Valpo @ Loyola MARYMOUNT (2/17) Game Thread

[valporun]

Now that this thread has been jacked, and I enabled it too, back to tonight's game. I'm basically conceding this game to LMU. I don't think we'll have the horses inside to contend with their bigs, and the momentum coming off the road win at Moraga against St. Mary's. Not having Kevin, for good reason, won't help us inside because Richie is in the same boat as Jay and Matt, better off the bench for that quick energy boost to help change the momentum or the pace of the game.

[vuweathernerd]

Now that this thread has been jacked, and I enabled it too, back to tonight's game. I'm basically conceding this game to LMU. I don't think we'll have the horses inside to contend with their bigs, and the momentum coming off the road win at Moraga against St. Mary's. Not having Kevin, for good reason, won't help us inside because Richie is in the same boat as Jay and Matt, better off the bench for that quick energy boost to help change the momentum or the pace of the game.

they don't have much in the way of bigs - nobody over 6-9. i think the combo of richie and vucic will be okay. do i expect us to win? not as much, now that kevin got left behind. (a decision i completely support, fwiw.) but i think that if we have a decent night shooting the ball, and play our standard defense, we'll be fine.

[milanmiracle]

Courtesy of pgmado's twitter account

Valparaiso big man Kevin Van Wijk will not travel to California in order to rest for final Horizon League games.

Hope we can still put on a good showing without KVW. Richie and Hrvoje will need to step up defensively so LMU doesn't run amok in the paint...

GREAT coaching move! There's nothing to be gained from this game other than what has already been stated, so getting Kevin healthy will be a big help for the Horizon League Tourney. Heck, once the double bye is locked up, I might rest him then too.

[wh]

No Kevin = almost total reliance on closely guarded outside jump shots.  I fully expect a major beatdown.  I will be surprised if we come within 10 points.  Obviously, I hope I'm wrong - but I doubt it.

[StlVUFan]

Courtesy of pgmado's twitter account

Valparaiso big man Kevin Van Wijk will not travel to California in order to rest for final Horizon League games.

Hope we can still put on a good showing without KVW. Richie and Hrvoje will need to step up defensively so LMU doesn't run amok in the paint...

GREAT coaching move! There's nothing to be gained from this game other than what has already been stated, so getting Kevin healthy will be a big help for the Horizon League Tourney. Heck, once the double bye is locked up, I might rest him then too.

Which it is -- now.  No future tense needed   Did you mean home court advantage?

[FWalum]

I love matt's energy, but when is he going to learn that you can't jump in the air without knowing what you are going to do with the ball.

[valpotx]

I agree, Matt looked like crap tonight.  Both he and Boggs jump WAY too much when they have the ball, without first seeing where they are going to throw or shoot it. 

Not a bad effort after that embarrassing first 10 minutes of play.  I think we win that game with KVW.

[wh]

I love matt's energy, but when is he going to learn that you can't jump in the air without knowing what you are going to do with the ball.

Ditto for Ben...

Starting Vucic who can't score along with Eric who can't score and Ben who rarely scores put us in a deep hole at the beginning of both halves.  I suppose it makes some sense (maybe) to keep Richie in his normal rotation until Kevin gets back, but you're basically giving the game away in the process.   

I will be so happy when next year comes and we have more options at the 3, 4 and 5.  We have far too many minutes being played by 1's and 2's. 

[valporun]

I agree, wh. I will enjoy seeing our deep bench next year, when Kevin doesn't have to play 25+ minutes a game, same for Ryan.

[agibson]

Well, not a bad game, all things considered.  Fairly tough defense (LMU just doesn't move the ball! We passed _so much_ more than they, and it led to better shots) and some streaky good three point shooting kept it respectable.  Amazing how long we hung around in the first half with e.g. two points, without Loyola running away with it.

Is Loyola known for their transition offense?  Was this some sort of calculated risk, trading any hope of offensive rebounds to end their transition game?  Or was it just bad rebounding?  I guess that's the only excuse on the defensive end...

[valpotx]

Also, how about that 3 from Vucic?  It almost went in, surprisingly.  I guess he is a second coming of Calum McLeod, more of a mid-range/outside 7' player.

It's funny how their fans forum is saying our bigs haven't played a team like that before.  Well, our only true post player didn't make the trip, so I don't think you can say that fairly lol.

[FWalum]

Found their board and posts to be pretty knowledgeable prior to the game. Then after the game they made it sound like they really schooled us and how great they played... They do realize that we started a kid tonight who has averaged about five minutes and 1.7 points a game in place of our second leading scorer and rebounder, don't they?? We left the two time Horizon League player of the week at HOME. I wonder what the outcome would have been like if we would have had Van Wijk and they were missing Drew Viney or Anthony Ireland.  As far as athletic big men, they ought to try Eli Holman and LaMarcus Lowe on for size.

