Game #9 - Purdue @ Mackey Arena Thursday, Dec 7

[a3uge]

I'm sort of glad we got ______-slapped in the first half.  No one learns from success, rather from failure.  And BOYYYYY did we fail in the first half. 

This statement somewhat contradicts your earlier defenses of the soft non-con schedule that created this problem.  Why couldn't we have taken our lumps earlier where the support of our home crowds could help us through tough stretches and potentially to to meaningful wins or so that they could learn how to play in tough road environments sooner? We came out shellshocked tonight. Why? Bad scheduling. In addition to never having faced an opponent like Purdue we had also never seen that kind of environment. Tougher games would have left us in better position to take advantage of Purdue's slow start and give ourselves a chance. The level of opponent we've played did not prepare us for this game. Young team or not we shouldn't have this many identity or rotation questions in game 9 with the season nearly 30% over. Answers should be surfacing now and all we have are questions. Why? Because our first 3 or so games were little more than glorified exhibitions. Hopefully this game teaches us what we need to know before conference play starts. I still believe in our coach and our team but this just shows that if we want to consistently challenge and beat teams like Purdue and contend for at large bids we need to schedule better non-con opponents so that we 1. Can learn about our team faster 2. Have them grow quicker and 3. Not pin so much of our postseason hopes on just a handful of games that we must have in order to be considered.

Tevonn, Joseph, Sorolla, Smits, Bradford, Kiser played at Kentucky and Oregon last year. Burton played in the Big 12. Bakari played in the Big 10. For Hazen, Linssen, McMillan, and Golder it was a new experience, but what difference does it make if it's the 1st game of the year vs the 9th game of the year? If we got killed by Kentucky in game 2 would this lineup look significantly different? I doubt it.

[bbtds]

I sure didn't think we would catch ourselves looking past Purdue and directly at Ball State. That is what happened, correct? Cause if that was a concentrated effort at Purdue we have a lot to learn about concentrating our effort.

[justducky]

I don't think any VU player performed up to their abilities or my expectations.

With that said my 3-4 prediction for December is now looking much more realistic.  Honestly this was the team I was expecting to see in November.

2nd half, Hazen starts while Golder sits on the bench. Insanity.

Hazen will develop into a top notch defender but not tonight. In an effort to share the blame Golder contributed little as well.

We need to remember that we had and have no at-large potential for 17-18. So the difference between a 70 RPI vs a 125 is of only minor importance. Let Matt develop his team, in his way and at his pace. I am confident we will be liking the results.

[FieldGoodie05]

I'm sort of glad we got ______-slapped in the first half.  No one learns from success, rather from failure.  And BOYYYYY did we fail in the first half. 

This statement somewhat contradicts your earlier defenses of the soft non-con schedule that created this problem.  Why couldn't we have taken our lumps earlier where the support of our home crowds could help us through tough stretches and potentially to to meaningful wins or so that they could learn how to play in tough road environments sooner? We came out shellshocked tonight. Why? Bad scheduling. In addition to never having faced an opponent like Purdue we had also never seen that kind of environment. Tougher games would have left us in better position to take advantage of Purdue's slow start and give ourselves a chance. The level of opponent we've played did not prepare us for this game. Young team or not we shouldn't have this many identity or rotation questions in game 9 with the season nearly 30% over. Answers should be surfacing now and all we have are questions. Why? Because our first 3 or so games were little more than glorified exhibitions. Hopefully this game teaches us what we need to know before conference play starts. I still believe in our coach and our team but this just shows that if we want to consistently challenge and beat teams like Purdue and contend for at large bids we need to schedule better non-con opponents so that we 1. Can learn about our team faster 2. Have them grow quicker and 3. Not pin so much of our postseason hopes on just a handful of games that we must have in order to be considered.

Oh that's right, I'm the one that said 18-0 could happen?

[talksalot]

before the game was over...

