1/22 - Wright State @ Nutter Center

[talksalot]

Thought the most appropriate thing to do after a game like that... was to forget it, and think about Friday's game at the Nutter Center...

so, Valpo's got their 6-game-conference-double-digit streak going... back into the 40s that never happened before...

We have a 1-game lead on the conference.

[talksalot]

and Wright State comes back from 14 down to win it !  Paris Bass misses a 3-pointer at the buzzer... 77-76 Raiders... so Valpo plays ANOTHER 2nd place team on the road.

[vu72]

and Wright State comes back from 14 down to win it !  Paris Bass misses a 3-pointer at the buzzer... 77-76 Raiders... so Valpo planes ANOTHER 2nd place team on the road.

Was just watching the box score so didn't see the action but Detroit is down by 1 with 10 seconds to go and on a timeout and the best they can come up with is a Bass 3?  Poor coaching in spades.  On to the A-10.

[hailcrusaders]

An unholy amount of that awful under-the-basket camera views in that UDM-WSU game. I don't know who is responsible for making those decisions (ESPN producers?) but let's hope it isn't like that on Friday.

Wright State makes me nervous because they're playing well and they're the only other HL team that actually plays defense. We're not going to put up 96 on them. That said, we should have a considerable size advantage on them, and hopefully that gives them trouble.

[a3uge]

An unholy amount of that awful under-the-basket camera views in that UDM-WSU game. I don't know who is responsible for making those decisions (ESPN producers?) but let's hope it isn't like that on Friday.

Wright State makes me nervous because they're playing well and they're the only other HL team that actually plays defense. We're not going to put up 96 on them. That said, we should have a considerable size advantage on them, and hopefully that gives them trouble.

Every possession. It was unbearable. I don't understand why the under the basket camera exists. Even during replays it's not all that interesting.

[StlVUFan]

Welp, if you want something done right, do it yourself, I guess

[talksalot]

Game #20 on the season...

14-15  Valpo 66 Wright State 56 - AWAY
13-14  Valpo 75 Milwaukee 62 - HOME
12-13  Valpo 69 Wright State 63 - HOME
11-12  Valpo 69 Loyola 48 - AWAY
10-11  Valpo 60 Milwaukee 43 - HOME
09-10  Valpo 64 UIC 58 - AWAY
08-09  Valpo 63 Milwaukee 51 - HOME
07-08  Valpo 60 UIC 56 - HOME
06-07  Valpo 56 UMKC 52 - AWAY (OT)
05-06  Valpo 99 Centenary 73 - HOME
04-05  Valpo 93 Southern Utah 77 - AWAY

that's 11 in a row!

03-04..... Centenary 78 Valpo 73 - AWAY

[a3uge]

and Wright State comes back from 14 down to win it !  Paris Bass misses a 3-pointer at the buzzer... 77-76 Raiders... so Valpo planes ANOTHER 2nd place team on the road.

Was just watching the box score so didn't see the action but Detroit is down by 1 with 10 seconds to go and on a timeout and the best they can come up with is a Bass 3?  Poor coaching in spades.  On to the A-10.

It was a really deep contested three. They had an inbound at mid court and they pressured Bass receiving the pass, so he caught it going away from the hoop past mid court. He jacked it up with 3 seconds left, so they could have gotten a better look.

Detroit's poor coaching rears its ugly head again.

[hailcrusaders]

and Wright State comes back from 14 down to win it !  Paris Bass misses a 3-pointer at the buzzer... 77-76 Raiders... so Valpo planes ANOTHER 2nd place team on the road.

Was just watching the box score so didn't see the action but Detroit is down by 1 with 10 seconds to go and on a timeout and the best they can come up with is a Bass 3?  Poor coaching in spades.  On to the A-10.

It was a really deep contested three. They had an inbound at mid court and they pressured Bass receiving the pass, so he caught it going away from the hoop past mid court. He jacked it up with 3 seconds left, so they could have gotten a better look. Detroit's poor coaching rears its ugly head again.

They're calling for McCallum's head over on the Detroit board, as is their custom after losses.

[valpo64]

Surprise, surprise!

[SanityLost17]

I am glad Wright State pulled it out.  Easier for the team to keep focus when 1st place is on the line. 

Our average margin of victory through our first 6 conference games is 20 points.  First post on the Wright State board about our game "this game will be tight".   

[valpolaw]

I'm thinking we will keep the double digit win streak alive against Wright State and probably in the 10-12 point win range. This team is just too deep and has so many weapons.

[valpotx]

This game will NOT be tight:

Valpo 74
Wright State 61

[oklahomamick]

I would rather have a two game lead.  But then again, just get the double bye.  1st place is just bragging rights.

