Loyola at Valpo 2/10: Sunday Showdown

[tiny707]

Sorry, but V-REX needs to retire. Looks like a mascot from a high school game. Embarrassing look on TV.

[valpopal]

I can't begrudge the Ramblers' fans their celebration. Their team won a game they should have lost. Their coach paid for busloads of students to attend, and he thanked them at the end of the game. They held their own as they cheered their team in a rival's home. Their team swept Valpo in the regular season and all but secured first place again. They earned the right to party! Now, the only focus for Valpo should be on bringing a healthy Crusaders team that has learned about closing out games to the conference tournament and aim for a different outcome. Then, it would be time for Valpo fans to celebrate. 

[crusadermoe]

Yes, the university should charter some buses to St. Louis for Arch Madness.  This team has competed hard and overcome the injuries.   The effort against Illinois State Tuesday was stellar and I was proud of them today.  Some are complaining about the offense today.  We did dry up in that late stretch. But I thought the ball movement was impressive for most of the game.  I also thought Smits' footwork has improved greatly on both ends and that Sorolla gets kudos for his defense too. 

As I have said before, the MVC needs Loyola to stay solid this year, get a decent seed, and avoid the "one hit wonder" label that would diminish the MVC as we recover from losing Wichita and Creighton.  Valpo has a true shot at the MVC auto bid this year,....but it has a much better one next year.  Who really thought that was possible after our "high point" or after Ball State.

[Valpo89]

  Valpo has a true shot at the MVC auto bid this year,....but it has a much better one next year.

Oh my gosh, are you serious? Anyone who thinks this team can win 3 consecutive games against anyone halfway decent has lost their mind.
Even with Fazekas. As someone posted on this board not long ago, it's not like he's LeBron.
As a matter of fact, Fazekas underachieved for most of the season. Why would anyone think he'd come back and be effective?
Season ends in St. Louis. Get a clue.

[VU2014]

I can't begrudge the Ramblers' fans their celebration. Their team won a game they should have lost. Their coach paid for busloads of students to attend, and he thanked them at the end of the game. They held their own as they cheered their team in a rival's home. Their team swept Valpo in the regular season and all but secured first place again. They earned the right to party! Now, the only focus for Valpo should be on bringing a healthy Crusaders team that has learned about closing out games to the conference tournament and aim for a different outcome. Then, it would be time for Valpo fans to celebrate. 

I have no problem with Porter's speech to the students and the buses. I think he's a hell of a coach and he's doing a great job with restoring that fan-base but I took exception to the BS about more Loyola fans than Valpo fans. Low and false blow but I guess when you're trying to rally your students postgame you can stray from the truth in those cases. Hats off to them for the win. They capitalized on our mistakes at the end of the game and took advantage of our inexperience.

I genuinely want to play them again at Arch Madness. I don't care if they're the toughest matchup and the best team in the conference. I want to beat that team. If anything this is me showing them a sign of respect. I genuinely think a healthy Valpo team can beat that Loyola team.

The Loyola board seems to think our "statements" about Loyola are "pathetic".

[M]

Valpo's defense is there. It's good, although VU did benefit from 4 open 3s that loyola just flat out missed. If Lottich could get an offense figured out we will be in business.

[valpotx]

Who is saying that on their board?  Is it the 5 people that used to post, or the hundreds of bandwagon fans?

[VU2014]

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Valparaiso's second-half lead evaporates in loss to Loyola
Paul Oren Times Correspondent
Feb 10, 2019 

https://www.nwitimes.com/sports/college/valparaiso-university/men-s-basketball-valparaiso-s-second-half-lead-evaporates-in/article_2964b2bb-b5b1-5835-a6ce-af7ab667b671.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLWwF09cwAg

[justducky]

Oh my gosh, are you serious? Anyone who thinks this team can win 3 consecutive games against anyone halfway decent has lost their mind.

Yup that makes me as crazy as they come!    The big picture is coming together. We are progressing everywhere. If 100% healthy there are 2019 MVC teams with little chance of beating us while we should beat almost everybody! Its all about playing well down the stretch and catching a few breaks.

[VU2014]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8NX95yn7CM

[hailcrusaders]

Oh my gosh, are you serious? Anyone who thinks this team can win 3 consecutive games against anyone halfway decent has lost their mind.

Yup that makes me as crazy as they come!    The big picture is coming together. We are progressing everywhere. If 100% healthy there are 2019 MVC teams with little chance of beating us while we should beat almost everybody! Its all about playing well down the stretch and catching a few breaks.

