Game 35 St. Mary's @ the ARC, Tuesday, March 22; time 6PM CST

[valpo84]

To the comment it felt like UWGB final last year, absolutely was making the comment to my fraternity brother the last minute of the half. If we can go in down 1 poss, we'll be good.  St Mary's 3 pt attempts of only 4/8 1st half, 1/11 2d half.  They average 21 3FGA/gm and average 8 made.  We denied the 3 in the first half ok but were giving up inside layups too much.  Adjustment made on interior and denied 3FGAs as well.  That was what was very impressive the recovery to make 3s difficult Naar was neutralized. 

If Bennett wants more Bracketbuster type games, then maybe ask Valpo for home and homes alternating yearly or similar to what we did with Belmont this year.  If SMC is going to be a perennial 22-25 win team, that would help our RPI/other schedule rankings.  This is the creativity that we talked about a couple weeks ago. The stronger mids can achieve similar strength of schedule results as the Big East by scheduling these strong teams pre-conf.   For the stat people, would a split with St Mary's have helped our rankings more than a split with IPFW/Ball St?  Maybe some teams would like to create a cross-country mid-major tournament (St Mary's, Gonzaga, Valpo, Belmont, VCU, Northern Iowa and Wichita State for example).. Finally, hopefully, being in Final 4 of NIT gets us an invite to Preseason NIT.

St Mary's also deserved that NCAA bid over Tulsa or Vandy.  They had a tremendous year and again although the result is disappointing for them now, their accomplishments should be recognized.  Look they beat a Sweet 16 team 2x!

We had about 12 fraternity brothers and spouses from our era attend the game last night. For many it was their first game of the year and maybe since United Center games.  They will come out for the big events.  Many drove in from Chicagoland area on a Tuesday night.  It was great atmosphere and in terms of was this the biggest game held at ARC?  Would say it ranks with win over ND, 1995 Mid-Con Championship game versus Western Illinois to start the ascendency, Broekhoff shot game, last year's championship game, Butler win.

[VUfan]

Came from Wisconsin last night hàd a great time . This team will  compeat in MSG !!

[valpo04]

[tweet]712670029893001216[/tweet]

[talksalot]

Looking at the post-season....

we beat the Texas Southern TIGERS...

The last time we played a Tiger-team, was Missouri, last year.  The last time we Beat a tiger-team was Pacific Univ in the Big Island Invitational in 1997-98, we won 75-73.  Against current D-1 Tiger teams... we are 3-4 lifetime, (0-4 to Mizzou, 2-0 to Pacific and 1-0 to Texas Southern).  We have never played:   Auburn, Clemson, Grambling, Jackson State, LSU, Memphis, Princetion, Savannah State, Tennessee State or Towson.


Seminoles
There's only one... and we have beaten the Florida State team both times we've played them. 

Gaels:
There are two teams in the country with the "Gaels" as the mascot... we are 2-0 against them this year...Iona and St. Mary's.


Up next... Cougars...
This year we are 1-0 against a cougar-"team"... (Team in quotes because I wasn't sure if Chicago State counted).  We are 1-1 against BYU lifetime.  January 5, 1945 BYU came to Hilltop and Valpo won 72-58.  They came back December 10, 1948 and BYU won 62-57.  We have played the Houston Cougars 5 times, we are 1-4, including one game in the CBI in Houston a few years ago.  We are 32-3 against Chicago State.  Three D-1 Cougar teams we have not played:   College of Charleston, SIU-Edwardsville and Washington State

[a3uge]

Couple points:

* SMC was like a slow-paced Belmont - their first half play reminded me of Belmont's second game vs us. Lots of ball movement, forcing our bigs out to the perimeter, and forcing a pass to the inside once the double team came. I think we did a great job countering this by bringing in Jubril to double while Vashil stayed in the block. Offensively, we looked like a mess with this configuration, but it did the job.
* The bench was outscored 6-15, but Valpo still won by 16. This is the fewest bench points since Ball State (4 points... We didn't really have a bench that game). We also had 6 bench points vs URI. This is the first time this year only 1 bench player scored (Tevonn).
* SMC had fewer points in the 2nd half than Texas A&M did in the final 40 seconds of the UNI tournament game.
* Storming the court was kind of stupid, but I guess it makes up for not storming after the 2013 and 2015 championship games.
* Saint Mary's looked awful in the second half. One of the worst halves of basketball I've ever seen. Play people on the road - you're in San Francisco. 1 road game for a mid major is ridiculous.

