on defense and for a few guys to get into foul trouble because of it.  I still think we win, but it will be uncomfortably close with Detroit doing a lot of damage from the free throw line.   

[NativeCheesehead]

Watching on CSN. Am I the only one whose broadcast is is choppy as heck?

[VULB#62]

ESPN3 is clear and strong.

[NativeCheesehead]

Just switched over

[agibson]

Watching on CSN. Am I the only one whose broadcast is is choppy as heck?

On _TV_ it was choppy?  I've never seen that.

For me, five minutes ago, unless I was really messed up, CSN (Chicago) wasn't showing the game at all. It was some random bit about sports memorabilia.  (It's on CSN for me now - standard feed, fine quality. ) While the game was on ESPN3 and WVUR.  Unless I somehow repeatedly had the wrong channel, then got it right?  Or they had some weird, long commercial on?

Anybody else seeing this?

Good start for Valpo, at least!

[agibson]

Watching on CSN. Am I the only one whose broadcast is is choppy as heck?

OK - I did just now see one digital-type, skip-a-frame feeling glitch on their TV broadcast.  Odd.