Game #9. Valpo @ Central Michigan 12/6/23 at 6pm CST When the Chips are down

[talksalot]

Ojiboye's former teammates are 2-5, including 0-1 at home... in fact, back to last year, they have dropped 5 in a row at the McGuirk Arena (Capacity 5,300, • Courtside seats (42)• Premium Seats (724) • Club seats (88) • Reserved seats (1,308))

• With 14 points, the Chippewas were picked to finish 12th out of 12 teams in the MAC preseason coaches poll. 

This year's results

Lost at Oklahoma 89-59
Lost at home to UL-Monroe in the MAC-SunBelt Challenge, 74-64
Lost at Florida State 94-67 in the Sunshine Slam
BEAT South Florida (RPI #333) 68-63 in Tampa
BEAT Siena (RPI #362) 70-56 at Stetson's Tournament
Lost at Stetson 71-61
Lost at Ohio State 88-61

They did play 2 exhibition games, beating Northwood 81-55 and Alma College 97-32.  Both Games were advertised as "Open Door"... "No Admission" ... and they packed in 327 and 411 fans respectively.

From the Ohio State game:
Central Michigan was led by Jemal Davis' (#4  Junior 6'8" 205-pound Forward) career-high 15 points off the bench. Davis set career-highs for scoring (15 points) and 3-point field goals made (two). Paul McMillan IV came off the bench to register his third double figure scoring game with 12 points (5-9 FG) and Brian Taylor added his third straight double figure scoring game with 12 points, along with five rebounds. Anthony Pritchard finished with nine points and four assists before fouling out and Derrick Butler added eight points in this first career start. Central Michigan was without two of its starters in Markus Harding and Aidan Rubio.

CMU was looking for its second consecutive victory over a Big Ten opponent as it defeated Michigan last year in late December.

With Ohio State up one point, 22-21, the Buckeyes put together a 15-0 run. Thornton started the run with seven straight points as he converted two pull-up jumpers and a 3-pointer. Okpara followed with two free throws, Okpara scored on an alley-oop dunk, Dale Bonner hit two free throws and Okpara scored on another dunk before CMU's Pritchard ended the run with a jumper.

===From The  CMU Game Notes===
• Central Michigan is an entirely different team from last year. CMU finished 10-21 overall and 5-13 in the MidAmerican Conference. The Chippewas tied for ninth place in the MAC.
• CMU returns just three lettermen and three starters from last year's team. Those three players include guard/forward Brian Taylor, center Markus Harding, and guard Max Majerle, (yes, the son)
• The Chippewas add 12 new players. Of those 12 players, two are transfers from NCAA Division I schools, four are junior college transfers, and six are freshmen.
• Valpo and CMu meet for the 10th time in men's basketball. Central Michigan holds a 5-4 advantage in the series which began in 1926.  The Chippewas have also claimed four of the five matchups played in Mount Pleasant.  The last time the two teams met was on Dec. 12, 2020, an 84-79 victory at McGuirk Arena.

=== Uh Oh ===
When CMU makes more 3s................................2-0
When made 3s are even......................................0-1
When CMU opponents make more 3s...........0-4

=== Who to Watch on CMU ===
• Graduate student guard/forward Brian Taylor (#0  6'6" 220 Pound) returns for another season. He graduated in May 2023 but decided to return.   Last year, Taylor made an impact as he averaged 14.4 points (third-highest on the squad) and team-highs of 6.1 rebounds per game and 33 steals. He ranked seocnd on the team in blocked shots with 25.  Taylor's strength is his mid-range game, where he cuts to the basket, jump stops and uses his athleticism to elevate over defenders for a shot.

• Last year, Markus Harding, a 6-foot-10, 260-pound Junior transfer from Eastern Florida State  (His Kid Brother, Freshman Hunter is 7'0" also on the roster) College, proved to be a key scoring force in the low post. Even though he missed six games from Nov. 17-Dec. 7, 2022, Harding emerged as a key playmaker down low for the Chippewas.  Already, Harding is back to form, averaging 11.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and  shooting 58.8 percent (20-34) from the floor through five games.

Tulsa transfer Anthony Pritchard (#30 6'2" 185 Junior) has already emerged as a key leader at point guard for Central Michigan after seven games. Pritchard leads the Chippewas in four separate statistical categories: scoring (13.7 ppg.), assists (36), steals (16), and field goals made (39). He also ranks second on the squad in rebounding (5.1).  Pritchard has registered 36 assists and 21 turnovers for an outstanding 1.71 assist:turnover ratio.  Through seven games, Pritchard has led the Chippewas in scoring four times, rebounding three times and assists six times.

• Sophomore Paul McMillan IV (#34  6'2" 175) provides Central Michigan scoring and shooting off the bench.   Through seven games, McMillan, a transfer from NJIT, has registered double figure scoring three times and ranks No. 4 on the squad in scoring at 7.7 points per game.   As a senior at Woodward Career Tech, McMillan IV was named Ohio's Gatorade State Player of the Year after he 2,658 career points, the sixth most points in Ohio high school basketball history.

