Drake Wednesday, January 10 at 7pm

[valpolaw]

These games are much more fun to watch when we win. Great win and the team looks much better

[underdawg]

Congrats--I'm sure you all will agree, this MVC season will be going down to the last few games--tight--I have no idea who will win it

[valpotx]

Biggest change from our losing games to the last 2 is our ability to pass the ball.  We had several games where we had less than 5 assists.  You cannot win games like that, unless you are Mike Helms (Oakland) or Michael Watson (UMKC), and you have to do it all yourself.  We were over 20 assists both games, and it looks much more fluid.  The inside/outside passing game is really clicking.  It seems like the coaches have spent extra time in getting it drilled into our team's system.

Best atmosphere I have attended is easily the Butler game at Valpo during the HL tournament, when we beat the ever living crap out of them.  I had only been dating my future wife for around 5 months at that point, and we flew up to see Chicago and the game.  She soon learned, as did those sitting around me, just how much I love Valpo and hate Butler .

[VU2014]

Great win tonight. You can start to see this young team coming together and guys find their roles. Also I have to give a shout out Micah Bradford who has really been finding guys and getting everyone involved. He may not be shooting the ball well but he is do an excellent job of distributing and finding the open guys.

[talksalot]

and our RPI just jumped to 129

MVC Standings - with a few liberties on the line count.

1.  Drake 4-1
2.  Missouri State, Loyola, Bradley, Illinois State, Indiana State 3-2
3.  Valparaiso, Evansville, Southern Illinois  2-3
4.  Northern Iowa 0-5

[VU2014]

Valparaiso sets season highs in 3-pointers and assists in dominating win
Paul Oren Times Correspondent
Jan 10, 2018 Updated 10 min ago 

VALPARAISO — Whatever ailment plagued the Valparaiso men's basketball team while losing seven games in four-week span was officially eradicated on Wednesday night.

The Crusaders set season highs in 3-pointers and assists while nearly leading wire-to-wire in a dominating 77-60 win over first-place Drake in Missouri Valley Conference action at the Athletics-Recreation Center.

........... http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/college/valparaiso-university/valparaiso-sets-season-highs-in--pointers-and-assists-in/article_62bfcd85-a7ef-570e-ba71-5078b059bff9.html

[VU2014]

Rebound leader: Tevonn Walker bounces back, sparks Valparaiso past Drake
Michael Osipoff
Post-Tribune
January 10, 2018

Valparaiso senior guard Tevonn Walker elevated for jump shots and rebounds.

He powered for layups.

During one sequence Wednesday night, he dove for a loose ball to snag an offensive rebound, drawing appreciation from the crowd at the Athletics-Recreation Center.

Even when he tried for a highlight-type reverse and missed during the Crusaders' 77-60 win against Drake, it was eye-catching.

.......... http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/sports/ct-ptb-mens-basketball-drake-valparaiso-st-0111-20180110-story.html

[VULB#62]

and our RPI just jumped to 129

MVC Standings - with a few liberties on the line count.

1.  Drake 4-1
2.  Missouri State, Loyola, Bradley, Illinois State, Indiana State 3-2
3.  Valparaiso, Evansville, Southern Illinois  2-3
4.  Northern Iowa 0-5

Who wuddah thunk?

[oklahomamick]

So happy we are playing the drakes, Missouri states, Evansville, Indian st as opposed to Cleveland st Youngstown state and Detroit.  Thankful for the Mvc

I think the crowd hit the under (2700) tonight

[elephtheria47]

Agreed. And espn had attendance at 2710. Great line for over/under. Thought the fans were great who were there tonight (although there WAS a lot to cheer for tonight:) )

[bbtds]

I realize very few on this board were at that game.  VULB62 and Valpo64 perhaps you could add your thoughts.

As Maxwell Smart used to say "Missed it by THAT much!"

Considering I was only 4 or 5 years old at the time I probably wouldn't have remembered much if I had been there. Bruce Linder's teams are my first memories of Valpo games.

[bbtds]

And yes, I am an idiot.

I suppose "liking" this post wouldn't be the polite thing to do. But I do "like" the whole post.

Valpo played great tonight and Drake was flat as can be. And yes, I am an idiot.

[VU2014]

This guy...
https://twitter.com/Tom101010/status/951296972425715712

[VU2014]

Micah Bradford's Dad.
https://twitter.com/barrybradford3/status/951334631718211584

[VUGrad1314]

This guy...
https://twitter.com/Tom101010/status/951296972425715712

Somebody's just watching box scores and has missed a ton of Valpo basketball this season.

[nkvu]

This guy...
https://twitter.com/Tom101010/status/951296972425715712

And in that one minute managed to have a turnover. Maybe he needs a redshirt year to get a chance to mature and get used to playing at this level.

[VUBBFan]

Great game tonight. Was good to have the students back. It gets the place rocking when they're there.

Noticed for the first time they used in game footage on the Video screen. Seems almost like we're trying to be professional in presentation. Anyways I liked it, always thought they under used that asset.

[VUGrad1314]

Micah Bradford's Dad. [tweet]951334631718211584[/tweet]

So glad to see Micah and so many others finally finding their roles and jelling together. The last two games have been beautiful. A true joy to watch. Keep it up guys. Go Valpo!

[VU2014]

Micah Bradford's Dad.
https://twitter.com/barrybradford3/status/951334631718211584

Micah's Dad deleted the tweet but I got a screenshot.

[FieldGoodie05]

Micah Bradford's Dad.
https://twitter.com/barrybradford3/status/951334631718211584

Micah's Dad deleted the tweet but I got a screenshot.

What was it?

[a3uge]

Valpo played great tonight and Drake was flat as can be. And yes, I am an idiot.

Drake did play flat. They missed a ton of open shots. You can tell they're a much better team than what they displayed.

Also, this was the first MVC game Valpo played where the refs weren't whistle-happy. It was an enjoyable game and went by quickly. I know a Horizon League game circa 2011 would more resemble a UFC bout, but I thought this game didn't turn into a slogfest even though the refs let everyone play. Only 20 combined free throws, 26 fouls, and only one player with 4 fouls. That was refreshing.

[elephtheria47]

Nobody should ever pay attention to tom davis...dude is always off on all of his takes

[SanityLost17]

I think our shooting 3-point shooting percentage will come back to earth soon.   The question is how do we perform when that happens? 

The dramatic increase in assists, the shortening of the bench, and the more consistent play from our 7 footers has me hopeful that we can survive a poor 3 point shooting percentage against solid MVC competition.   

Next big questions will be:
Can we mimic these performances on the road?
When do we get Kiser back and how does he fit in now that everyone is starting to gel?

[a3uge]

With that turnover in his only minute, Hazen now has the worst Player Efficiency Rating (-1.3) in all of D1 basketball, passing a couple of MEAC and SWAC players. It's common sense how one of the worst performing players in D1 isn't getting minutes.

[NativeCheesehead]

Seriously? Did someone from Valpo stuff Tom Davis in a locker when he was in middle school?