Game #15 - Oakland Friday Jan 6, 8pm (CT) ESPN2 @ the ARC

[oklahomamick]

If things went 100% our way we would have l jubril, skara and carter....  🙏🏻😁

[a3uge]

Moreover, Oakland now is clearly in the driver's seat for the regular season and conference championships and the League's auto bid. There is still an opportunity to salvage the season, but unless Jubril returns we have very little chance IMO.

Oakland is in the driver's seat for an nit bid. Nobody is in the driver's seat for the conference tournament.

[wh]

Moreover, Oakland now is clearly in the driver's seat for the regular season and conference championships and the League's auto bid. There is still an opportunity to salvage the season, but unless Jubril returns we have very little chance IMO.

Oakland is in the driver's seat for an nit bid. Nobody is in the driver's seat for the conference tournament.

Oakland is heads above better than EVERYONE else in the league right now and unquestionably would be favored to win the tournament. I call that being in the driver's seat. If you have a term you like better, that works too.

[a3uge]

Moreover, Oakland now is clearly in the driver's seat for the regular season and conference championships and the League's auto bid. There is still an opportunity to salvage the season, but unless Jubril returns we have very little chance IMO.

Oakland is in the driver's seat for an nit bid. Nobody is in the driver's seat for the conference tournament.

Oakland is heads above better than EVERYONE else in the league right now and unquestionably would be favored to win the tournament. I call that being in the driver's seat. If you have a term you like better, that works too.

Yeah, we were leagues better than everyone else last year. We weren't in the driver's seat to win the conference tournament because there was no advantage to being better than everyone else.

[M]

When did the 2nd semester start?

[FieldGoodie05]

January 11th

[VU2624]

The outcome of this season continues to hinge on the outcome of the Jubril situation. It has already cost us 2 wins that we'll never get back, a possible future Top 25 ranking, and a higher NCAA tournament seed than we have any possibility for now. Moreover, Oakland now is clearly in the driver's seat for the regular season and conference championships and the League's auto bid. There is still an opportunity to salvage the season, but unless Jubril returns we have very little chance IMO. Lastly, the lack of information about Jubril's penalty is nothing short of bizarre. I understand the need for confidentiality, but no one can tell me that announcing the number of games he has been suspended violates anyone's privacy rights. Or, are we expected to believe the penalty still hasn't been decided after all this time. That's absurd. Or if it hasn't, it's becoming a scandalous miscarriage of justice. Either way, why aren't Paul, Todd and Michael asking the AD and coaching staff ON the record, "Is there any update you can share with us about the Jubril suspension?"  Or simply, "Can you say at this point whether a final decision has been rendered?"  Enough time has passed that ML or Matt should offer up something - anything.

If he's going through the Honor Council process, and I'm not saying he is, it is quite probable that the hearing(s) have not yet been held. If that is the case, it's possible that the team doesn't know if he'll be eligible or not.

As an aside, a couple of years ago there was a situation at the end of the fall semester when it seemed that every athlete who was underaged was caught at a party and hit with a underage drinking charge. There were at least two basketball players involved...including Jubril. I can't recall if any of the sports acknowledged the specific situation other than some non committal remarks such as "the athletes did not act in a proper fashion" or some lame bs such as that. I think Jubril acknowledged it himself on social media but the coaches and school did not nor did the same for all of the sports who athletes involved. The silence has also occurred with a few other cases I'm aware of in which players were suspended for some period but the absence was never acknowledged at all by the coaches. So my thought is that we will get nothing in terms of whatever happened in this case and the only way we find out is if the athletes themselves reveal it.

[VU2014]

Couldn't potential honor council meetings be held over skype or conference call over break? This team misses him badly. Jubril has never been the best player on the court but he has been a glue guy for this team for years and brought depth. This season he also brought a decent 3-pt shot that helped space the floor and keep defenders honest. It would be nice to see him back on the court as quickly as possible.

Does anyone know if Jubril has been participating in practice? Or is he completely not involved in basketball activities?

[crusader05]

Once again I am skeptical this is going on so long because of the honor council but if it is, due to NCAA rules of no special treatment the university would need to be very careful to not rush any portion of the investigation hearing so as not to be seen as favoring an athlete just to get him on the court faster. If nothing is held over break for any other student, then there should not be anything held for Jubril either. That way lies even more trouble that affects the entire team, not just one student athlete

[FieldGoodie05]

Only halftime OU @ UIC, but the athleticism of UIC guards has UIC up 37-31 at halftime.  OU not getting open looks at the three, Odiase handling the paint.

I'm beginning to think we are a PG away from 14-2 or 13-3.

P.S.  And maybe Coach Lottich and his staff could use a little seasoning.  But that is to be expected with a first year (first ever) HC.  I'm still optimistic with Coach Lottich. 

[talksalot]

58-57 Oakland final

[a3uge]

It's almost as if some teams have good games while others play poorly...

[M]

UIC leaves 2 timeouts on the board. Bad bad bad last minute there.

[a3uge]

Also Oakland got bailed out. They called a brutal jump ball when UIC got fouled

[IndyValpo]

Moreover, Oakland now is clearly in the driver's seat for the regular season and conference championships and the League's auto bid. There is still an opportunity to salvage the season, but unless Jubril returns we have very little chance IMO.

