UC-Riverside @ Valpo December 2 - 1PM CST

[VULB#62]

December 20, 2017.  UCR 73 Valpo 60.

Pay Back Time.

Highlanders current record:  2-5

Oregon State  LOSS 72-59
Portland State LOSS 71-64
UNLV LOSS 72-51
UC Merced WIN 63-53
Pacific LOSS 74-54
Elon WIN.77-64
Abilene Christian LOSS 60-48
California Baptist  (Play tonight 7pm PST - Big West TV  - https://gohighlanders.com/schedule.aspx?path=mbball)
Valpo 12/2/2018

ROSTER
Seniors - 2
Juniors - 2
Sophs - 5
Frosh - 5

HEIGHT
Two 7 footers (one a senior from Holland and the other a freshman from New Zealand)
One 6-8
One 6-7
Five 6-5
Two 6-3
One 6-2
One 6-1
One 5-11

[VUGrad1314]

We need to go out and crush this team. Avenge last year's loss. Leave no doubt.

[valpotx]

Worst loss of my entire Valpo fandom.  They need to beat the crap out of this team:

Valpo 81
UCR 64

[crusadermoe]

Ditto.   We collapsed last year after the Burton news and just gave them a win. 

Revenge!   

Btw, how high can land be in Riverside? 

[valpopal]

Looking at the current Sagarin ratings, it appears Valpo might be viewed as favorites by about 11 points.

[VULB#62]

The real result better be by 20. This team needs to treat every game they play from now on as pay back. No more playing down to the level of the competition.

[FieldGoodie05]

The real result better be by 20. This team needs to treat every game they play from now on as pay back. No more playing down to the level of the competition.

What does a margin of victory >20 actually do?  Is it not more valuable to have a close game for us to execute our offense and defense for a full game?

Maybe I'm weird (guaranteed) but I'd rather have a well contested game with a margin between 8-12 pts throughout to keep our competition engaged.  What do we learn from a >20 pt margin of victory?  This is not directed at any one person, just a general ask...

P.S.  Since it takes a century to type out these replies on a phone I've had time to think my argument through...I'll take a >20 pt margin of victory if 10 of those points come in the final 2-minutes 😉

[usc4valpo]

I will be playing the Beat Farmers "Riverside" song to get myself fired up for a Valpo win.

[vuny98]

Learning how to dominate a team you should is valuable in my mind.... playing a close game against lesser compitition is not a virtue. Just my two cents...

[VULB#62]

The real result better be by 20. This team needs to treat every game they play from now on as pay back. No more playing down to the level of the competition.

What does a margin of victory >20 actually do?  Is it not more valuable to have a close game for us to execute our offense and defense for a full game?

Maybe I'm weird (guaranteed) but I'd rather have a well contested game with a margin between 8-12 pts throughout to keep our competition engaged.  What do we learn from a >20 pt margin of victory?  This is not directed at any one person, just a general ask...

P.S.  Since it takes a century to type out these replies on a phone I've had time to think my argument through...I'll take a >20 pt margin of victory if 10 of those points come in the final 2-minutes 😉

While I was reading your post I was thinking the exact same thing as your PS.  Then I got to the PS and... Tah dah.  The Riverside score needs to be a statement and that certainly can come at the end.  Also, we need to reflect our strength in comparison to UNLV who beat these guys by 21.  If we sqeak by, some might think our win over UNLV was a fluke.

[VU2014]

Every player that was on this team last year should take this UCR games personally. This should be a revenge game and the energy/focus should be high this game.

[4throwfan]

Respectfully, I disagree with FieldGoodie and 62.  I don't think it benefits the team to have a contested game against an inferior opponent.  In looking at UCR's wins and losses, it seems that we should consider them significantly inferior.  Would we say that it's better for the team to have a contested game against a parks and rec league team?  No.  So, while we do want contested games, we don't want contested games when it should be a blowout wire-to-wire.

Maybe what you're saying is that you hope that UCR plays its best game of the year against Valpo, so that the game is marginally contested.  I guess that I would want that too, so long as it ends in a win.

[justducky]

The Riverside score needs to be a statement and that certainly can come at the end.

My recommended starting lineup would be Evelyn at point, Golder at the 2, Kiser at 3, McMillan at 4, and Smits at center. I realize it is a cobbled together mess that should never be placed on the floor together but it is our healthiest combination of players that participated in last years loss. As such they should be given first crack at earning a little revenge and redemption!   

[vu72]

The Riverside score needs to be a statement and that certainly can come at the end.

My recommended starting lineup would be Evelyn at point, Golder at the 2, Kiser at 3, McMillan at 4, and Smits at center. I realize it is a cobbled together mess that should never be placed on the floor together but it is our healthiest combination of players that participated in last years loss. As such they should be given first crack at earning a little revenge and redemption!   

If you really want to make it competitive, that is the lineup you want.  If you want to clean their clocks, probably not so much.

[FieldGoodie05]

Respectfully, I disagree with FieldGoodie and 62.  I don't think it benefits the team to have a contested game against an inferior opponent.  In looking at UCR's wins and losses, it seems that we should consider them significantly inferior.  Would we say that it's better for the team to have a contested game against a parks and rec league team?  No.  So, while we do want contested games, we don't want contested games when it should be a blowout wire-to-wire.

Maybe what you're saying is that you hope that UCR plays its best game of the year against Valpo, so that the game is marginally contested.  I guess that I would want that too, so long as it ends in a win.

Absolutely correct, I want every teams best during OOC.

So you could say I'm a fan of our competition playing their best game against us, AS LONG as we still win!

We need to use OOC to develop our cohesion and ability to play together...since MVC tournament is the only real shot for NCAA tournament appearances for now.

[VUBBFan]

Derrick can trash talk to their center in Dutch since he's from the Netherlands.
Just wondering if they ever met when Derrick played over there during his summer breaks?

[wh]

The line: Valpo -13

[crusadermoe]

I am glad I am not a bookie needing to study these obscure teams and put my livelihood on it.

[EddieCabot]

I am glad I am not a bookie needing to study these obscure teams and put my livelihood on it.

It's basically the KenPom line +/- 1 point.

[SanityLost17]

What I would like to see today... 

More inside out movement.  As stated earlier the ball movement looked better last week.   Now that Smits has the confidence to attack and score.  I would like to see him occasionally kick it back out for a wide open 3 when he draws more than 1 defender.   If he can master both we are going to be really good this year because our 3 point % will go up with an effective inside out game with more catch and shoot spot up 3's to go with easy buckets around the rim for Smits.

[justducky]

ESPN+ worked for me yesterday until later in the day when it apparently had some kind of national or regional problem. Anybody know if it is up and running today?

[VUBBFan]

ESPN+ worked for me yesterday until later in the day when it apparently had some kind of national or regional problem. Anybody know if it is up and running today?

It appears to be working right now, at least for me.

[M]

13 students and 10 band members...

[wh]

13 students and 10 band members...

Are the students on break?

[FWalum]

13 students and 10 band members...

Are the students on break?

No