Game #18 Valpo @ Loyola 1/15/19 7pm NBCSN Chicago/ESPN+

[wh]

The lights are a little too bright for the Crusaders tonight.

As in "deer in the headlights" bright.

[ValpoDad89]

The staple of last year is our Achilles heal in this one...too many TOS and points off of. This is a really balanced team, with size and athleticism. Probably the most athletic team I've seen since being a Valpo fan back in '09. The one thing lacking is 3 point shoooting. We had Peters and Walker for  years. Thrown in Skara. We don't have that ... WE need that in today's game, it neutralizes other teams. What I gleen from this game is more talent but they have enough to match up and hit critical,3's when they need them.

[usc4valpo]

Loyola was a final four team last year, and they are MVC champions unless proven otherwise.

[nkvu]

Gone from bad to worse.  Would be nice to keep it under 20.

[ValpoDad89]

The technical on Golder is what it was and the right call. That's fine. Boys compete and guess what? We get them in the ARC and make a name. 4-1 in conference with 3 games played at Loyola, MO State and SIU and I'm feeling pretty Dan good.

[talksalot]

Just hope nobody gets hurt in this disaster.  Hope we can put this behind us and get up for the Panthers in the blizzard on Saturday

[VU2010]

Not a very gritty performance tonight ... embarrassing

[bigmosmithfan1]

Pathetic effort on defense tonight, a questionable game plan, and I'm not sure we've tried to dribble through three guys enough. Ryan's ankle hopefully will heal up soon. Always good for recruiting and building the fanbase to get embarrassed on Chicago TV.

[nkvu]

Maybe the most complete beat down I've seen us take from another conference team. Totally dominated in every phase.
Oh well, after four straight good tough wins I suppose we were due for a clunker.  Learn from it so when we get them at home we don't repeat it.

Oh, and maybe taking care of the ball a little bit and hitting a few 3's might help.

[wh]

Derrik and Jay were bad. Bakari and Lavender were complete no-shows. Bakari is officially a season long no-show.

[nkvu]

Maybe the most complete beat down I've seen us take from another conference team. Totally dominated in every phase.
Oh well, after four straight good tough wins I suppose we were due for a clunker.  Learn from it so when we get them at home we don't repeat it.

Oh, and maybe taking care of the ball a little bit and hitting a few 3's might help.

Did I forget maybe playing some defense and limiting open 3's might help too?

[Valpo89]

The sad thing is I don't think Loyola is really that good.

[wh]

For his sake and the team's I hope Bakari is able to pull out of his shooting funk, but at this point he needs to figure it out on the end of the bench. He simply doesn't bring enough to the table in other ways to stay on the floor when he's not hitting. Unless things start to change soon, it would not surprise me to see him in a different uniform next year as a grad senior.

[Saluki]

Keep your head up. Remember that you are still in 1st place and will get a great player back soon.   

Some of us are watching a season swirl down the bowl.

I don't think anyone is going to win there this season.

[oklahomamick]

I predict we beat them at the ARC. 

[nkvu]

I'm going to make some amateur observations about the differences between our guys and Loyola tonight, fully expecting to be told I'm full of it. Their passes always seemed crisper then ours. When we passed the ball it always seemed to take an extra second for our guys to decide what to do next, which gave their defender time to get in a better position to defend.  They on the other hand seemed to always know what to do next, pass, drive, or shoot.  When we skip passed, the pass was always either a bit off or slower, taking a second more time to control than theirs. We chased their passes giving them at the end an open 3. They seemed ready to defend almost every pass we made. When we set screens they either switched or fought through them resulting in no advantage. Their screens seemed far more effective. And, oh yes, when they got an open look, they knocked it down, many shots uncontested.

I hope at some point our offense can run as efficiently as theirs.

[justducky]

I'm not sure we've tried to dribble through three guys enough.

Well you should never try a 1 on 4 move until you've proven yourself on a 1 on 3. 

Derrik and Jay were bad.

I was kind of anticipating that Krutwig would get the best of them but the Smirola duo left much to be desired. Sorolla was outclassed even on some of his better defensive efforts because Krutwig can be that good!

One small positive takeaway is that McMillan is defending better. Not as good as needed but better. Also remember that our freshman guards are being asked to do a lot. Longer term---Sackey and Freeman are a developing gift from the gods. 

[VU2014]

https://twitter.com/TheReal_MG3/status/1085381366194360320

[justducky]

I'm going to make some amateur observations about the differences between our guys and Loyola tonight, fully expecting to be told I'm full of it. Their passes always seemed crisper then ours. When we passed the ball it always seemed to take an extra second for our guys to decide what to do next, which gave their defender time to get in a better position to defend.  They on the other hand seemed to always know what to do next, pass, drive, or shoot.  When we skip passed, the pass was always either a bit off or slower, taking a second more time to control than theirs. We chased their passes giving them at the end an open 3. They seemed ready to defend almost every pass we made. When we set screens they either switched or fought through them resulting in no advantage. Their screens seemed far more effective. And, oh yes, when they got an open look, they knocked it down, many shots uncontested.

Their were stretches when our defense wasn't that bad but they were still getting and hitting decent shots. Thats good, patient execution and its hard to beat. Give our overall defense a poor but passing grade while our offense was clearly not up to the task.

[VUBBFan]

Sometimes it's not a good thing getting out of bed and sometimes it's not a good time to go to Chicago.

[VUGrad1314]

Really bad game but I'm not worried. This could be the wakeup call they needed. We're still tied for first and the six games between this one and our next meeting with Loyola are all winnable with 3 of the first four of those at home, It's a tough loss in a big game but it's hardly a reason for anyone to get too down on the team or hang their heads. This was a clunker but one of those was surely coming because everyone has them. Bad timing but this team is and will be fine, On to UNI with a choice to make: Sulk hang our heads and let our season spiral or get back down to business correct our mistakes and get back on a better path. I think I know the path they'll choose. Loyola is talented experienced poised and good and they were playing at home with their season on the line. It showed. Trust me  we're good. Go Valpo!

[VUBBFan]

https://twitter.com/AlBillets/status/1085422486311919616

[valpotx]

I am going to pretend that game never happened, and just hope that we split the series back at home .  The Loyola D didn't allow us inside very much, so hopefully Lottich took some notes for what not to do at home against Loyola.

[valpopal]

I realized playing Loyola in Chicago was most likely going to be a loss, but when you add the absence of Fazekas to injury and the fact that Evelyn was sick, then the realistic view was to pretty much write this one off and look ahead. If at the start of the season I were given the option of Valpo being 4-1 and tied for first after the initial five conference games, most of them against preseason picks to be among the top tier in the MVC, I'd have been satisfied. Now Valpo needs to keep serve by winning its home games, starting with UNI on Saturday.

[humbleopinion]

One small positive takeaway is that McMillan is defending better.

I think that this may have been Mileek's best game in a Valpo uniform.