Monmouth at MB Invitational Friday, 11/16/18 6:30 p.m. EST / 5:30 p.m. CST ESPN3

bbtds · November 16, 2018, 05:37:16 AM

Monmouth ended up losing to West Virginia 71 - 53.

Here is the address for the ESPN3 broadcast------ http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/3437578/myrtle-beach-invitational

justducky · November 16, 2018, 10:53:01 AM

Micah has now served his 2 game suspension. Is he anywhere near being physically ready to suit up and contribute? Against Monmouth having another available guard might be just as important as having another available center.

Will Sakey be a contributor tonight?

VULB#62 · November 16, 2018, 11:15:49 AM

Did Micah even travel to Myrtle Beach?

VUSWIM08-12 · November 16, 2018, 11:38:24 AM

Quote from: VULB#62 on November 16, 2018, 11:15:49 AMDid Micah even travel to Myrtle Beach?

I think I remember seeing him on the bench when I was watching last night, someone correct me if I'm wrong. Valpo is currently at -5.5, no clue how this one is gonna turn out. Would be a decent win!
Valpo-78
Monmouth-74

bbtds · November 16, 2018, 01:37:08 PM

Quote from: VULB#62 on November 16, 2018, 11:15:49 AM
Did Micah even travel to Myrtle Beach?

Yes, I can confirm that I saw Micah on the Valpo bench during the Valpo - Western KY game yesterday evening.

bbtds · November 16, 2018, 01:38:10 PM

Monmouth 69
Valpo 67

VUGrad1314 · November 16, 2018, 02:01:22 PM

Wake Forest defeats CS-Fullerton 66-59. With a win over Monmouth Valpo will get the Demon Deacons With a loss they will play the Titans. Let's hope for a win so that we can have a shot at a much-needed P5 win for us and for the MVC. Go Valpo!

justducky · November 16, 2018, 02:07:20 PM

We need this win for a shot at Wake Forest. Monmouth will likely take it to the hole to test our interior defense and I'm wondering if they will pack it in to test our outside shooting. Getting off to a fast start would make this game a lot easier.

Quote from: bbtds on November 16, 2018, 01:37:08 PMYes, I can confirm that I saw Micah on the Valpo bench during the Valpo - Western KY game yesterday evening.

Unless he was in a wheelchair I am going to take this as a hopeful sign.

NativeCheesehead · November 16, 2018, 05:53:29 PM

We really are going to be a Live by the Three, Die by the Three kinda team this year.

FieldGoodie05 · November 16, 2018, 06:35:20 PM

Anyone else waiting for Monmouth to figure out they can drive on Smits all night?

FieldGoodie05 · November 16, 2018, 06:42:29 PM

McMillan is just ..... come on man!

VULB#62 · November 16, 2018, 07:09:39 PM

Upside: Great Smitts move off the lefthand for 2 underneath

Downside : Right after that, his man took a shoot with Derrik right on him. Then he relaxed and his man ran around him for an offensive rebound. No box out at all.

Upside: We are ahead at 2:10 in the 2nd.

Downside: I haven't seen such a stagnant, non-moving 1/2 court offense in years. Why are 4 guys standing around instead of moving all the time. If we are guard- oriented, that is not how to win tougher games said the football fan.

VU2014 · November 16, 2018, 07:09:45 PM

Did anyone else notice when Micah got called back to the bench there was a lot of frustration on his face. He had a very brief stint on the court and turned the ball over.

VU2014 · November 16, 2018, 07:17:54 PM

A good win. The guys took care of business and beat a team we should have beat. Rebounding is still a concern.

Lavender was impressive tonight. He's the only true PG on this roster. Sackey is just incredibly raw right now. A savvy offseason addition. Fazekas had a pretty good a game. Javon looks like a guy who destined for the MVC all-freshman team.

nkvu · November 16, 2018, 07:34:12 PM

Nice to see Fazekas hit a couple of key shots in the second half. Has to boost his confidence. Freeman plays with the poise of a veteran. Going to be fun watching him play over his career. Lavender showed he was a good pickup. Smits didn't foul out and even managed to get a couple of his shots over the front rim. Weren't dominated on the boards.

