Game #2 Valpo @ Saint Louis 11/9 6:00 Fox Sports Midwest WVUR 95.1

[VUBBFan]

Since my first Thread went OK, thought I'd try one more.

This Saturday we travel to take on the Saint Louis Billikens. They were last years' A-10 tournament Champs. However they lost in the first round of the NCAA to Virginia  Tech. They lost two very good players to the pros, But still have a strong core nucleus made up of Juniors Jordan Goodwin 6'3" and Hasahn French 6'7". They also add Freshman quick guard Yuri Collins 6' and big man Jimmy Bell 6'10" 270lbs to the mix.

Saint Louis has played two games so far. An exhibition against Kentucky Wesleyan that they beat easily and Florida Gulf Coast they defeated (89-67). They play at an up tempo pace and use a smothering full court press resulting in numerous turn over / take aways. With Valpo adopting a run and gun style of play this year, this game should exciting and fast paced. Will be interesting to see who runs who into the ground first. My bet, as always, is on Valpo to come out on top. #GoValpo

[valpotx]

Valpo 73
Saint Louis 69

[bbtds]

https://www.stltoday.com/sports/college/slu/sparked-by-veteran-goodwin-and-freshman-collins-slu-s-offense/article_e5307c66-7b0a-58d3-9129-28e03b33fab9.amp.html

Six players combined to make 11 3-pointers. The offense moved at a pace that finally seemed intent to score quickly. The full-court press was disruptive and productive.

Coach Travis Ford mixed and matched 10 players in a game SLU controlled from the outset of an 89-67 win over Florida Gulf Coast, leaving little for him to complain about.

"Offensively we did some good things," Ford said. "What I was really proud of is they opened in a zone against us and we didn't hesitate, and we haven't gone against a zone a whole lot. We executed and did some good things. I think we're a pretty good team against a zone.

SLU outrebounded FGCU 41-28, grabbing 21 offensive rebounds in the process. They led to 24 second-chance points. The Billikens forced 18 turnovers, made nine steals and scored 17 points from turnovers.

Ultimately, the Billikens showed signs of the offense that Ford said he saw in the preseason and hoped would emerge. Freshman Gibson Jimerson made three 3-pointers as the newcomers accounted for nine, offering signs of a resurgent perimeter game that has been dormant at SLU.

In his first college game, point guard Yuri Collins had nine assists in 22 minutes and hit a pair of 3-pointers.

"He's (French) the best player on the court at all times and he's not afraid to tell you that," Goodwin said. "We can't go anywhere without him."

French got a look at how defenses are likely to play him this season. But he turned determination into production in the second half by making seven of 11 shots and moving within eight blocked shots of the SLU career record.

[Ford]"We haven't been defending the 3-point line well from the exhibition game and the scrimmage," he said. "I thought our defense was very good in the first half. In the second half it wasn't good, to put it lightly."

[SanityLost17]

Young team, 1st road game of the season against a high pressure defense.   Yet again another game that will show us just what kind of team we have.   They will no doubt expose more of our flaws.   I would not say Toledo played aggressive defense and we still only shot 28% from 3.   Can we find enough offense against a strong defensive team?  And is our defense pesky enough keep us in the hunt when the offense can't find the bottom of the hoop for stretches? 

[justducky]

They play at an up tempo pace and use a smothering full court press resulting in numerous turn over / take aways. With Valpo adopting a run and gun style of play this year, this game should exciting and fast paced.

I spent the preseason thinking how we might apply pressure but I spent no time thinking how our bunch might beat it!  I hope Lottich has this figured out because it could be a problem. Speed and dribble skills aren't always good answers to disciplined full court pressure. This could be the difference between a tossup game and a blowout. Are Sackey and Freeman up for the challenge?

"Offensively we did some good things," Ford said. "What I was really proud of is they opened in a zone against us and we didn't hesitate, and we haven't gone against a zone a whole lot. We executed and did some good things. I think we're a pretty good team against a zone.

I doubt if we use any zone. Bryce deemphasized it and Lottich likes it even less. We were a bad zone team even with two 7 footers to anchor the middle. How many minutes of zone we will play for the season would have been a good over-under question. My guess is not many. On the other hand just how good will our man defense be while our freshmen are figuring it out?

[covufan]

We need to have a good defensive game.

Valpo  75
SLU    74

[govalpogo]

This is an interesting one.  When the schedule came out I counted it as an automatic L based on brand recognition alone.  Given the rankings and input of prognosticators, I guess I should have more confidence seeing how well Toledo is expected to do and how tempered expectations are for SLU.  So know I'm thinking it's a toss up, but still am not confident.  In recent history we always seem to find a way to lose to the Billikins.  The faced pace nature of the game should be exciting, hopefully Canada has our guys feeling a bit more confident in running and gunning than they otherwise would be in game 2. A win would be the most solid 2 game start that I can remember (10-15 years)  Guess we'll see!   

[vu84v2]

I agree with govalpogo that this is an 'upside' game. All games are opportunities in a way, but this is a game that most would not have expected Valpo to win and now it would seem that it is possible with a similar effort to the one against Toledo. I expect Valpo to lost a close game (less than 10 points) and that would not be the end of the world - but it paints a very positive outlook if Valpo can pull off the win.

