Valpo at UNLV Nov 28 9:30 CST

[justducky]

My recent record with opening game threads has been unspectacular but the team is headed for Vegas and I'm feeling lucky. Gradually these guys are finding the answers and I see nothing that will interrupt this trend. I have seen zero minutes of UNLV basketball so I will not predict an outcome. That said I'm expecting us to play well either in victory or in defeat.

[EddieCabot]

I see this listed as an AT&T regional game ... does that mean there will be streaming video available like there was for WVU?

[VU2014]

This is a winnable game. UNLV has a young roster.

Does anyone know Jay's status coming into this game?

[valpotx]

I am going to go against my gut, and say that we steal one here:

Valpo 77
UNLV 75

Part of this probably goes back to the great LMU vs. UNLV battles, where I will always view them as the bad guys .

[tiny707]

When are they flying to Vegas? May be tough today.

[EddieCabot]

When are they flying to Vegas? May be tough today.

I think I saw on Twitter that they flew out on Sunday.

[crusadermoe]

Hmmm   An extra day in Vegas?    What could go wrong?   

[IrishDawg]

UNLV crashes the offensive glass hard (2nd best offensive rebounding rate in the country), but they turn the ball over a lot and don't shoot the 3 that well.  Defensively they've been pretty solid all around, but where they have been vulnerable at times is from deep.  The 2 teams they've played that are comparable to Valpo in terms of quality were Loyola Marymount (lost to by 11 at home) and Pacific (beat by 26 at home), so I guess it depends on what kind of UNLV team shows up on Wednesday.

[VUGrad1314]

If we shoot well keep the rebounding battle close and win the turnover battle I like our chances.

[crusadermoe]

We have a 35% chance according to ESPN prediction graph.   

[VUGrad1314]

We need to win this one. We need to start contributing some wins of consequence to the conference. I'm tired of hearing other fanbases saying we have done nothing for the conference and not having a counter argument. We haven't been helped by the fact that Wake Forest and West Virginia have absolutely sucked eggs this year but if that's the case we should have beaten those teams. I can't wait for better days when we move beyond simply hoping for better results and start to actually see them.

[vusupporter]

You know what other fanbases were complaining about our lack of success and us doing nothing for the conference? Horizon League fanbases, circa 2009 after our second year in the league. How'd that work out? Patience.

[talksalot]

Gotta like the way UNLV schedules games...  we are their 6th consecutive game at home (1 exh); following us is Cincinnati on Saturday.

Then, they fly to Champaign to play the Illini on December 8th

Then, they go across the Strip to TMobile to play BYU

Then, they spend Christmas in Hawaii at an MTE (including Indiana State).  They do open with the Rainbow Warriors, so road game #2.

Then, MW conference starts in January.

What does Las Vegas offer that we don't???

[EddieCabot]

You know what other fanbases were complaining about our lack of success and us doing nothing for the conference? Horizon League fanbases, circa 2009 after our second year in the league. How'd that work out? Patience.

I don't know if Valpo will ever dominate the MVC the way they did the Horizon, but I anticipate they'll be competing for championships in the near future, starting with next season.

[IrishDawg]

We need to win this one. We need to start contributing some wins of consequence to the conference. I'm tired of hearing other fanbases saying we have done nothing for the conference and not having a counter argument. We haven't been helped by the fact that Wake Forest and West Virginia have absolutely sucked eggs this year but if that's the case we should have beaten those teams. I can't wait for better days when we move beyond simply hoping for better results and start to actually see them.

Who is saying Valpo hasn't contributed and what have they won for the league in the last season plus?  Unless they're Loyola fans, it's not like the other teams in the league are dominating the good teams on their schedules over the last year.

This game isn't much of a game of consequence either.  They win, and good for them, but a win there won't make or break Valpo's or the league's year, because UNLV is basically the same level of team that they'll face in the MVC, and Valpo's beaten those teams before..  As others have said, continue to have patience.  The team has shown strides compared to last season.  As long as there continues to be growth, then eventually the results will come.

[vu72]

We need to win this one. We need to start contributing some wins of consequence to the conference. I'm tired of hearing other fanbases saying we have done nothing for the conference and not having a counter argument. We haven't been helped by the fact that Wake Forest and West Virginia have absolutely sucked eggs this year but if that's the case we should have beaten those teams. I can't wait for better days when we move beyond simply hoping for better results and start to actually see them.

Who is saying Valpo hasn't contributed and what have they won for the league in the last season plus?  Unless they're Loyola fans, it's not like the other teams in the league are dominating the good teams on their schedules over the last year.

This game isn't much of a game of consequence either.  They win, and good for them, but a win there won't make or break Valpo's or the league's year, because UNLV is basically the same level of team that they'll face in the MVC, and Valpo's beaten those teams before..  As others have said, continue to have patience. The team has shown strides compared to last season. As long as there continues to be growth, then eventually the results will come.

Agree, but, remember that last season the team had to deal with a few effectively season ending type issues, at least from a "growth" standpoint.  First, guys like Bakari were in their first season with the program and then the presumed star, Joe Burton, is out before the conference play even started.  Oh, and the probably best player suffers mono and isn't right for a long time.  Enter guys like John Kiser as a regular contributor rather than a role player and the probability of success was extremely limited.  Still, given all that, the team beat the conference runner-up, Illinois State and swept Drake.  By conference time, nobody will take Valpo lightly.

[tiny707]

Chicago Blackhawks playing in Vegas tonight. Hope the team can catch some of the game. Better than Hoover Dam.

[EddieCabot]

Agree, but, remember that last season the team had to deal with a few effectively season ending type issues, at least from a "growth" standpoint.  First, guys like Bakari were in their first season with the program and then the presumed star, Joe Burton, is out before the conference play even started.  Oh, and the probably best player suffers mono and isn't right for a long time.  Enter guys like John Kiser as a regular contributor rather than a role player and the probability of success was extremely limited.  Still, given all that, the team beat the conference runner-up, Illinois State and swept Drake.  By conference time, nobody will take Valpo lightly.

That's good perspective.  This year's team is dealing with Jay/Micah injuries and a starting lineup with 3 guys new to the program.  I expect some growing pains, but like vu72, think this team will make some noise in the MVC games.

[agibson]

I see this listed as an AT&T regional game ... does that mean there will be streaming video available like there was for WVU?

Sounds like it. Albeit I missed the memo for WVU.

The game nots are clearer this time:

Following the Crusaders: TV – AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (683 DirecTV; 414 Dish) – Nick Gismondi and Dave Bollwinkel
Video - Available outside AT&TSN viewing area by visiting TheMW.com
Radio – WVUR (95.1 FM, Valparaiso) – Todd Ickow and Aaron Leavitt
Links for the video, audio and live stats will be available at ValpoAthletics.com.

[covufan]

If we play like we did against Monmouth and West Virginia, we have a chance of upsetting UNLV.

Valpo  72
UNLV   70

[talksalot]

Current Line is -5.5   with an O/U at 140.5

[VUSWIM08-12]

I think we keep it close but close enough to win? I'm not sure. I think the over is a solid bet as this should be a high scoring game.

UNLV-79
Valpo-75

[NativeCheesehead]

UNLV 68
VU    54

[may know]

Unless it's on twitter (which I don't use), I haven't seen MVC fans complaining about Valpo at all. 

Last year, the MVC had one of the best bottoms in the country (even better than a few BCS leagues) per KenPom. Thus, you don't hear anyone griping about bad teams. Because there aren't any.

[FWalum]

The griping is on MVCfans.com, the MVC fan forum.