Valpo vs Loyola Arch Madness in St Louis 6:05 PM 3/6/2020

[Sycamorefan96]

Awesome win guys! Congrats from a Sycamore fan! Love seeing the Indiana teams in our league do well in St Louis.

[vu72]

Holy Crap!  I'm drunk!!

[govalpogo]

They've been preparing for this moment all season.  I could cry from the amount of payoff from the season's frustrations that reversed tonight!

[NativeCheesehead]

Now it's a rivalry.

[hailcrusaders]

I don't know how we'll do tomorrow or Sunday, but I feel real good about this one.

Over and over, when the ball went out of bounds off of us, or a 3-pointer rattled out, or Loyola got an offensive rebound (seriously, how many did they have down the stretch?), I kept thinking "Welp, this is it. This is as close as we're gonna get. With a healthy JFL, we woulda won."

But our guys kept battling back. Sackey wouldn't let turnovers get him down and kept bringing the energy. Kiser did the Kiser things he does. Fazekas hit some huge threes down the stretch. Gordon was there at the perfect place right when we needed him. Our team does not quit!

[M]

WOW!!

[VUGrad1314]

This team doesn't quit! Maybe we fans should take a lesson from that (and I am first and foremost among them who needs to learn! Go Valpo! I BELIEVE!

I'd say at this point I don't care how Valpo does in the game tomorrow I'm already so happy and while that is somewhat true We all know that I care very much how that game tomorrow goes! I want Valpo on CBS! I want Valpo in the Tournament! The way we fight we just might surprise someone! Why not us?

[VUGrad1314]

Awesome win guys! Congrats from a Sycamore fan! Love seeing the Indiana teams in our league do well in St Louis.

Thanks!  Good luck tonight!

[VUGrad1314]

I don't want this to end! Postseason for Valpo in some way please! This team deserves to keep playing as long as they possibly can! GO VALPO! I BELIEVE!

[oklahomamick]

My plus 3000 for valpo to win it is still alive. 

All joking aside, congrats to
Coach and the team for keep battling.  They should be proud and happy, I know I am. 

Biggest win in Lottich career?

[VALPO LI]

Now it's a rivalry.

Hell Yeah!!!
It's Official!!!!

[VUGrad1314]

My plus 3000 for valpo to win it is still alive. 

All joking aside, congrats to
Coach and the team for keep battling.  They should be proud and happy, I know I am. 

Biggest win in Lottich career?

I'd say so. I mean the URI Alabama and BYU wins were great and all but the way that season ended kind of sullies them a bit. The only one that retains its luster is the URI win because they were ranked. That said this win might actually lead somewhere. This one could be a program changer. For that reason I think it is bigger. It could be the start of our true arrival as a contender in the MVC. That makes it more significant I think.

[elephtheria47]

What a win. If Valpo plays to their potential, I dont see anyone standing in their way. It's there for their taking. Let's keep rolling

[valpotx]

Regardless of how the semifinal goes, I think that this team deserves a postseason shot of some sort.  I don't care if it is CBI or CIT (NCAA being the goal!), they deserve it.  It would also continue our streak of each graduating class having some postseason action.

[valpopal]

For any of those who could only listen to the game on radio, a reminder that it will be aired on NBC Sports Chicago tonight. I believe the broadcast is set for 11:30 Central Time.

[valpo84]

Seniors! When it might be your last game, your will do whatever it takes. Congrats Kiser and Ryan.

Remember my point earlier today, what was a weakness during season can bite you in playoffs/tourney.  For Loyola, it was FTs and that was huge down the stretch. 

[bbtds]

I'm not going to hazard a guess at the score, but suffice it to say I'm leaning more towards the "half empty" view at the moment. On the other hand, what do we have to lose?

Loyola is exactly who I was wanting (no logic involved) and they are exactly who we've got. Bring em on. We are overdue on a number of levels. Lottich can secure his contract today!

Anybody don't want Lottich back now? This team fought extremely hard for him.

[valpotx]

Btw, even though I have been a big Kiser buff for a few seasons now, when did he become much more athletic?  He looked like he had Matt Kenney-like hops today!

[valpopal]

Postgame press conference: [tweet]1236120087247106049[/tweet]

[Valpower]

My great hope now is that the Sycamores and Bears play to triple OT so that we play a similarly spent team. However, I'd also take an opponent who wins in a cakewalk as they too will face challenges. 

[nkvu]

YEEEEEAHHHHHH!  Every single one of you that doubted John Kiser over the last few years can come on over to my side any time now.  I was a bit lonely over here.  Same for those that doubt Matt Lottich.  Come on over!!  He coaches a f'ing hell of a game. 

I admit that while I loved the kid and his story, I always judged the team by how much he played. If he was playing a lot then the team couldn't be really good.  That started to change about half way through this season when he showed that he had offense in his game as well as all the hustle/intangibles that made him a "glue guy".  Now I saw him just refuse to let his team lose and play incredibly on both ends of the court.  When I saw him successfully battle Krutwig who has to have five inches in height and 70 lbs. in weight on him I realized I am completely sold. I would say that though he may not be the best player on the team, I think he has become the most valuable.

[valpopal]

The toughness of Krikke to get up off the floor, hit two free throws, and stay in the game, when he got hit in the face and his eye was swelling up seemed a symbolic turning point in the game. He reminded me of Kevin Van Wijk at that point!

[a3uge]

Btw, even though I have been a big Kiser buff for a few seasons now, when did he become much more athletic?  He looked like he had Matt Kenney-like hops today!

Him nailing a crutch step back three after crossing over his defender is something I never thought I'd see a few years ago. His game has really improved every year.


Also, everyone is going to brush away that last call on Krutwig was to give him free throws... That would have been a brutal way to end the season.

[VUGrad1314]

Btw, even though I have been a big Kiser buff for a few seasons now, when did he become much more athletic?  He looked like he had Matt Kenney-like hops today!

Him nailing a crutch step back three after crossing over his defender is something I never thought I'd see a few years ago. His game has really improved every year.


Also, everyone is going to brush away that last call on Krutwig was to give him free throws... That would have been a brutal way to end the season.

Yeah but see? We executed when we had the opportunity and now it doesn't matter! Point proven. Execution trumps all. Weather the storm (that includes bad calls) nd get the job done! Go Valpo! I BELIEVE!

[FieldGoodie05]

The toughness of Krikke to get up off the floor, hit two free throws, and stay in the game, when he got hit in the face and his eye was swelling up seemed a symbolic turning point in the game. He reminded me of Kevin Van Wijk at that point!

Strong point!