[bbtds]

One of the SLU fans on their message board said that Valpo is vulnerable because the Billikens have much more depth than the Crusaders. Does anyone agree with this?

[bbtds]

In your cable/satellite/TV service gets Fox Sports Midwest out of St Louis you can watch this game live at 7:00 EST/6:00 CST and then the Stanley Cup champion Blues playing at Calgary at 10:00 EST/9:00 CST. I'm lucky because I do get FSMW.

[Valpower]

One of the SLU fans on their message board said that Valpo is vulnerable because the Billikens have much more depth than the Crusaders. Does anyone agree with this?

They certainly used their bench more than we did ours (15 minutes vs 11), so in that sense, yes.  But the critical question is how good was FGCU vs Toledo?

[wh]

Point spread: Valpo +9

Power Rankings:
STL 46
Valpo 202

https://www.oddsshark.com/ncaab/valparaiso-saint-louis-odds-november-9-2019-1184160

[talksalot]

Point spread: Valpo +9

Power Rankings:
STL 46
Valpo 202

the O/u is 131... TAKE THE OVER !!

They are looking at a 70-61 SLU win...

DeadHorseBeating time... but have you seen the SLU Non-Con schedule?

Nov 9, 2019   vs team Valparaiso   7:00 pm  Chaifetz Arena   —
Nov 13, 2019   vs team E. Washington   8:00 pm Chaifetz Arena   —
Nov 17, 2019   vs team Seton Hall   4:00 pm Chaifetz Arena   —
Nov 20, 2019   vs team High Point   8:00 pm Chaifetz Arena   —
Nov 23, 2019   vs team Belmont   5:00 pm Chaifetz Arena   —
Nov 27, 2019   @ team Boston College   2:00 pm Conte Forum Chestnut Hill
Dec 1, 2019   vs team S. Illinois   4:00 pm Chaifetz Arena   —
Dec 8, 2019   vs team Tulane     2:30 pm Chaifetz Arena   —
Dec 14, 2019   @ team Auburn    4:00 pm Auburn Arena   
Dec 17, 2019   vs team Maryville  8:00 pm Chaifetz Arena   —
Dec 21, 2019   vs team Kansas St.   7:00 pm Chaifetz Arena   —
Dec 29, 2019   vs team Bethune-Cook.   7:00 pm Chaifetz Arena   —

The only road games are at P5 schools and they have a P5 coming to Chaifetz...

[M]

Any Indiana (or a few other states) residents you can parlay Valpo basketball (+9 currently) with Valpo football (a -3 favorite 😳) and get +264 on your bet!

Side note: if anyone wants to get started on Draft Kong's hit me up for a referral code and we both get 5 free $20 bets.

Go Valpo!

[VUSWIM08-12]

Over/Under has already moved up to 133, still took it and bought a point even though this game could easily be in the 150s. My parlay for the day is Over 132, Northern Iowa +3 at Northern Illinois, and Gonzaga -33 at home vs Ark Pine Bluff.

Sackey is turn over prone when he gets in traffic so maybe Freeman will have more "bring it up the court duties", although this will have to be a team effort to beat the press. Looking forward to this one.The video link on Valpo's website has been removed, will this still be on ESPN3 or only on FSMW??

[usc4valpo]

SLU 80, Valpo 65

[M]

I got the total at 130.5!

[bbtds]

I think it will be a thrilling finish but the Billikens will find some way to win it in a very very close contest.

Valpo  74
SLU    77

[Smj]

I don't have fox sports midwest...   anyone see a streaming option?

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

[valpolaw]

The Valpo basketball schedule says it's on ESPN +

Anyone know whether that's in fact true?

[wh]

SLU is picked to finish 8th in the A-10. Valpo is better than people think.

Valpo 73
SLU   71

[justducky]

The Valpo basketball schedule says it's on ESPN +

Anyone know whether that's in fact true?

It is on the ESPN+ list of upcoming games!

[JD24]

The Valpo basketball schedule says it's on ESPN + Anyone know whether that's in fact true?

I'm an ESPN+ subscriber and the game is listed on my schedule.

[wh]

The Valpo basketball schedule says it's on ESPN + Anyone know whether that's in fact true?

I'm an ESPN+ subscriber and the game is listed on my schedule.

Thanks for the tip. I went to ROKU on my TV, found ESPN, installed it for free, selected an option for ESPN+, and signed up for $4.99/mo. (Cancel at any tim).  Now I can live stream the game through my TV and my mobile devices.

[bbtds]

The Valpo basketball schedule says it's on ESPN + Anyone know whether that's in fact true?

I'm an ESPN+ subscriber and the game is listed on my schedule.

Thanks for the tip. I went to ROKU on my TV, found ESPN, installed it for free, selected an option for ESPN+, and signed up for $4.99/mo. (Cancel at any tim).  Now I can live stream the game through my TV and my mobile devices.

ESPN+ also has an option to pay $49.99 a year so that it comes to $4.166/month for all year long.