Team Stat Comparison
           CMU   VU
FG%   42.8     39.6
3pt%   31.2     32.4
FT %   65.5     68.4

Shots/Game   55.4    63.4

Reb/gm  30.9     37.9
Asst/gm  10.1     12.1
Turn/gm  15.1     10.6
Steals/gm  6.9     7.0
Blks/ gm   3.4     4.8


Back to Harding.... missed the last two games.  before, he was shooting nearly 60% from the field and 5-10 from 3pt.  I can't find any details about why he's been out of action.  He missed a bunch of games last year due to injury.

They have 10 players averaging 10 minutes or more per game.... but only 5 players have played in all 7 of their games.  Three of their starters have started every game, Pritchard, Taylor and Cayden Vasko.  Cayden is a 6'6 190-pound Freshman from LOWELL - Bosco Institute and Lowell High School.   Selected Central Michigan over offers from Akron, Army West Point, Purdue Fort Wayne, and Missouri-Kansas City.  He's averaging 25 minutes and 5 points per game.



OK, ONE LAST Tidbit for THOSE people on this board...

Is Central Michigan University enrollment down?

CMU officials said preliminary enrollment numbers showed 14,411 students are attending the Mount Pleasant-based institution's classes this fall.   Central Michigan University student enrollment drops to half ... CMU hit its all-time enrollment peak in 2015, when 25,528 students attended classes there. But there's silver lining in the fall 2023 figures, officials said. While enrollment dropped by 11,117 students the last eight years — a 43.5% decrease — the size of the annual decreases shrank considerably in recent years.  Jennifer DeHaemers, CMU's vice president of student recruitment and retention, said university officials predict the closing gap in enrollment losses indicate enrollment will increase in fall 2024.

"We really believe next year we will turn that corner," she said.

[covufan]

How do we respond to two MVC losses and being on the road? An opportunity for a good road win. Who steps up when CMU is on a run?

We need to be better on the boards.

Valpo  74
CMU   68


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[talksalot]

I'm going to the game... hope their concessions are good... gonna be cutting it close to tip-time to get.  We'll be in the Valpo Gold Sweatshirts!

[tiny707]

VU: 72
CMU: 70

[valpotx]

Not sure why Ola left CMU, but given this view:

Valpo 77
CMU 70

Ola - 15 points and 6 boards

[valpopal]

The initial NET rankings reveal Valparaiso at 294 and Central Michigan at 331. This is a great opportunity for Coach Powell to get his first road victory and for the team to take a small step forward. I am hoping for a win.


Valparaiso  72
C Michigan 66

[VULB#62]

Yay, we're out of the "dreaded three hundred" bottomless pit 

The initial NET rankings reveal Valparaiso at 294 and Central Michigan at 331. This is a great opportunity for Coach Powell to get his first road victory and for the team to take a small step forward. I am hoping for a win.

[David81]

Valpo 78
CMU 68

[Bumbo]

Coached by long-time Coach Cal assistant at Kentucky and Memphis:  Tony Barbee.  They don't do anything special; ran mostly 5 out vs. Ohio State and showed token 1-2-2 three quarter court pressure after dead balls; they stayed with the Buckeyes until about 8 minutes remaining in the first half and then went through a long scoring and turnover drought.  #30 Tulsa transfer Anthony Pritchard is their main ball handler and scorer - at least he looked for his alot vs the Buckeyes.  6'8 Jemal Davis is their best, most athletic big.  6'6" FR Vasko Cayden is advertised as their best pure shooter.  Central has a decided Toronto, Canada slant with 4 players from GTA including 7'0 Markus Harding (injured vs Ohio State) and his younger brother 7'0" Hunter Harding who started vs Buckeyes.  6'6" Shaeden Simpson another Fr also got ample time but turned it over alot.  #13 Aiden Rubio was also hurt.  They also feature #44 Dan Majerle's kid who doesn't play much.  This is a very winnable game unless the two guys who were injured vs Ohio State come back and make a huge difference.  Plenty of offensive rebounds available.  Go Valpo !

[AB]

Understood that Central is not a very good team, but neither was Southern and they hung around for 35 minutes. We still have no margin for error and strange things happen on the road.  Chips 64 Valpo 71

[wh]

Great pregame read, Talksalot!

[historyman]

Let's see, the Drake game was closer than I thought, but we lost, the Belmont game was closer than I thought, but we lost, the Southern game was actually very positive and we did win but it was on our home floor and we did look good against the Illini IN THE FIRST HALF but we lost badly.