[Smj]

While I am not promoting the storming of the court....   it does play well on tv and probably gets a little more coverage

Go Valpo!

[agibson]

* SMC was like a slow-paced Belmont - their first half play reminded me of Belmont's second game vs us. Lots of ball movement, forcing our bigs out to the perimeter, and forcing a pass to the inside once the double team came. I think we did a great job countering this by bringing in Jubril to double while Vashil stayed in the block. Offensively, we looked like a mess with this configuration, but it did the job.

Good observation. Thankfully we figured things out, and their backdoor cuts and such didn't tear us up quite to the extent of Belmont's.

* Storming the court was kind of stupid, but I guess it makes up for not storming after the 2013 and 2015 championship games.

Maybe. It did seem like they deliberately allowed it, "roping off" the bleachers and chairbacks as usual, but leaving the student section unrestricted access. There was a _lot_ of energy in the room - it seemed OK to me.

I was a little disappointed that they didn't cut down the nets. Finishing the ARC-hosted tournament rounds, it seems appropriate to me. And, we've not had another chance this year (yet - I assume the winner _will_ do it at MSG).  They actually got out a ladder at one point and had it set up under the east basket. But, the AD came over and had it taken down. Not sure if the coaching staff preferred not to do it, or what. But, it was fun to hang out on the court and mingle, etc. anyway.

Lots of past Valpo greats in the house.

[agibson]

* The bench was outscored 6-15, but Valpo still won by 16. This is the fewest bench points since Ball State (4 points... We didn't really have a bench that game). We also had 6 bench points vs URI. This is the first time this year only 1 bench player scored (Tevonn).

I wonder how bench minutes compared? A number of starting players seemed above their average, with Alec notably playing all twenty of the opening stanza.

Still, you'd think with 34 minutes between Jubril, Skara, and E Vic, we normally get a couple of buckets.

* SMC had fewer points in the 2nd half than Texas A&M did in the final 40 seconds of the UNI tournament game.

Nice!

[vu84v2]

I had to be in Milwaukee for some business today, so I flew in early and drove down and went to the game with a friend. Incredibly fun and loved the environment.

Several observations:
-We sat six rows behind the Saint Mary's bench (first time buying tickets off Stubhub for a Valpo game). Watched various parts of the replay last night and it never ceases to amaze me how much I look like a dork on camera.
-That was the most orderly court storming that I have ever seen. It was very much like, "lets go on the floor and celebrate, but go in rows of two and be very respectful". Not sure that I agree with storming the court for an NIT quarterfinal win, but very glad the students were having fun.
-The giant prayer circle with the players and students might normally bother me a bit, but I thought that it was fine. It was clear that people could join or not join on their own accord. Powell does seem like a good leader.
-Did Valpo ever cut down the nets?  They had the ladder out and we walked out of the stadium thinking that they were going to cut it down, but then had Peters and Fernandez come by us to go to the locker room as we were walking out. I hope that they saved that for later, but can't blame the players if they were just enjoying the moment.
-Was this really Vashil's last home game?  I feel that I have heard that before (smile).

A previous poster mentioned the scheduling issues that mid-majors face. Frankly, an interesting idea would be to have as many as eight top mid-major teams play a complete single round robin in the regular season. If Valpo, Monmouth, Saint Mary's, Wichita State, Northern Iowa, Iona, etc. all played each other in the nonconference, there would no longer be a scheduling issue. Call it the 'Mid-Major Champions League".

[a3uge]

While I am not promoting the storming of the court....   it does play well on tv and probably gets a little more coverage

Go Valpo!

The fanbase is really embracing this NIT thing. The record crowd, court storming... Seems a bit much too me, but I'm glad we can end the season on a bit happier note. These games don't make me nervous or glad. Perhaps the championship game would change my approach, but doing anything short of winning the NIT feels irrelevant.