[rink]

Matt kenney is always not very good, every game I watch.

Has any team missed more bunnies than valpo over the last decade?

Lmu looked pretty terrible for most of the game, should have beat them despite the VW excuse.

[Valpo89]

Matt kenney is always not very good, every game I watch.

Has any team missed more bunnies than valpo over the last decade?

Lmu looked pretty terrible for most of the game, should have beat them despite the VW excuse.

Yes, they missed a lot of layups last night.
But rink, have you seen the 2-point field goal percentage rankings this year?

[valpo64]

KVW or not, we still should have won this game...once again, Buggs is still a disappointment, when you are totally not an offensive threat to score, a lot of effort is wasted and he is the epitome of that...now let's win the conference!      GO VALPO!

[vu84v2]

Does anyone know why Broekhoff played very little in the last 5 minutes?

I agree with other posters that it was a good decision by Bryce to leave KVW at home.  The big games are in the next 17 days and Valpo needs to dominate the Loyola game to prevent a "too big" Butler game.

Bracketbuster is a good format for giving mid-majors visibility when basketball is the national sports focus.  Doing it in December just competes with football.  A "conference challenge" is good for the Horizon if it is against the MVC or A10.  Frankly, the MAC has not done much for years and the bottom half of their conference is pretty weak.

[StlVUFan]

Matt kenney is always not very good, every game I watch.

You need to watch more games

[Valpo89]

Does anyone know why Broekhoff played very little in the last 5 minutes?

I figured by that time Bryce had pretty much conceded and didn't want Ryan to get hurt as KVW did against Cleveland State.

[IndyValpo]

Matt kenney is always not very good, every game I watch.

You need to watch more games

Or watch less....

[StlVUFan]

Obviously a real honest to goodness bracket buster event would more closely forecast a real NCAA tourney first round game.  Worthy contenders would take on power conference teams at neutral sites (closer to the power conference team's home is fine with me) as a preview of what might happen in March.  I wouldn't mind stipulating that the real match up in March can't be the same two teams.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/dayton-sports/wright-state-university-raiders/commentary-bracketbusters-has-run-its-course-1330932.html?cxtype=rss_wsu

Looks like I'm not the only one who thinks this way

[crusaderboy]

KVW or not, we still should have won this game...once again, Buggs is still a disappointment, when you are totally not an offensive threat to score, a lot of effort is wasted and he is the epitome of that...now let's win the conference!      GO VALPO!

Just curious how Buggs was a disappointment. In the game I watched, his energy single-handedly sparked his teammates and led to the second half comeback. He had a couple nice steals, pushed the ball in transition and set up shooters for open 3s in transition. His effort was not unnoticed by his teammates, who mobbed him in the huddle when LMU was forced to take a timeout.
I think this kid gets a bad rap, moreso than any other player on the team. Is he a legit outside threat? Obviously not, but at least he knows it and almost always plays within himself. He doesn't fall into the trap of opponents sagging off of him to force up bad shots, which many less intelligent players would be tempted to do.
Also, posters on here constantly note that when/if he gets in foul trouble, our offense goes into a lull. That, to me, shows how important he is to this team and its prospect for success.
Buggs, like everyone else, is far from a perfect player but he is a lot better, in my opinion, than what he is often given credit for.

[sectionee]

Very well put! Does Erik have flaws? Certainly but all the guys do.

[StlVUFan]

KVW or not, we still should have won this game...once again, Buggs is still a disappointment, when you are totally not an offensive threat to score, a lot of effort is wasted and he is the epitome of that...now let's win the conference!      GO VALPO!

Just curious how Buggs was a disappointment. In the game I watched, his energy single-handedly sparked his teammates and led to the second half comeback. He had a couple nice steals, pushed the ball in transition and set up shooters for open 3s in transition. His effort was not unnoticed by his teammates, who mobbed him in the huddle when LMU was forced to take a timeout.
I think this kid gets a bad rap, moreso than any other player on the team. Is he a legit outside threat? Obviously not, but at least he knows it and almost always plays within himself. He doesn't fall into the trap of opponents sagging off of him to force up bad shots, which many less intelligent players would be tempted to do.
Also, posters on here constantly note that when/if he gets in foul trouble, our offense goes into a lull. That, to me, shows how important he is to this team and its prospect for success.
Buggs, like everyone else, is far from a perfect player but he is a lot better, in my opinion, than what he is often given credit for.

[dylanrocks]

From my chair in Milwaukee, I thought the only reason Valpo lost that game was the absence of Kevin Van Wijk.

[vu72]

From my chair in Milwaukee, I thought the only reason Valpo lost that game was the absence of Kevin Van Wijk.

And them hitting some really off the wall shots!  Playing on the west coast at their gym and without Kevin, I think we showed pretty well.