Valpo at Evansville 1/14 3 pm ESPN 3

[humbleopinion]

Sagarin  has us ranked above Evansville by 41 teams.  This is as good a chance for a victory as we have had in Valley play.  Still, our odds of winning in Evansville has been bad if history is taken into account.

Presuming that Darius is out will Nick be playing all forty minutes?

[VALPO LI]

Is this game the "must win game" to potentially turn this season around?  This ship has a large hole and is taking in a lot of water.  The Beacon is dim and time is running out!  Will this team bail us out and save this season today?  Is this game a must win?  I would have to say so!

[historyman]

Is this game the "must win game" to potentially turn this season around?  This ship has a large hole and is taking in a lot of water.  The Beacon is dim and time is running out!  Will this team bail us out and save this season today?  Is this game a must win?  I would have to say so!

The sad truth is that we are looking at a 2 to 3 win conference season at best. The worst 0-20 in conference.   

[valpotx]

Evansville 72
Valpo 60

We suck

[AlaskaCrusader19]

Is this game the "must win game" to potentially turn this season around?  This ship has a large hole and is taking in a lot of water.  The Beacon is dim and time is running out!  Will this team bail us out and save this season today?  Is this game a must win?  I would have to say so!

How do you define "turn the season around"? If you're thinking of getting to the middle of the pack in the conference... Well...

[VALPO LI]

Is this game the "must win game" to potentially turn this season around?  This ship has a large hole and is taking in a lot of water.  The Beacon is dim and time is running out!  Will this team bail us out and save this season today?  Is this game a must win?  I would have to say so!

How do you define "turn the season around"? If you're thinking of getting to the middle of the pack in the conference... Well...

How about we start with a Conference win and take it from there

[usc4valpo]

Looking really good right now

[historyman]

Evansville 72
Valpo 60

We suck

But we don't suck as bad as Evansville sucks!


BEACONS LIGHT UP ACES!!!!

[valpotx]

Yay, we won't go 0-20!

[valpopal]

Good defense...on those free throws...made the Aces miss 18 shots.

[justducky]

I wasn't really impressed with anything but wins are good! Ragland has some work ahead of him. Maybe Matt could be his assistant coach? 

[VU2014]

It's hard to believe there is a worse team than Valpo.

I 100% believe we should move on from Lottich but it's a healthy reminder that if we were to get a new head coach, it won't be an overnight fix (example Evansville). With all that said we all know we should move on from Lottich at this point. There is no hope with Lottich. I hope Pres and AD sees that.


https://twitter.com/valpobasketball/status/1614400589730910208?s=46&t=0kobVeTqoUBHVvKfxQ5xpg

[oklahomamick]

We are not going to go winless in the valley!

[vu72]

We are LUCKY to escape with a win.  If Evansville hit just 8 more free throws, making them 26-36, they win.  Evansville is a team that shouldn't win a another game all season. We've got issues...

[VULB#62]

THE FREE THROW MYSTERY

E'ville is a good example but VU is a continuous culprit.

Why can't college teams consistently sink 75% of their free throws?  After all, they are, duh, free 🙄

Back in the 1960's Valpo HS  HC Virgil Sweet develpoed and used a well-publicized process that ensured that his teams, and any other teams who followed the process (including VU) would shoot that FT %age.  It's a fact. The stats over time proved it.

The 15' FT line has not changed. The ball is the same. The rim is at the same height. Why have, at least, we (VU, the home of this concept), lost how to shoot 75% across the roster?

With this next statement I am not pushing Tonagel as VUs anointed next MBB coach, but he has strong Valpo roots.  His IWU team as a whole shoots 74.6% from the line. Do ya think his teams have won some games from the FT line? 

Obviously, scoring involves three components:  FGs inside the arc, 3pt. FGs outside the arc, and FTs.  I'd guess that FTs over the long run are 20% of every final score. Do coaches spend 20% of practice time on that part of the game?

It is analogous to special teams in FB.   Skills and techniques are coached and practiced in proportion to the role in the game. In BB, poorly coached and practiced FTs are, therefore, shot poorly. Proper FT shooting takes a chunk out of practice time. But it's usually relegated to the end of practice and left to the players — "go shoot 50 FTs (seldom coached) and go shower."

If I were Smart and interviewing a potential HBBC, one thing I'd definitely ask is him how he coaches this element of the game — and I'd look at his teams' FT %ages.

[valpopal]

E'ville is a good example but VU is a continual culprit.

Why can't college teams consistently sink 75% of their free throws?  After all, they are, duh, free 🙄

Back in the 1960's Valpo HS  HC Virgil Sweet used a well-publicized process' that ensured that his teams, and any other teams who followed the process, including VU) would shoot that FT %age.  It's a fact. The stats proved it.

The FT line has not changed. The ball is the same. Why have, at least we (VU, the home of this concept), lost how to, across the roster, shoot 75%?

Virgil Sweet taught my wife how to shoot free throws when she was a girl. Even today she could make more than Evansville's 50%.

[AB]

Good to get a win, but it was two below average teams battling it out. Difference...Valpo had more offensive weapons. King is small to finish, needs dribble drives to score. Krikke is a pleasure to watch. Saw no improvements in what Valpo was trying to do, just played a bad team who can't throw it in the ocean. Refs were atrocious. Bring on UIC. Sherell Ford and Kenny Williams ain't walking through that door!

[VULB#62]

E'ville is a good example but VU is a continual culprit.

Why can't college teams consistently sink 75% of their free throws?  After all, they are, duh, free 🙄

Back in the 1960's Valpo HS  HC Virgil Sweet used a well-publicized process' that ensured that his teams, and any other teams who followed the process, including VU) would shoot that FT %age.  It's a fact. The stats proved it.

The FT line has not changed. The ball is the same. The rim is at the same height. Why have, at least we (VU, the home of this concept), lost how to shoot 75% across the roster,?

Virgil Sweet taught my wife how to shoot free throws when she was a girl. Even today she could make more than Evansville's 50%.

And.......... It all simply starts with your middle fingertip always on the air valve 😁

[David81]

The boxscore reveals....

VU's 3-point shooting was once again awful. In MVC games, with the exception of Bradley, 3-point shooting has been under 30 percent, with some under 20 percent.

Four of five starters had to play very solid minutes to beat the worst team in the conference. Bench players contributed 7 points.

Evansville played only 8 guys.

Two pretty evenly-matched teams in the cellar right now.

[VULB#62]

Announced attendance 4519. Has anyone in Evansville grasped the fact that they have a bad team (and have not been good for quite a few years)? Good for them though.   Valpo can only dream of those numbers when we've had great teams going against top shelf competition.

[usc4valpo]

62- Evansville has always had a passion for basketball and a loyal fan base ... but what else is there to do in Evansville?

Maybe they also have regular 25 cent beer nights!

[VALPO LI]

Announced attendance 4519. Has anyone in Evansville grasped the fact that they have a bad team (and have not been good for quite a few years)? Good for them though.   Valpo can only dream of those numbers when we've had great teams going against top shelf competition.

And that number is below their yearly average attendance 

[elephtheria47]

Nice! We are progressing nicely.