Valpo RPI #54  .5902    SOS 267  .4536

After the Final was posted the #53  .5907   SOS 181  .4886   and that SOS will continue to get better as we take on #125 BSU and #118 Northwestern

[a3uge]

I don't think any VU player performed up to their abilities or my expectations.

With that said my 3-4 prediction for December is now looking much more realistic.  [emoji106] Honestly this was the team I was expecting to see in November.

2nd half, Hazen starts while Golder sits on the bench. Insanity.

Hazen will develop into a top notch defender but not tonight. In an effort to share the blame Golder contributed little as well.

We need to remember that we had and have no at-large potential for 17-18. So the difference between a 70 RPI vs a 125 is of only minor importance. Let Matt develop his team, in his way and at his pace. I am confident we will be liking the results.

If Lottich is treating games as practice instead of trying to win, he should be let go. The program should be beyond that at this point.

Golder at least brings some aggressiveness, and has been shooting the ball well from deep. Hazen... I'm not really sure what he brings.

[valpolaw]

I'm baffled why Golder doesn't get more playing time and why Hazen continues to start.

[VU2014]

I'm baffled why Golder doesn't get more playing time and why Hazen continues to start.

They sort of play two different positions. Agreed Golder has played much better but Golder is more a swing guy who can play both the 2 and the 3 and maybe the 4 against smaller lineups.

My theory on why Parker is playing is that Coach Lottich doesn't want him to lose confidence. But boy do I have to say the 4 is one of the obvious weak spot of this team. It could very well be a strength in the future but both Parker and Mileek are for sure taking their lumps right now. They sure look raw out there. You can see potential in them but they're both making freshman mistakes. It's been a while since Valpo didn't have a polished PF out there. You have to look back to before, Peters & Kevin Van Wijk. Both of those guys were much more polished if memory serves me correct. Much more game ready.

[EddieCabot]

I'm baffled why Golder doesn't get more playing time and why Hazen continues to start.

They sort of play two different positions. Agreed Golder has played much better but Golder is more a swing guy who can play both the 2 and the 3 and maybe the 4 against smaller lineups.

My theory on why Parker is playing is that Coach Lottich doesn't want him to lose confidence. But boy do I have to say the 4 is one of the obvious weak spot of this team. It could very well be a strength in the future but both Parker and Mileek are for sure taking their lumps right now. They sure look raw out there. You can see potential in them but their both making freshman mistakes. It's been a while since Valpo didn't have a polished PF out there. You have to look back to before, Peters & Kevin Van Wijk. Both of those guys were much more polished if memory serves me correct. Much more game ready.

I think KVW was a post player, but both Capobianco and Richie Edwards were very skilled and polished players at the 4.

[FieldGoodie05]

Purdue Starters vs Valpo

Senior vs Sophomore (edge PU)
Sophomore vs Senior (push)
Senior vs Junior (edge PU)
Senior vs Freshmen (edge PU)
Senior vs Sophomore (edge PU)

Are we seeing a trend here?  Please please please step off the cliff.  I'm noticing a lot of VU ppl think that all of the sudden we are supposed to be a level ahead of the senior class we just lost.  We can't replace Alec/Shane/Adekoya with 9 underclassmen WHO SIMPLY HAVENT PLAYED TOGETHER.

Ok Bakari and Burton played high major....so what.  They were practice dummies on last years team.  You don't get game reps on scout team.  I'd call them preferred sophomores at best becausecof their high level skill.

This team is terribly young and the vulnerability cane through tonight.  I'm going to watch just as excited for BSU as I would have if we only lost by 12-pts.  In many ways we had a better shot at Kentucky last year because we had 3 seniors and they had how many freshmen on their squad?

Next up!!!

[valpotx]

Disappointed in how panicked we looked.  We would drive and just throw a last second pass that was easily intercepted.  We definitely had a chance to change the game in the first 7-8 minutes, while Purdue struggled to find their shot.  If we hadn't committed so many dumb turnovers during that time period, it is a very different game for the last 30 minutes.  All they did was collapse on the ball as we drove, it wasn't anything complex that should have given us as many fits as it did.  On to Ball State!

