12/7/2011: IPFW

[sectionee]

Here is our preview for the IPFW game. 

http://sectionee.blogspot.com/2011/12/game-preview-ipfw.html

[valpo84]

This is a good test for this team's fortitude. Huge win on Saturday, winnable road game on Wednesday. Need to forget about Saturday and devour the Mastadons early, one bite at a time.

[VUfan]

Chomp-Chomp, inside-Inside quickness, sharp passing, pound the boards= go home with a smile
VU 76 IPUFW.... 64

[Crusader03]

Love all the enthusiasm here, but my calendar says the Lady 'Saders take on the Lady 'Stadons on 12/6, not 12/7.  Let me echo VUfan and state for the record that I see a 12 point VU winner!

[okinawatyphoon]

My calendar looks fine. Stop thread hijacking. 

[agibson]

I thought it was cute!

[talksalot]

I'm planning to head to the Allen County Coliseum on Wednesday... 27 traffic lights between here and the left-turn past I-69... my record is 24 green coming home one night after a tourney game.   and I remember broadcasting a High School Semi State game with Dave Bard! in the late 1970s (Argos Dragons big year if that helps put a date with it) from the upper-balcony press row.  Going to watch a Valpo 25-point with.  I just looked at the Mastadon box from the last game... Trey was their stud and only played 9 minutes.  This will really hurt the ole' RPI... now at 24 in one of the polls...

[valpotx]

Valpo 75
IPFW 62

I am hoping for even more of a beat-down than I am predicting due to comments made by the IPFW administration 2-3 years ago that they 'consistently beat Valpo in all sports' when addressing interest in eventually moving to the HL.  I believe we have many more wins than losses in all sports against IPFW, and they were just on a high of winning a few games against some of our teams, but that still irks me to this day.  A Dane Fife-coached team would make this a closer game, not as worried by whoever replaced him.  They lost by 15 at home to UMKC, who lost by 46 at Wisconsin, and by 4 to Utah Valley.  IPFW also barely snuck a 5 point win over South Dakota at home, who is still in a transition phase from D-2 after joining the Summit.

[covufan]

Valpo -80
IPFW - 68

We control the tempo and the boards.

[FWalum]

Do not overlook this game! These Intrastate contests have been much closer over the last few years then they were in the beginning.  This is a big game for IPFW and they see it as a rivalry/bragging rights game.  Their coach and players said as much on the coaches show this evening.  They are a young team with a first year coach that does have a couple of good players in Gaines and McCorkle.  Gaines lives at the free throw line and is very aggressive, sometimes too much so.  He is most likely going to get his points as he has even against Xavier and Iowa.  The key to victory is ball pressure against their young backcourt.  If Buggs can stay out of foul trouble while still applying his tenacious ball hawking we should be in good shape.  Kevin also needs to make a little comeback and have a good game against McCorkle. 

VU    - 78
IPFW - 66

[agibson]

What'd these guys beat us, six in a row, before last season?  Embarrassing.  We'd better come ready to play tonight!

Anyone investigate the video option?  Looks like IPFW has streaming video, but I'm not sure what the cost is, whether you can buy a single game pass, etc.

[vu72]

What'd these guys beat us, six in a row, before last season?  Embarrassing.  We'd better come ready to play tonight!

Anyone investigate the video option?  Looks like IPFW has streaming video, but I'm not sure what the cost is, whether you can buy a single game pass, etc.

The record book says we are 8-2 all time going into tonight's game.

I just registered to watch the game on their athletics site.  $5.95 for the single game.  Thank goodness for the Horizon League free site!

[valpotx]

I think you may be confusing IPFW with someone else, as we are 8-2 versus them historically.  We did lose twice in a row before last season's victory, for our 2 losses.

[vu72]

Great article from the News-Sentinal about tonight's game.  Great quotes as well!  "those are old guys"  Brad Stevens

http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20111207/SPORTS/111209750

[agibson]

I think you may be confusing IPFW with someone else, as we are 8-2 versus them historically.  We did lose twice in a row before last season's victory, for our 2 losses.

Funny!  It did seem inexplicable that we could drop six in a row.  I'll have to dig up the source on that - probably it was a piece from the IPFW perspective.  _Maybe_ it could be six in a row in all sports, or some such?