Agreed. Loyola will be the tournament favorite, but we came within 4 points of beating them today without our top scorer. We're 3-2 against the other three teams ahead of us. Yeah, we lost today, and yeah, it was sure frustrating. But let's not pretend like the sky is falling.

[justducky]

Not sure if Matt can build on this but it was clearly a solid performance by McMillan in his 10 minutes. He defended, went 2 for 2 from the floor with nice moves, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and no TO's. It kind of reminded me of our Tasmanian player (drawing a blank) here against Butler in 2011. Solid minutes contribution with no negative effects.

[wh]

  Valpo has a true shot at the MVC auto bid this year,....but it has a much better one next year.

Oh my gosh, are you serious? Anyone who thinks this team can win 3 consecutive games against anyone halfway decent has lost their mind.
Even with Fazekas. As someone posted on this board not long ago, it's not like he's LeBron.
As a matter of fact, Fazekas underachieved for most of the season. Why would anyone think he'd come back and be effective?
Season ends in St. Louis. Get a clue.

There isn't a team in the league that looks consistent enough to win 3 consecutive games, yet someone has to. Even mighty Loyola has had only 1 3-game winning streak in conference play, and that ended 7 games ago. You can say that Ryan has underachieved and you might even be right, but the fact remains that he was and still is the leading scorer and 3-point shooter on a team that is in desperate need of outside shooting help. I haven't worn rose-colored glasses about this team by a long shot, but for all of our mistakes today, we lost by 5 points to the defending champ and league leading team. Anyone who thinks 25 minutes from a healthy Ryan wouldn't have made up that difference, needs to rethink. I can think of 2 other losses the same way. As for Loyola, I can see them winning the tournament, but I can just as easily see them losing in any of the 3 rounds.

[VUGrad1314]

Help me guys. I'm getting tired of near misses silver linings and moral victories. All I feel after losses like this one and Missouri State is disappointment and despair that we'll never get it right and finish down the stretch. I need help seeing the positives. Sure we'll have great new transfers coming in and more experience but we'll still have seven footers that play small and a system that doesn't seem to work well for good and open shots down the stretch namely a coach that struggles to coach offense especially in crunch time. Are we sure we'll be all right going forward? Will we for all of our expected improvement next year really be able to face down what should be a much tougher and improved MVC next year?

[VUGrad1314]

Not sure if Matt can build on this but it was clearly a solid performance by McMillan in his 10 minutes. He defended, went 2 for 2 from the floor with nice moves, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and no TO's. It kind of reminded me of our Tasmanian player (drawing a blank) here against Butler in 2011. Solid minutes contribution with no negative effects.

Igbavboa?

[wh]

I'm all about effort. Guys played their hearts out today (and other games recently). That tells me that they have bought into the system, are highly competitive, and are deeply committed to improving. The wins will follow in due time. I really believe that.

[justducky]

Help me guys. I'm getting tired of near misses silver linings and moral victories. All I feel after losses like this one and Missouri State is disappointment and despair that we'll never get it right and finish down the stretch. I need help seeing the positives. Sure we'll have great new transfers coming in and more experience but we'll still have seven footers that play small and a system that doesn't seem to work well for good and open shots down the stretch namely a coach that struggles to coach offense especially in crunch time. Are we sure we'll be all right going forward? Will we for all of our expected improvement next year really be able to face down what should be a much tougher and improved MVC next year?

You have asked so again we will reply that it is all about mathematics. The best teams almost always have 4 and sometimes even 5 3-point shooters together on the floor. It is unusual when they play with only 3 and unheard of to go with only 2. Contrast that with our situation now, and when we were without Golder. Then think Fazekas, and Gordon and Robinson and Bradford and the incoming freshman. Trust me! Fazekas alone will help open the floor and give our bigs more room to shine. Even Bakari will start connecting when 3 other shooters are spreading the floor for him. Its a critical mass effect. All of a sudden the explosion will start and become uncontrollable. We have already found the defense, so March and next season will be about harnessing the energy.

[ValpoDad89]

WH, you hit in the head. These kids gut it out every night for the the most part. Loyola relied on Townes and Krutwig during the stretch. They delivered. Moser coached his team to a Final 4 last year and won the CBI (or CIT) a few years earlier. He is quality and what the conference needs. Don't put this on Matt. The boys came ready to play. I was actually surprised to see Golder out there as I thought he was done. When I went to the Mo State game he was on crutches and had his foot in a walking boot.


