Valpo at Drake 8 p.m. CBS Sports Network

[humbleopinion]

Into the conference slate and taking on one of the toughest teams.

After defeating St. Ambrose by 76 points in their last outing and with MoSt coming to town on Sunday, maybe the Bulldogs will be looking past the Beacons...

[usc4valpo]

I may be at the game tonight.

[oklahomamick]

Vegas has us as +17. That's a lot of points.....

[VUSWIM08-12]

USC I'll be there for sure , will probably have to do a few pregame beers...stoked to see Valpo live for first time since 2018...don't think the outcome will be great , but it's MVC play now so who knows! I'm guessing another moral victory lol

[covufan]

Oh crud, now that I've been reminded I might actually try to watch this game. Will they play well enough to not be too disappointed?


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[usc4valpo]

I am feeling under the weather and unfortunately  will not attend.

[usc4valpo]

Well, my daughter and I will be there

[VUSWIM08-12]

Really good so far , defensive intensity is by far the best we've seen . Can we keep it up ?? Let's go Po'

[tjjvalpo]

I fear that Krikke with 3 fouls will be our undoing.

[tjjvalpo]

Drake 5 of 7 to start the second half and 2 of 2 from 3 pt line.

[oklahomamick]

Bet Valpo 1h, fade second half.  Never fails. 

[covufan]

Well, that 14-3 Drake run hurt


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[historyman]

Just enough to tease us to make us think that the Beacons had a chance to come back.


Still need to replace the head coach.

[mj]

I think our colors are actually Brown and Fool's Gold.

[hailcrusaders]

98% of the second half was, frankly, embarrassing.

[covufan]

A game like this does tease the fans into believing. Well, maybe not just yet.


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[talksalot]

and Indiana State comes to town on New Years Day at 1pm... and they beat Evansville 91-63 Thursday night.

[AB]

The inability to stop the ball screen and our interior defense, the story likely most of the season. Chance to steal one tonight as Drake was overlooking us in the first half Valpo should have been up 7-9 pts. Still think that we need to let Krikke operate from the top of the key. Much harder to double him there. Every team will double him on the base line this year and force others to beat them. Hedstrom. Mirage?  Headed for a bottom four finish unless we guard for forty minutes or figure out an offense system, instead of letting three guys create off the dribble and score one on one. Nick Edwards is fun to watch!

[vu84v2]

A few thoughts on the game:

-Wins definitely needed to change my pessimism, but I don't feel that this was a bad performance overall.
-Edwards looks really good at PG. Stay with him.
-Many players on offense look like they are worrying that they won't "hit their marks". For many possessions, they are not just moving and playing.

[usc4valpo]

At the game and had the honor to meet SWIM! Drake could not have played a worse first half and Valpo was only up by 2. Great crowd in Des Moines, great atmosphere at the Knapp Center, a facility Valpo should emulate.

[David81]

Suddenly, Edwards has emerged as possibly the best VU point guard in years. A shame he's in year 5, with no COVID bonus season.

Toss him in with Krikke, King, Green, and Palm, and you've got the makings of a respectable starting five. Not an NCAA starting five, but potentially good enough to avoid an embarrassing conference season and win a game in Arch Madness -- especially if some of the bench guys grow and contribute.

[valpotx]

I actually watched this one, and thought that it was a good game from our side.  Drake should be mad at their performance, but we outplayed our average performance for this season.  This season will hopefully put to rest anyone basing someone's potential shooting % in college, based on what they did in HS.  I hope that he proves me wrong, but Maximus really struggles to get his spacing at this level, so you can tell that he was used to being able to shoot over everyone in HS.  Connor at least has the quick release, but Max is really struggling to adapt to college at this point in his Valpo tenure.  I only say this as I remember several folks claiming that we were gaining a sharpshooter that was going to solve our 3 point shooting woes.

[rogerwilco]

I guess moral victories is the best we can hope for.

[AB]

This is two quotes/posts from the Drake basketball message board. Take this as you will.

Don't really understand why Valpo isn't better.  Krikke is good, King was a Big Ten player I believe, Wisconsin?  They have some pretty bad losses, blown out by Sanford, (not Fred) beaten badly by Chicago State as well.  If they finish in the bottom 3-4 I'm guessing Lotich might be at the end of the road.  They always seem to play us tough, beat us pretty handily in Valpo the year we were ranked.  I think he's a decent coach, just kind of seems like a dead end job. 

As I looked at Valpo's player stats, I wondered why their record isn't better. They haven't played that tough a schedule. I just hope they don't put their best game on the floor tonight. //

[usc4valpo]

Drake was awful in the first half, missing layups and easy shots, but DeVries, Stuart's (that dude has an awesome basketball IQ) and Brodie stepped it up in the second half. Honestly, talentwise there really is not much of a difference.

I still don't understand the Valpo financial situation regarding athletics and facilities and why we can't compete. Drake has a nice, not glamorous  facility in the Knapp Center, and they are planning for upgrades. Holds 7000 and a great place to watch a game. Decent loyal fan base  in the Des Moines area which has to compete with Iowa and Iowa State. Cool bulldog mascot which makes sense instead of the woke mascots Valpo has. Drake is not much different than Valpo, and I feel stronger  there is major apathy problem regarding athletics commitment.