[justducky]

Hazen and McMillan are 4s with the size and physical ability to guard Vince Edwards and double down on the post. Golder and Kiser are much too small for those assignments.  Putting Burton at the 4 and Golder at the 3 might have solved a few things but reveals new problems in the process. Its like I have said all along in that the power forward position will be our Achillies' heel. So Matt is trying to develop what he has. If you want to fire him for that you might get just a little bit of argument from members of this board. 

If Lottich is treating games as practice instead of trying to win, he should be let go. The program should be beyond that at this point.

I really can't believe you said that so I will refrain from saying what I am thinking. 

[VU2014]

Valparaiso falls flat on national stage against Purdue
Paul Oren Times Correspondent
Dec 7, 2017 Updated 22 min ago 


WEST LAFAYETTE — Blessed with the bright lights all to itself on Thursday night, the Valparaiso men's basketball team came down with a terrible case of stage fright at Mackey Arena.

Purdue ripped off a 21-4 run to blow open a close game and the Crusaders had just four assists to 18 turnovers as the No. 21 Boilermakers routed previously undefeated Valparaiso 80-50 in a nationally televised contest.

............ http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/college/valparaiso-university/valparaiso-falls-flat-on-national-stage-against-purdue/article_0963bddd-95b6-5f05-ba24-e422e7d473a3.html

https://twitter.com/PostTribSports/status/938973870211641345
https://twitter.com/nbairdjc/status/938966136665919488
https://twitter.com/nbairdjc/status/938973788951187456

[VU2014]

Not good pub...

https://twitter.com/MattGlenesk/status/938975079026761729

[Valpo89]

I've been around long enough, and so have many on this board, to expect nothing less than a disheartening beat down in Mackey. I've seen too many VU teams with high hopes go up against Purdue or other "power 5" teams only to be sorely disappointed during the game and at the final outcome. If Northwestern ends up with a 24-5 disparity in free throws, how bad could it be for Valpo? Haas and his new cohort will expose Smits and Sorolla, and show why they are at VU and not a Big 10 school. It's not going to be pretty, folks. Painter knows Valpo is capable, there will be no overlooking the Crusaders and Purdue will win by 20-plus.

Hmm. This is interesting.

[a3uge]

I've been around long enough, and so have many on this board, to expect nothing less than a disheartening beat down in Mackey. I've seen too many VU teams with high hopes go up against Purdue or other "power 5" teams only to be sorely disappointed during the game and at the final outcome. If Northwestern ends up with a 24-5 disparity in free throws, how bad could it be for Valpo? Haas and his new cohort will expose Smits and Sorolla, and show why they are at VU and not a Big 10 school. It's not going to be pretty, folks. Painter knows Valpo is capable, there will be no overlooking the Crusaders and Purdue will win by 20-plus.

Hmm. This is interesting.

While Smits got exposed, Sorrola held his own. He had as many rebounds as Haas and Haarms combined. The Purdue centers shot a combined 40%. It's also odd to suggest Purdue and Rutgers are equal in competition because they play in the same conference. I'm confident a mediocre Big 10 team that makes the tournament will get blown out by Purdue on the road.

[FieldGoodie05]

Looked back over the play-by-play to start the game.  Wanted to see the TO battle come to life.

In the first 2 min 26 sec we had (4) TO.

Then the rest of the first half we added (7) more TO to finish the half with 11.

TO + 0/7 three pointers made vs their 4/11 (12 pts) and that's how we put up the least first half points and set ourselves up for a beat down.

In the 2nd half we still had a couple more TO than preferred but that's how we put up a more normal offensive output in the 2nd half.  Valuing the ball is key on a young team that doesn't have an offensive identity yet + we are shooting low % so less room for error.