Frustration no doubt as we now know what this team is capable of but anyone that doesn't think that we can play, at full strength, for 2-3 games with the rest of this conference come early March in St. Louis hasn't seen a full picture. I see a team that's actually starting to really gel. We have a young coach inserting new pieces and had to deal with injuries and lack of scholarship players due to a couple of transfers. I like to think next year shapes up to be an excellent year for this team. I know it's tough but there is so much gold at the end of this teams rainbow.


Everyone wanted to step up from the Horizon League and this is what you get. Tough outs game in and game out. Last I checked, even woth a top 10 recruiting class, Vandy is only 30-40 spots ahead of Valpo from an NCAA Net rating perspective.

[FWalum]

When will others learn - or admit - that we are getting out-coached? He cannot do it. Look at the second half adjustments by Porter & Co. and then ask yourself what gives? Don't tell me shots not falling or blaming it on the officials or injuries or illness. That was on us. He needs to be a man - a leader - and own up to it. Say it's on him. These guys are hustling. Sorry I know he's a fan favorite but Kiser is not the answer. 0 points, 8 boards, and 5 fouls? Definition of I play hard but am not a D1 player. We got out coached and out played down the stretch. Put your guys in the best position to win. Plain and simple. That's what you get paid for. Not to stick to a rotation for the sake of it. Mileek goes in during the first half and plays lights out. Then what?

I have said before that there are things that I would probably do differently and one of those things is that Mileek needs to get more time... there I agree with you.  However, tell me what leads you to believe that we got terribly out-coached?? What great adjustments did Moser make?? Whatever they were they didn't work for the first 13 minutes of the second half.  He made one big adjustment with 7 minutes to go in the second half and that was basically telling Townes and Kurtwig to play a two man game down the stretch. You say Matt stuck to a rotation and other posters say he was playing weird lineups, what is it... Our starters shot not quite 32% for the game, I'd probably play a few strange lineups under those circumstances.  Great that Golder gutted one out while being sick, but in hindsight he probably should not have been on the floor.  Without Fazekas we have one player shooting 35% from 3 and that is Golder and we all know how he was feeling and shooting today. Tell us what should have been done differently. From a coaching perspective I would really like to know.

[justducky]

Not sure if Matt can build on this but it was clearly a solid performance by McMillan in his 10 minutes. He defended, went 2 for 2 from the floor with nice moves, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and no TO's. It kind of reminded me of our Tasmanian player (drawing a blank) here against Butler in 2011. Solid minutes contribution with no negative effects.

Igbavboa?

No---The Australian before Broekhoff. Didn't play his senior year but stayed and graduated. Was a freshman with Buggs.

[VUGrad1314]

Cameron Witt?

[ValpoDad89]

Justducky, DePaul has NO 3 point shooters and just beat Xavier at the Cintas Center (shot 23% from 3 for the game) by pounding the ball inside and FINALLY realizing you need to dribble drive. Now X ain't the same X every knows but DePaul has blown for decades now. You use your personnel wisely and put them into a position succeed. I'd take Matt Lottich over Dave Leitao any day. Why? Because what I've seen from both teams is Valpo's effort is so strong every night. Those kids don't give up.

This team is poised next year to take a BIG step up. Transfers and returnees will make Valpo formidable. Last year was tough...this year they are middle of the pack and have a chance to finish 3-5. Progress gents. That's what I'm seeing.

[VUGrad1314]

This has been true for every conference game except Indiana State.

[ValpoDad89]

1314, you are spot on but every team just has a BAD day. We get them Wednesday and if we play like we did today, we will win. IF...but I will be there!!! With my gold Valpo shirt on!!!

[justducky]

Justducky, DePaul has NO 3 point shooters and just beat Xavier at the Cintas Center (shot 23% from 3 for the game) by pounding the ball inside and FINALLY realizing you need to dribble drive. Now X ain't the same X every knows but DePaul has blown for decades now. You use your personnel wisely and put them into a position succeed. I'd take Matt Lottich over Dave Leitao any day. Why? Because what I've seen from both teams is Valpo's effort is so strong every night. Those kids don't give up.

Interesting! Haven't had the occasion to watch either this year. I'll check the DePaul stats.

Cameron Witt?

Bingo! He played maybe 4 minutes in that Butler game with 2 baskets, good defense, 1 rebound (?) while giving Cory Johnson a little breather. I remember thinking that we just couldn't ask for any better than that.