[historyman]

Here's an interesting thought from a WSU fan on the Raider board:


I've been thinking about it for a while and here is the best scenario for the team this year. It will sound a bit crazy at first, but stay with me. First off, if we don't win the HL championship, we shouldn't go to the postseason. Our attendance is too low to justify a pay-to-play CIT or CBI bid on our end. That's a financial decision. It's NCAA or bust.[/size]Here's where I might sound a little crazy, but hear me out: we need Valpo to win out, including against us. The better their RPI, the better their chance of going in as a solid at-large bid with a good seed. Our losses are bad enough that we couldn't get anything above a 15 seed and that may be generous. If Valpo gets in on their own merits, it's more cash for everyone in the league, including them. Statistically, it would behoove them to lose the HL final. It would actually help us if we lost twice to them and won out against everyone else. We'd get the league's 2 seed on a neutral court, win two tourney games, and BAM! Two HL teams are dancing. I'm not suggesting anyone try to throw a game here or that Donlon and Drew ever would. If it played out this way, though, I'd be pleased as punch. As a fan of MAC football, I watched this happen almost every year in the BCS days. Someone would go undefeated and start knocking at the door of the top 10, then they'd get tripped up by a second tier rival and everyone -including the team that beat them - got a lower tier bowl. Hell, teams actually won themselves out of bowl game by pulling the upset. I realize how much this sounds against logic and the spirit of competition, but if only a couple of games really count at this point, we might as well do the best we can and hope to win 11 more games instead of 13.[/size]

[covufan]

We can't let them slow it down.

Valpo   75
WSU    57

[talksalot]

WSU has not beaten anyone in the RPI top 150 this year - Their RPI is #151

Wins over:   #154 South Dakota, #160 Milwaukee and #162 Murray State
Bad Losses:  #301 Cal State Northridge, #231 Miami (OH), #157 George Mason

Other games:  Lost @ #18 Kentucky by 15; Lost @ #3 Xavier by 35; Lost at home to #93 Georgia State by 13 (only home loss)

Raider season Stat sheet:

http://www.wsuraiders.com/fls/27000/legacy/m-baskbl/1516Stats/Overall.pdf

Benzinger is the real deal from 3-point range; Karena is big, fouled out of 7 games this year, 51% FT shooter.

NolanRPI Predictor... Valpo by 3 with a 59% chance of winning

[sliman]

Perhaps most telling is the fact that Wright State is 8-1 since losing by 5 at Miami in mid-December.  In the month since, they are 8-1 with the only loss being at Green Bay by 8.  That weekend included a Thursday OT win at Milwaukee.  This may be our biggest challenge since at Oakland -- and perhaps greater.  For someone seeking a pretty game with smooth offensive flow, this probably won't be it!

[frontrowfan]

Couldn't agree more with sliman.....WSU is could be our biggest challenge to date.  defense is a strength ...looking forward to a battle with VU coming out on top

[classof2014]

We will win this one like most of the others. Wright State has a good defense but Valpo is simply too athletic for them to handle. Their defense keeps the game respectable up 10 at half and wind up winning by 14.

Valpo 66
WSU 52

[talksalot]

Starters for their Youngstown Game...
                                                    ppg and rpg and notes
3 Mark Hughes (6-4, 180, Fr., G)* 3.1 2.7 11 points at Milwaukee
13 Grant Benzinger (6-3, 190, So., G) * 8.6 2.3 5 threes vs Cleveland St
14 Michael Karena (6-10, 270, Sr., C) * 9.6 3.8 16 points vs Cleveland St
23 Mark Alstork (6-5, 190, So., G) * 11.9 4.7 18/6 at NKU
32 Joe Thomasson (6-4,165, Sr., G) * 9.8 5.1 21 points at Milwaukee

[aevans12]

If anyone is coming to the game, you can get discounted tickets (for all WSU games actually) by going to wsuraidertix.com and using the promo code REACH16.  Gets you $4 off "non-premium" seats, which I believe are rows 13 and up on the sidelines.

[vu84v2]

I think that Valpo will get Wright State's best shot, which often is better when the team is more defensively oriented. Valpo will play tough though and make more plays overall with a second or third option on offense being the key (likely one of the Walkers or Hammink).

Valpo 63
Wright State 57

[talksalot]

Bryce and Todd Preview show...

http://valpoathletics.com/mbasketball/#.Vp__JPkrJpg

[vu72]

Starters for their Youngstown Game...
                                                    ppg and rpg and notes
3 Mark Hughes (6-4, 180, Fr., G)* 3.1 2.7 11 points at Milwaukee
13 Grant Benzinger (6-3, 190, So., G) * 8.6 2.3 5 threes vs Cleveland St
14 Michael Karena (6-10, 270, Sr., C) * 9.6 3.8 16 points vs Cleveland St
23 Mark Alstork (6-5, 190, So., G) * 11.9 4.7 18/6 at NKU
32 Joe Thomasson (6-4,165, Sr., G) * 9.8 5.1 21 points at Milwaukee

So we start 6'10", 6'9" and 6'8" up front and 6'2" and 6'2" in the backcourt.  Their guards are bigger until 6'7" and 6'8" come into the game.  It will depend on hitting shots and rebounding.  They are leading the league in FG% at 46.3 but are allowing 63.8 to our 60 ppg.  The big thing is our bebounding advantage at plus 9.5 to their minus 1.6.  I'm looking for a 7 point win on their floor, 68-60