Was it at least two in one season, home-and-away?  That's my, slightly dim but personal, recollection.

[valpotx]

It will be interesting to see if his prediction of Gaines being the best player in the game is true.  Never heard of him, but then again, I don't follow IPFW of the Summit anymore.  To say he will have 30 pts against Bogan may be a bit of an overstatement, but I bet Kenney guards him anyways.

We lost to IPFW at their place 75-72 in 2009-2010, and at home 63-46 in 2008-2009.  In other words, they beat us by a lot when we were really suffering from the loss of Haanpaa and Bouchie (9-22 that year), and barely the year after on their court.

[wh]

Great article from the News-Sentinal about tonight's game.  Great quotes as well!  "those are old guys"  Brad Stevens

http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20111207/SPORTS/111209750

The writer says that Gaines will be the best player on the floor in tonight's game, as if that's a given.  He should have said "best scorer" in tonight's game.  There is not a doubt in my mind that the best all around player in tonight's game will be Ryan Broekhoff.  In IPFW's 4 games against D-1 opponents, Gaines is shooting 40% overall, only 30% from 3.  He is your run-of-the-mill Summit (Mid Con) one-man show - ala Watson or Helms.  Shoots a lot, gets fouled a lot.  The writer also failed to mention that he has turned the ball over 4, 4, and 5 times in 3 of their 4 D-1 games.  His assist:turnover ratio 0.33:1. Writers give one dimensional players like this guy way more praise than they deserve.

[valporun]

The writer must be trying to build up Gaines's ego, or at least try to get him going before Summit play starts?

[covufan]

I think you may be confusing IPFW with someone else, as we are 8-2 versus them historically.  We did lose twice in a row before last season's victory, for our 2 losses.

Funny!  It did seem inexplicable that we could drop six in a row.  I'll have to dig up the source on that - probably it was a piece from the IPFW perspective.  _Maybe_ it could be six in a row in all sports, or some such?

Was it at least two in one season, home-and-away?  That's my, slightly dim but personal, recollection.

Maybe it was a locational thing - In IPFW's mind they COULD have won 6 in row! 

[valpotx]

It's kind of funny the way they want to compare to us, when there really isn't that great of a comparison to be made on several fronts (private/public school, no D-1 basketball history, etc).  I guess it is like us trying to compare ourselves to bigger/better schools, but for them to continuously put out press over the last few years saying they have beaten us regularly is an absolute joke.  I very much hope that we beat them by 20+ just for my own personal satisfaction.  In baseball when I was in school, they were not even close to us, but they still talked a lot of trash.

[agibson]

I just registered to watch the game on their athletics site.  $5.95 for the single game.

OK - not bad.  I've got it going here now as well - gathering the family around the laptop for a basketball supper.  Why not?

[agibson]

We lost to IPFW at their place 75-72 in 2009-2010, and at home 63-46 in 2008-2009.

Wow, I'm not doing well here today.  I guess that's a _kind_ of a home-and-away.  But, I really was thinking in-season.

As for the IPFW source I was (poorly) repeating, it was
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20111112/SPORTS0305/311129922/1086/SPORTS0305

They were probably actually entirely complementary to Valpo - I just read the piece too quickly while remembering the discussion here of outsized IPFW claims and ambitions.

The quote is

Want a solid measuring stick before the Summit League gets into full gear? Valpo should be it. Last season the Crusaders ended a six-game Mastodons winning streak, 63-47 at Valpo. It was so bad, Fife didn't attend the post-game news conference.

The six-game win streak they're referencing was a six-game _in-season_ win streak.  Six games in a row last season that IPFW had won (best win... Toledo?) before losing at Valpo.

[Valpo2010]

Listening to IPFW's radio coverage, I find it interesting how they refer to this game as a big rivalry game...when did this become a rivalry?

[agibson]

Listening to IPFW's radio coverage, I find it interesting how they refer to this game as a big rivalry game...when did this become a rivalry?

It seems something like Valpo and Butler - though without the 100-game (mostly ancient?) history.

[vu72]

The video is terrible as they continually show replays while play continues.  Missed about 1/4 of the action as a result.

Worst half I've seen Valpo play in a couple of years.  We either turn it up a bunch or will be very embarrassed.  Down by 7 at the half