Valpo vs Wm and Mary 12/22/21 noon at the ARC

[humbleopinion]

Kids day and $5 seats -- hoping to fill the stands a bit. Unfortunately, coverage of Kouts and LaPorte girls basketball leaves no room in our local newspaper for publicizing the game. Maybe consistent, strong performances will lead the editorial board to adjust priorities. (Even though I get the print edition, I will click on any online story that might make it into the paper.)

I'll be there, catching the chance to see the Beacons fearing that the NHL may be setting an example.

Will there even be a mention from the announcer that masks are required?

[usc4valpo]

If masks are required how can you drink beer at the game?

[Just Sayin]

I wonder if Homer will be at the game.

[humbleopinion]

If masks are required how can you drink beer at the game?

With the price of the beer, I haven't seen many people buying it.  I fear that my over/under tie-breaker guess of a thirty-four beer cup snake would require all of the beers sold over two games to be linked together. On the brighter side, my prediction that Preston would lead the walk-ons in scoring has re-emerged as a possibility.

[Just Sayin]

KenPom Strength of Schedule for MVC teams to date. The Adjusted Efficiency Margin (Offensive Efficiency-Defensive Efficiency) of all opponents played to date.

1. N. Iowa +4.73
2. Indiana St. +4.26
3. Loyola +1.39
4. Evansville -1.04
5. Valpo -1.68
6. Bradley -1.88
7. Drake -2.08
8. S. Ill. -4.76
9. Missouri St. -6.03
10. Illinois St. -6.16

[valpotx]

Valpo 78
William & Mary 68

Interesting to see that they have the same coach from 2 seasons back, when they went 21-11.

[Old Timer]

Last I checked next two opponents have a combined one win so far. It should be a good opportunity to fine tune the offense, insert some special wrinkles for conference play, and exit the new year solidly above 500.

[VUSWIM08-12]

Valpo opened at -14.5 which has moved to -15 with the O/U at 129. Step on the gas early and get up double figures quickly, dont look back. WM is the 5th worst DI team in the nation, dont let them have a chance.

Valpo 76
WM 59

[valpopal]

Appears that some Valpo fans agree with Captain Barbossa when it comes to mask requirements...guidelines rather than actual rules:

[IndyEIT777]

So we decided to play offense today but no defense. Giving up 36 in the first half to one of the worst offensive teams in the country doesn't make me feel too good about this despite us being up by 14.

Good halves from Kobe, Sheldon and Kevion though!

[vu84v2]

Valpo can score at will on W&M (and it is good for them to see the ball go through the hoop a lot), but the defense and rebounding lack any intensity.

[tjjvalpo]

The intensity or lack there of is a function of the level of competition.

[wh]

Overall, I thought our defensive intensity was pretty strong as evidenced by W&M's 21 TO's. We were VERY physical, far more than they were. Rebounding continues to be a major problem and will undoubtedly cost us in close conf. games.

At the same time, 9 guys played 12 minutes or more, we're moving the ball WAY better on offense, scoring is coming from anywhere and everywhere, 3's are finally falling, Kobe is rounding into game shape - he's only going to get better, everyone looks confident, Kevion is in a zone, Sheldon is shooting the 3 great, we're finally consistently taking GOOD shots, and last but not least, we're finally at full strength and the difference is already showing big time.

[wh]

Nice crowd considering a working day noon start and no students. I was very surprised. I wasn't expecting more than maybe 500 in attendance.

[VALPO LI]

Nice crowd considering a working day noon start and no students. I was very surprised. I wasn't expecting more than maybe 500 in attendance.

Just over 2,100

[justducky]

3's are finally falling,

Team 3 point % now sitting at .349 while Gordon, Barrett, Kithier and Krikke cumulatively sitting at 13-63 or 20.63%.  These are surprisingly good numbers considering the unexpected drag from Barrett and Gordon. Can we maintain near 34% for Valley play? If so we should be in pretty good shape.

we're moving the ball WAY better on offense, scoring is coming from anywhere and everywhere,

For the year 186 assists vs 139 TO's. Numerous good ball handlers finding numerous good shooters should keep this 1.338 to 1 team ratio pretty high for the season. It looks like it might all be coming together----Finally!

[Old Timer]

For the first time rather than just penetrate and kick out, I saw some interesting offensive execution. Shuffle cuts and back cuts. King was especially effective at getting the ball inside. Unfortunately, our timing was off and the cutter or the ball movement caused us to miss the advantage. Defensively I believe Matt was trying some new defenses as he was emphatically calling out instructions on the defensive end. On ball defense decent but help rotation is a work in progress. Rebounding is another issue. We were outrebounded by 12. A lot of things to work out. A win is always good especially when it appears the confidence in each other is improving.

[wh]

https://youtube.com/watch?v=CyG2-opxQIg&feature=share

[Just Sayin]

TEAM RANKINGS
Valparaiso Basketball
Predictions Update
Dec 23, 2021
•   After beating Wm & Mary 88-66 yesterday, Valparaiso is now projected to finish the regular season 15-16 (7-11 MVC).
•   The odds that the Beacons make the NCAA tournament are 1%, unchanged since yesterday.
•   We currently rank Valparaiso as the #184 team in the country, and the #7 team in the MVC.
•   Next game: Tue, Dec 28 vs. #276 Prairie View. Our power ratings give the Beacons a 80% chance to win.

Bracketology Projections
Make NCAA Tournament   Get Automatic NCAA Bid   Projected Seed
(if Selected)
................................................1%..........1%                 14
•   Valparaiso almost certainly won't get an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, so they need to earn an automatic bid by winning the MVC tournament.
•   As for an automatic bid ... Valparaiso has a 1% chance to win the conference tournament. The outlook is bleak, but stranger things have happened.

[covufan]

We really need to rebound better. We used to be a good rebounding team


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[tjjvalpo]

Routinely, when we're in the Mid-con and Horizon, our RPI would be 100 or better in the non-conference schedule, then as we played our conference games and then it would drop. Right now, there are three Horizon League teams that have a better NET ranking than us:
Oakland  67
Cleveland State  159
Youngstown State  194
Valpo  197

I yearn for days that we would have NET ranking similar to Oakland. It will be interesting to see if Oakland's NET ranking drops and Valpo's climbs during conference schedules. Here's hoping.

[VUGrad1314]

Valpo's NET will probably never rise to the level of Oakland's current level unless we completely dominate from here on out but it should see a healthy rise if the team can win and win consistently in conference this year. I know the past couple games have been games we should be winning but it is comforting to see them finally winning those games. Maybe they've figured something out. Here's hoping. As for our conference affiliation I may have my reservations (and serious ones) about the rumored direction of the MVC vis a vis expansion as the list of candidates outside of Murray State is beyond bad but I still wouldn't change a thing even though we have struggled. We will eventually turn it around and become a player in the MVC and once we do we will see how worthwhile this move was if we haven't already due to the money Loyola and Drake have generated for the entire conference. Our performance starting with the tournament in the Bahamas leaves plenty of room for hope and optimism even though there are some less than stellar losses mixed in we haven't been blown off the floor in any game and I expect that to continue. My only concerns are when we face the top of the top in conference but even then we should be able to hold our own as we have in years past.

[valpotx]

W&M starts off 2-0 in CAA play, with 1 point home wins against Hofstra and Northeastern.  It will be interesting to see if this turns into a decent win, as they didn't look like your typical 1-11 team when we played against them, and they were 21-11 just 2 seasons ago.