I am not too worried about Oakland, Kampe will find a way to screw it as has been his tradition over the last five seasons.

2016 2nd Seed lost in Round 1
2015 4th Seed lost Round 1
2014 5th Seed lost Round 2
2013 4th Seed lost Round 1
2012 3rd Seed lost Round 1

His only victory in the last 5 seasons came as an underdog.
Oakland is in the driver's seat for an nit bid. Nobody is in the driver's seat for the conference tournament.

Oakland is heads above better than EVERYONE else in the league right now and unquestionably would be favored to win the tournament. I call that being in the driver's seat. If you have a term you like better, that works too.

[wh]

Haven't had much time to reflect on the Oakland game until now. Something that impressed me about Oakland was their unique defensive scheme. They played aggressive, in-your-face defensive against our 1-4 positions, while leaving our bigs completely unguarded. That defender played a 1-man zone in the painted area.  Anytime Alec tried to post up, the floater was right there to help deny the inlet pass, or double team him if he did receive the pass. Anytime he drove the baseline, the floater was waiting underneath to cut him off and force him to give up the ball, force a collision, block the shot, whatever. More than that, his refusal to leave the box regardless of where Derrik or Jay went completely blew up our bread-and-butter "picket fence" play, the one where Shane and Tevonn drive down the lane after a series of picks.

In effect, they took us completely out of our offense, and the frustration was apparent on our players' faces. They knew what they were doing was working, and that elevated their confidence even more.

The one positive is that this gimmick defense would never have worked (or even attempted) had Jubril been playing. Jubril can hit from anywhere on the court, and has far superior offensive skills in the low post than either of our 2 freshmen. Leaving him unguarded anytime/anywhere would be suicide.

So, give Kampe his due for a great game plan, but recognize that if Jubril returns, our next match-up will have a completely different look and feel.

[M]

Also, if message board dudes are smart enough to figure that out you know our coaching staff has it figured out too (well I hope).  Seems a simple solution on offense would be to put in a smaller line up and run Alec at the 5.  Hopefully, hopefully, Jubril will make his return soon and we can ride with a full strength team.

[wh]

Also, if message board dudes are smart enough to figure that out you know our coaching staff has it figured out too (well I hope).  Seems a simple solution on offense would be to put in a smaller line up and run Alec at the 5.  Hopefully, hopefully, Jubril will make his return soon and we can ride with a full strength team.

Actually, we did change up some things against UIC. Offensively, Alec set up inside far less, which in turn opened the lane for Shane and Tevonn. I'm sure they were much happier, but at what cost?  As mentioned before, one of the 15 best players in the country got off 7 freaking shots in the flow of the offense, and the outcome of the game was still in doubt practically to the end - at home against a team with one of the worst records in D-1 no less. That's a game that we probably would have lost against anyone decent.

It would be like an NFL team with a superstar running back deciding to only give him 5 carries because they know the opposition will be keying on him. It would never happen, yet that's exactly what happened yesterday.  Here we have a guy that other teams would kill for, and we use him as a freaking decoy instead of finding new ways to get him open.

Here's a suggestion that will send the right message. The first time someone fails to find him when he's open, yank the culprit immediately. The next time Alec sets up in the low post and works like a mad man to wall his man off and Shane or Lexus stand there holding the ball until he can't hold his position any longer, yank them.

[M]

I was by no means suggesting Alec not get more shot attempts or quality touches. I'd think playing the 5 would give him loads of opportunities to be a threat outside and off the dribble.  Figuring who plays with in the smaller lineup with him that you trust would be the bigger task.

[VULB#62]

Spot on WH.  So, where is Alec most lethal?  Low post?  Moving around the perimeter?  Finding peripheral spots?  Getting open inside of 18'?  Whatever the answer is, freakin build an offense around that.  Then, and only then, develop plays  for the other spots on the floor.  This is my simple-minded solution to the this.  But, then, I'm just a football guy enjoying Valpo basketball and hoping.....    hoping....   

[Vinny]

I'm curious to get some thoughts here that don't really correspond to the game itself. I thought the "in-arena" music tonight was the worst I've heard in a long time. There was some sort of Hawaiian night promotion which seemingly came out of the blue. I saw one person in the stands wearing a Hawaiian shirt. Was the music picked to represent some sort of island theme? I heard more Beach Boys than I was used to. Regardless, here is my question...should the music be catered to the older chairback fans or to the younger student fans? I thought Kentucky's gameday atmosphere was outstanding as they had an in-house DJ that was spinning music. The vibe was upbeat from the moment I entered Rupp. I know the ARC isn't Rupp, nor does it pretend to be, but there was absolutely no energy in the building tonight. The music was flat. The only thing to ever look forward to music wise is if Valpo goes on a run and Timber gets played for 10 seconds before we get an ad for a muffin. I'm not quite old enough to be complaining about the music being too loud and to be yelling at kids to get off my lawn. Stop playing music from the 50's, 60's and 70's at games. It's old, it's tired and it drains the energy. Create a strong gameday atmosphere that doesn't revolve around Dion and the Belmonts.

Considering the average age of a season ticket holder is probably 84 years old - and they're paying customers - I can understand why the music selection is more subdued. Not my preference in the least, but I can understand.