Defeat was a certainty, if we go 1-1 these next two games I'll be very proud of these guys.  Means we have the moxy that got us all excited in a couple muddling games down in Savannah.

P.S.  How did the game get away from us?  We were (-12) from deep and (-10) from the charity stripe.  That's (-22) before we could even develop points in the paint.  Looking forward to PU killing it in the big ten.  This is one of their better teams of the last 20 years.  Listening to a couple PU fans from work and they say it's been decades since they had this level of inside-out threat combination.  I'm really impressed with their G play, lockdown defenders that shoot high %.

[bbtds]

At times we seemed very slow and tentative for a team that was supposed to be athletic and fly past the opposition down the court. 

[wh]

I've been around long enough, and so have many on this board, to expect nothing less than a disheartening beat down in Mackey. I've seen too many VU teams with high hopes go up against Purdue or other "power 5" teams only to be sorely disappointed during the game and at the final outcome. If Northwestern ends up with a 24-5 disparity in free throws, how bad could it be for Valpo? Haas and his new cohort will expose Smits and Sorolla, and show why they are at VU and not a Big 10 school. It's not going to be pretty, folks. Painter knows Valpo is capable, there will be no overlooking the Crusaders and Purdue will win by 20-plus.

Hmm. This is interesting.

Would you mind looking into your crystal ball and tell me how the Northwestern game is going to play out?  My wife and I are trying to decide whether it's worth the journey to the Big City. lol

[underdawg]

ER, you guys are still 8-1--I wish we were

[78crusader]

Losing to these big schools doesn't bother me as much as the WAY we lose.  It seems like we only rarely have a competitive game.

It would be nice to have a Ball St v. Notre Dame/ Indiana St v. Indiana/Drake v. Wake Forest type outcome -- where we actually beat a big school.  But if we can't do that, then I would expect us to be competitive --at least most of the time.  Instead, we get pummeled most of the time.   All too often it seems these games are 40-19 at the half.  That is what bothers me.

Paul

[SanityLost17]

Big questions going forward:
-  Who are our shooters?   Against athletic teams it is not as easy to get to the rim or score in transition.  Who is going to consistently hit 3's/jumpers? 
-  Will our 4's develop in time?  It is a weak spot, but we couldn't be more young at that position, nowhere to go but up. 
-  When will we narrow the bench?   My personal opinion is that it is a recipe for disaster, but I have no problem with it early in the season.   
-  How will players react to having their flaws exposed?  Do we have the sort of players to learn from game film making them look bad? 

[VU2014]

I never expected us to win but the way we played out of the gates really kind of ticks me off. Purdue was pretty bad to start the game and we were literally turning the ball over left and right. I get there are some nerves but still...

The only bright spots:
-Joe Burton showed he can create his own shot.
-At the beginning of the game we played decent defense & rebounded well

I get we're young and inexperienced but that game was unacceptable. We couldn't even make open looks when we got them.

Purdue was very well prepared and amped up after ISU, Ball State and Loyola knocked off P5 teams. They weren't sleeping on us but even if they were we weren't going to beat them with the way we're playing.

I really want to see us play better against Ball State.

[valpo95]

Let's not get too down on this VU team. Purdue is an excellent basketball team who will do very well in both the Big Ten and post-season.

Just for some perspective, over the last three years Purdue's Big 10 season records are 14-4, 12-6, and 12-6. As near as I can tell, they only have lost one conference game every year at Mackey Arena. That means that the best Big 10 teams struggle when playing Purdue, especially on the road.

The key for this VU team will be to see how much they grow from this loss, especially taking care of the basketball.

[VUGrad1314]

Despite this loss I still think we can beat Ball State and Northwestern; and if we do that we can still put forth a decent resume. If we do well in conference we could still be in the conversation; and if we do okay, we can still land in the NIT possibly hosting a game. This should be our minimum goal as a program going forward every year. Go Valpo!