All in all a nice win. Hope we can continue this against Wake Forrest.

vu84v2 · November 16, 2018, 09:52:48 PM

Good win! A win against Wake Forest would make this tournament an overall positive going forward.

VULB#62 · November 16, 2018, 10:19:18 PM

I saw Bakari when he was the 1 bounce a pass off of Zeke that went for a back and over. Stop this foolishness. Set a lineup and let it mature together. This is my thought:

These guys should have 75% of the mnutes at their assigned position. Stop the turmoill of changing positions.

Lavender at the 1
Bakari at the 2
Javon at the 3
Zeke at the 4
Commitee at the 5
First off the bench - Marcus

And then just deal with it.

FieldGoodie05 · November 17, 2018, 07:34:01 AM

Quote from: VULB#62 on November 16, 2018, 10:19:18 PM
I saw Bakari when he was the 1 bounce a pass off of Zeke that went for a back and over. Stop this foolishness. Set a lineup and let it mature together. This is my thought:

These guys should have 75% of the mnutes at their assigned position. Stop the turmoill of changing positions.

Lavender at the 1
Bakari at the 2
Javon at the 3
Zeke at the 4
Commitee at the 5
First off the bench - Marcus

And then just deal with it.

I'd agree with the logic. But foolishness is not my wording. How else does coach find out what combinations he can reliably use if not for shuffling around in early OOC.

VULB#62 · November 17, 2018, 08:52:01 AM

Word choice reflected frustration at the time. Given more time between the game and my post and wording would no doubt have been more tactful

I just hope Matt's experimenting with lineup combos finishes up pretty soon and, for the players' sake as well as the fans, we begin to see a pretty set rotation with well-defined roles.

Lavender really had a good night on the floor.

Update: Actually, when you look at the minutes distribution in the box score, Matt is doing pretty much what I was wishing for.

Javon - 29
Deion - 30
Bakari - 33
Derrik - 28
Zeke - 30
Golder - 21

Mileek logged 3 minutes and 4 PFs (reminiscent of last year?). I only saw Kiser playing the 5 and though against a guy taller than him, he held his own I thought. He logged 15 and had 0 PFs in comparison to Mileek.

tiny707 · November 17, 2018, 09:53:41 AM

Javon should have had 34 minutes.

FieldGoodie05 · November 17, 2018, 10:01:44 AM

Quote from: tiny707 on November 17, 2018, 09:53:41 AM
Javon should have had 34 minutes.

Not with 10-pt lead with 3 games in 4-days. Just my thought. Also he was "under the weather"?

bbtds · November 17, 2018, 10:30:29 AM

Quote from: FieldGoodie05 on November 17, 2018, 10:01:44 AM
Quote from: tiny707 on November 17, 2018, 09:53:41 AM
Javon should have had 34 minutes.

Not with 10-pt lead with 3 games in 4-days. Just my thought. Also he was "under the weather"?

Agree. I think it was the "under the weather" part that effected his playing time the most.

M · November 17, 2018, 10:41:22 AM

Lavender liked a comment in a twitter thread I was in after the loss. The comment was something about the lack of effort on rebounding...he then went out and rebounded the heck out of the ball. Great effort by him in this game.

bbtds · November 17, 2018, 10:42:05 AM

Quote from: VULB#62 on November 17, 2018, 08:52:01 AMMileek logged 3 minutes and 4 PFs (reminiscent of last year?).

Mileek needs to learn to play smarter. I know the coaches aren't telling him to foul as much as possible and then get pulled from the game but maybe the coaches should put a much, much greater emphasis on Mileek staying out of foul trouble because we need him in the game for a longer period of time. It needs to get through Mileek's brain that sticking your hand into or fronting a driving opponent where you are bound to pick up a foul when you already have 2 or 3 fouls in the first half is incredibly unwise unless your objective is to foul out. What Mileek is thinking on those fouls is something I'd really like to know.

govalpogo · November 17, 2018, 11:07:28 AM

I am happy to see that many of our newcomers are having a positive impact early on in the season. To state the obvious, if the team finds a groove from distance, they'll be very dangerous.

Has anyone seen the twitter storm that Paul Oren started with some WKU fans after their win last night? It seems their fan base is a little touchy about the whole recruiting ethics thing.