[valpopal]

I mentioned after a game earlier this year that this team at its best is one of the rare groups with which it is almost as enjoyable to watch on defense as when they are on offense. At the time, I compared the experience of observing their defensive play to that I liked so much of the 1985 Chicago Bears' stifling defense. Last night's second half was a perfect example!

[Smj]

While I am not promoting the storming of the court....   it does play well on tv and probably gets a little more coverage

Go Valpo!

The fanbase is really embracing this NIT thing. The record crowd, court storming... Seems a bit much too me, but I'm glad we can end the season on a bit happier note. These games don't make me nervous or glad. Perhaps the championship game would change my approach, but doing anything short of winning the NIT feels irrelevant.

Irrelevant....   That is kinda harsh - this will look great on the players' resumes if any decide to play (or work in sports)  after school.   .....   

*sarcasm*  As long as their resume is being reviewed by someone that is not part of the NCAA selection committee - I question if they can even read....  [emoji12]

Go Valpo!

[agibson]

-Did Valpo ever cut down the nets?  They had the ladder out and we walked out of the stadium thinking that they were going to cut it down, but then had Peters and Fernandez come by us to go to the locker room as we were walking out. I hope that they saved that for later, but can't blame the players if they were just enjoying the moment.

I don't think they did. They took down the ladder pretty early on. The players actually didn't stay out _too_ long - some had to go to the press conference, and everybody for the team meeting they put up on YouTube. Chandler came back out, but I'm not sure if any of the other players did. I stuck around until... maybe 8:20 PM or so, soaking in the atmosphere. All three assistant coaches did come back out. Who knows, maybe the festivities kept going for a while and other players came back out, etc - I certainly didn't close the place down.

A previous poster mentioned the scheduling issues that mid-majors face. Frankly, an interesting idea would be to have as many as eight top mid-major teams play a complete single round robin in the regular season. If Valpo, Monmouth, Saint Mary's, Wichita State, Northern Iowa, Iona, etc. all played each other in the nonconference, there would no longer be a scheduling issue. Call it the 'Mid-Major Champions League".

Sort of a mini-conference within the non-conference. Challenging to schedule, with travel considerations, etc. but it does seem like a nice idea. You'd have inevitable jostling about who belonged and who didn't, whether members are permanent or not (promotion and relegation discussions from the soccer fans), etc. But, maybe something could be worked out. Sort of a conference challenge on steroids.

[Smj]

I really like the concept of a conference within a conference but the selection of who belongs could end up to be the same as the NCAA selection committee.........

Go Valpo!

[bbtds]

A previous poster mentioned the scheduling issues that mid-majors face. Frankly, an interesting idea would be to have as many as eight top mid-major teams play a complete single round robin in the regular season. If Valpo, Monmouth, Saint Mary's, Wichita State, Northern Iowa, Iona, etc. all played each other in the nonconference, there would no longer be a scheduling issue. Call it the 'Mid-Major Champions League".

Or.........call it a new conference! Conference of Champions, or...........the Wheaties Conference!

[wh]

From 2013:

Analyzing the Saint Mary's sanctions
By Andy Katz | March 1, 2013 2:31:31 PM PST

On Friday, Saint Mary's was hit with probation, a failure to monitor charge and an overall label that it acted in disregard for NCAA rules in terms of workouts and recruiting for international players.

But the penalties, when really examined, lack teeth, and the NCAA committee on infractions needs to think going forward about how the penalties are handed down.


Elsa/Getty Images
Randy Bennett has some work to do in order to repair Saint Mary's reputation after sanctions.
The unethical recruiting could have carried a show-cause penalty for head coach Randy Bennett since the report stated that he knew of the actions -- impermissible workouts, benefits and travel arrangements -- of a former assistant coach. That's why he received the charge of a failure to monitor and promote an atmosphere of compliance.

Here are some of the problems with the penalties handed down Friday by the committee on infractions after the Saint Mary's hearing on Dec. 14 in Indianapolis:

• Bennett was given a five-game penalty for the start of the 2013-14 season. This has the potential to sting the Gaels, especially if the Gaels draw BYU or Gonzaga early in the WCC.

