First up - Toledo Rockets 11/7 at Savage Arena 6pm CT

[nkvu]

I'm also concerned about Krikke's comments after the game saying they weren't ready either mentally, physically, or emotionally. And that they came in there thinking the game would be easy. That's an indictment of Lottich and shows the coaches have failed the players.

I agree with you on this. Valpo was a 13-point underdog and they had a losing season last year. Why would they think anything would be easy short of Trinity Christian?

I couldn't find the tape of what he said, but if true, this concerns me greatly. How in the world could they ever think this was going to be an easy game and not be prepared for it?  Yes the coaches are at fault if that happened, but man, Krikke is a veteran and supposed to be a team leader. How could he not see that his team was unprepared and over confident. He saw how we lost to Toledo at home last year. How could he allow his teammates to be overconfident on their court this year?  Maybe he was just saying stuff to get through the presser, but players, especially veterans have to show some leadership as well.  Yes our coaches are responsible, but players have to step up too. 

[valpotx]

Good lord, can we quit with the 'we should have stayed in the HL' BS?  Regardless of our performance in Men's Basketball, the MVC is a much better and stable conference for a school like Valpo.  The Summit League and Horizon League are transition leagues, not a destination league...

[vok22]

Considering our back to back losses to UIC, a middle of the pack Horizon League team, I would be terrified to see where we would be at if we stayed in the Horizon. We would likely have hardly any more success under Lottich in that league than we are having here, except in a far worse conference against satellite schools. We might be talking about dropping to D2.

[valpo95]

Toledo is a very good team this season, ranked #4 in Mid-Major poll and favored to win the MAC.  It was good to see an improvement in the second half, outscoring UT by 11.  It will be interesting to see how the team reacts Sunday vs. another MAC foe.

I was busy during the first half, saw the remarkably disappointing halftime score, and then caught most of the second half. Toledo is a good team, with many good athletes and who hit contested threes in the second half. Of course, it is much easier to do that on your home floor with a large lead.

This is the kind of game that should prepare VU for the conference season - I'm sure it will get the attention of the players, and the film will expose some of the flaws and opportunities. Let's see where things stand in January, not after one game. 

[vu84v2]

I don't know whether Ben Krikke said "we were not prepared", but can we step back for a moment and recognize that Ben is a 21 or 22 year old college student. Any of us could use the wrong words if we were asked about our organization's performance. While any account that I have seen indicates that Ben is hard-working, mature and responsible, anyone his age can use the wrong words when asked questions.

Beyond that, however, being down 20+ points in the first half is not a good indicator of things to come. I hope this is just a bad sample from a better team, but excuses are not going to cut it if this is how the team performs throughout the season.

[historyman]

I don't know whether Ben Krikke said "we were not prepared",

I think it's pretty clear that Ben Krikke said that the team was not prepared.


TOLEDO - Ben Krikke has never been one to shy away from telling the truth, even if that truth is hard and uncomfortable.

There were plenty of hard truths and uncomfortable moments for Krikke and the rest of the Valparaiso men's basketball team during the first half of Monday's season-opening loss to Toledo.

The Rockets scored 21 of the first 25 points and rolled to a 52-26 halftime advantage. The Beacons fought back in the second half, but ultimately fell 85-70 at Savage Arena in Toledo, Ohio.

"We just weren't ready," Krikke said. "Mentally. Physically. Emotionally. I think we came in thinking it would be easy. Obviously this is a bit of a wake-up call, an eye opener. Our work is cut out for us."

[vuny98]

Again, I wouldn't read too much into that. You come into a game and you get kicked around for the first 10 minutes, what else are you going to say? "We came into this game with the right mindset and best attitude and prepared as best we could and still got the  kicked out of us?" No, that would be an even worse look.

It could have been phrased better for sure. "We werent ready" and "thought it would be easy" sound bad on the surface.

My interpretation of what he meant to say is "We came into this game with a lot of confidence, but we were exposed in many ways and its clear we have more work to do to get better mentally, physically and emotionally"

[JD24]

Mentally it is easier for a player to justify a lousy performance as not being prepared because that, in the players mind, is easy to change. They don't want to consider that the team just may not be good enough to beat a team such as Toledo.

[FWalum]

These type of games happen, just ask Murray State.

[VUGrad1314]

SLU is good and will probably be in the Big East soon if I had to guess. Absolutely no shame in losing to them especially for a school that just stepped up to the MVC and went through a huge transition (new coach bunch of transfers etc). Prohm has a track record at Murray though he'll get it turned around I'm sure.