Valpo "the light is flickering on and off like a wire with a short" Beacons  69


Central Michigan "we should be called the Ojibwa of the Isabella Reservation because the state of Michigan enticed/moved us to the middle of Michigan and left us to the Methodists once the Frankenmuth Lutherans, of the Zehnders chicken dinners, Wally Bronner's CHRISTmas Store and St Lorenz Lutheran Church, thought they knew what we wanted, a Christian society, as demanded by Wilhelm Loehe of Neuendettelsau, Mittelfranken, Kingdom of Bavaria of the country church with the mission society," Chippewas 74

EDIT: I would be remiss if I didn't point out that there was a Lutheran missionary that came from a different part of Michigan after the Ojibwa/Chippewas were forced onto the Isabella Reservation to do work among the native group.

Isabella Indian Reservation | Clarke Historical Library | Central Michigan University | Central Michigan University (cmich.edu)

In mentioning the religious activity at the time of the 1855 treaty we would be remiss if we didn't remark of the work of Rev. G.U. Meissler of the Lutheran faith. His mission was located on the site of the present day Embers Restaurant in Mt. Pleasant and is the reason for Mission Street getting its name. How the Lutheran Mission came to the area is interesting in itself. The Mission started north of St. Louis Michigan in Bethany Township. In the 1850's, Rev. Meissler had achieved a measure of success in promoting the Christian religion among the Indians along the Pine River. With the treaty of 1855 completed, the Indians in his area as well as in other locations were encouraged to come to Isabella County and take up lands.Rev. Meissler, seeing and feeling the effects of these happenings, deemed it necessary in 1861 to move near the reservation to continue his missionary activities. The south boundary of the reservation lands was present day High Street in Mt. Pleasant. Indian Mills was two miles directly north along the section line from present day Mission and High Streets. Rev. Meissler selected the nearest parcel of non-Indian land from this center of activity for his mission. The hundred and sixty acres or quarter section for the Mission is between the present High and Preston Streets and east of Mission extending to Crapo Street.The corner of Mission and High was very swampy in those days so the Mission House was located on the south end of the property at Preston and Mission where the Embers is now situated.
Meissler, in addition to his missionary work, was a teacher in the U.S. Government Indian School at Isabella and Jordan road for several years. As time went along he suffered from increasingly poor health. Moreover declining attendance in the mission with completion of treaty obligations resulted in a re-evaluation of the program. In 1869 the Lutheran Synod was obliged to close the doors of the mission. The original meeting house was modified into a home and the quarter section was rented for awhile before being sold. On April 6, 1918, the original building burned and even at that time its initial purpose was remembered by "Just the oldest residents" according to an article in the Isabella Enterprise.

note: The Embers Restaurant closed in 2007. The Embers to close after nearly half a century (ourmidland.com)

[Bumbo]

Fun fact:  Southern just defeated Top 25 Mississippi state on the road

[VUSWIM08-12]

Ughhh, reminiscent of Belmont , down 0-9 3 minutes in , would love some better set plays...

[VUSWIM08-12]

Ohh my , we bad , real bad , O/U 2.5 wins in the MVC ? Under for me..

[NativeCheesehead]

The team that took the court tonight will go winless in the MVC. Hopefully we improve.

[mj]

Not our night. Woof.

[hckjag]

Hopefully Darius is okay. Randomly noticed it looked like his last name was missing a letter on the back of his jersey "DeVEIRO". Unless I'm seeing things

[tjjvalpo]

Love the effort of the team to get back in the game. But, very disappointed on how Powell managed the end of the game. With 1:22 left in the game, we should have started fouling to extend the game. CMU has had issues with FT shooting.

[wh]

Excellent comeback. Turned a potential blowout loss into a positive learning experience. Nice to see Roger shakeup the lineup and the new guys deliver.

W. Michigan looked gassed down the stretch.

[valpopal]

Along with the IUPUI game, another wasted opportunity. Valpo's record should be 6-3 rather than 4-5. VUs inability to beat two teams ranked in the #300s doesn't speak well of their future success against the other 11 teams in the MVC, all ranked at least 100 spots above IUPUI (#345) and Central Michigan (#310).

[covufan]

Great resilience coming back from 22 down to within 3 with time running out.  It may take time, but we need to figure out the first 20 minutes at Illinois, first 25 against Drake, and the last 10 against CMU, and play 40 like that each game. 

[tiny707]

12 rebounds for Sepp.

13 points for Weatherspoon.

9 minutes for Palm.

[VUGrad1314]

Sigh... This doesn't bode well for year one of the Powell era... if we could stop being the anchor of the MVC sometime soon that'd be great... Every MVC team won tonight except us including two victories over the A-10. This game felt like a Lottich special. I don't want to see this ever again. We need to come ready to play against teams we can and should beat home or away.

[valpopal]

Who could have predicted Sepp with 12 rebounds while Palm had 0 rebounds? I don't understand how a big man coached by someone as tough as Roger Powell was when playing can be so soft in the paint.