Former UConn coach Jim Calhoun, former Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl, Central Florida's Donnie Jones, Baylor's Scott Drew and Marquette's Buzz Williams all had to miss conference games for violations either attached to them or an assistant coach in the past three years. Missing conference games hits the coach and program harder.

• Bennett cannot recruit off campus for the 2013-14 season. That could hurt, but Bennett has done international recruiting more than any other coach and doesn't necessarily have to go abroad to secure players now that he has a pipeline to Australia. The Australian Institute of Sport knows Bennett and his program and would have no issue sending players to Saint Mary's without seeing him in the summer.

• Reducing scholarships from 13 to 11 for 2014-15 and 2015-16. This one could carry harsh ramifications for the Gaels since a program like Saint Mary's does need to stockpile talent.

• No foreign tour until 2017-18. The COI said on a conference call Friday that this was done to hit one four-year class coming into Saint Mary's. Fair enough, but it won't dramatically hurt the program.

• No multiteam event until 2015-16. The COI said later on in the call that if there is an existing contract, then Saint Mary's can still play in the event, but will add a year to the penalty. Well, Saint Mary's is in the Diamond Head Classic in 2013 and intends to play. Saint Mary's has been conservative in scheduling, so this may not be as much of a hit since the Gaels tend to shy away from big-time games. Saint Mary's was in Anaheim last November.

• No skill instruction in the preseason for 2013-14 and 2014-15. This penalty is a result of the impermissible workouts. The COI said on the call that the players can still work out, but not with the coaches. This one doesn't make sense. If the coaches can't work out their own players in the summer (a new rule last year), preseason or spring, then it hurts only the players and their relationship with the coaches. The players are still going to work out, but someone else will take their spot, and that person could be related to an agent or put the Gaels back facing a similar issue again. The Gaels lose Matthew Dellavedova after the season, and the need to develop a new point guard is key.

In polling four other programs that know the Saint Mary's program well, the general consensus was the penalties weren't strong enough, and if any one of them could really hurt, the reduction in scholarships may be it. An official from one program said the ability for Saint Mary's to recover will depend on how it deals with funding to stay at a high level in the sport. But the perception of committing violations will be a stigma for Saint Mary's and Bennett.

He was a name for USC and has always been a hot commodity. Bennett has coached plenty of pro players and has made Saint Mary's a regional contender and a team in contention for an NCAA bid nearly every season. But this will sting and follow him going forward. He has had universal support at the school because men's basketball is the money sport and the one that has given the school a name. By sticking with him going forward, Bennett will have to repair his and the school's image by winning without any more drama.

[agibson]

So, did these take effect as scheduled? I don't remember anyone mentioning they were on 11 scholarships when we played.

[wh]

So, did these the effect as scheduled? I don't remember anyone mentioning they were on 11 scholarships when we played.

I guess that's why I posted the article. Apparently, none of us knew anything about cute little St. Mary's College being investigated and found guilty of serious recruiting violations, in fact serious enough that Andy Katz thought they got off too lightly.  As to your comment about number of scholarship players, they have a 13-player roster -11 scholarship players and 2 walk-ons - Biebel and Hermanson.   

[agibson]

So, did these the effect as scheduled? I don't remember anyone mentioning they were on 11 scholarships when we played.

I guess that's why I posted the article. Apparently, none of us knew anything about cute little St. Mary's College being investigated and found guilty of serious recruiting violations, in fact serious enough that Andy Katz thought they got off too lightly.  As to your comment about number of scholarship players, they have a 13-player roster -11 scholarship players and 2 walk-ons - Biebel and Hermanson.   

It's true we don't normally get in-depth scouting reports in the media. The best, when we get them, seem to come from generous opposing fans.

[HC]

Valpo tried to set up something with St Mary's a few years back and the good folks out west wanted nothing to do it with it then.  Maybe their feelings have changed since then.

[atkins]

Does the Australian Institute of Sport still remember little Valpo?  We could use a strong power forward to spell Jubril next year. He is going to need a breather on occasion.