Butler @ Valpo (2/24) Game Thread

[staxawax]

.....wanted to get thoughts from the board on how this game will go.  It means nothing as far as "need" for Valpo and everything for the Bulldogs, who could finish anywhere from 2nd to 6th.  How will Bryce treat this game?  You know you will get Butler's best shot and they are playing very well right now.  Are there any players the Crusaders need to rest?  Do they feel a need to sweep Butler and send a message?  Or perhaps incentive to move Butler down in the standings? 

[sectionee]

After starting Shelton and Stegglesaurus for a minute Valpo will play this game to win it.  If they don't play to win it Butler could come back and bite them in the a$$ ala what Green Bay did to the Bears a few years back.

[VUfan]

Valpo has the best record in the league, but they need to have the longest winning streak in the league against Butler to be in Charge come the playoffs. We want to be the biggist dog on the block!!!

[vuweathernerd]

so long as the game is close, i think we'll see the majority of the normal rotation. but if the score gets highly lopsided one way or the other, kevin will likely be the first to get pulled to rest his knee.

[wh]

This is not the Green Bay Packers who blistered the rest of the NFL all season and then rested people in a meaningless final game.  This is a team that quite honestly looked like crap for most of last night's game, at home no less, and against the team with the worst record in the league no less.  We very easily could have, and probably should have, lost that game.  We had better use Friday night's game to straighten some things out and get back in sinc, or our first tournament game may very well be our last.  I could care less who the opponent is.  This isn't about them - it's about us.  As far as Kevin's knee - he's got a whole week to rest it before the tournament starts.  What possible difference could it make whether he plays 19 minutes or 24?  Let's get back to a normal rotation, show some intensity, win this game, and send a message that we're the 1st place team for a reason. 

[StlVUFan]

.....wanted to get thoughts from the board on how this game will go.  It means nothing as far as "need" for Valpo and everything for the Bulldogs, who could finish anywhere from 2nd to 6th.  How will Bryce treat this game?  You know you will get Butler's best shot and they are playing very well right now.  Are there any players the Crusaders need to rest?  Do they feel a need to sweep Butler and send a message?  Or perhaps incentive to move Butler down in the standings? 

According to Luke Gore, they know they have lots to improve on.  Valpo is not firing on all cylinders.  The only difference between this year and last year is that this year's team found what they needed in crunch time to stave off defeat.  Last year's team ran out of steam.  This year's team hasn't yet, but they look like they are running on fumes at times.  We aren't crashing and burning -- not even close -- but we are wobbling a bit.

Loyola ran some sort of textbook screen and roll and Valpo fell for it every damn time.  That's one thing that concerns me big-time.  That seems like a weak spot, though I'm not able to define it with any precision.  Also their particular zone defense gave us fits (but maybe it gave you guys fits too, I don't know).

Sweeping Butler has nothing to do with sending a message as far as I'm concerned.  I think we need to sweep you guys to keep you out of the 2 seed and make you play 2 extra games before reaching the semifinals.  Outside of Detroit (and I'm with wh or whoever it was on their coach), Butler seems to be playing the best basketball right now.

Will you be coming up for the game, Stax?

[valpotx]

I would imagine that we would play this game as normal.  No coach wants to see Butler in the tournament, and if you do, you want them to have played a few games to possibly have tired legs.  I just can't see Bryce using this as a rest game, unless one team pulls ahead quite a bit, as nerd mentioned. KVW needs to get back into his groove, as with his injury, he is not crashing the basket as much as we would like.

[crusaderjoe]

This is not the Green Bay Packers who blistered the rest of the NFL all season and then rested people in a meaningless final game.  This is a team that quite honestly looked like crap for most of last night's game, at home no less, and against the team with the worst record in the league no less.  We very easily could have, and probably should have, lost that game.  We had better use Friday night's game to straighten some things out and get back in sinc, or our first tournament game may very well be our last.  I could care less who the opponent is.  This isn't about them - it's about us.  As far as Kevin's knee - he's got a whole week to rest it before the tournament starts.  What possible difference could it make whether he plays 19 minutes or 24?  Let's get back to a normal rotation, show some intensity, win this game, and send a message that we're the 1st place team for a reason.

Exactly. +1.  I would forget about resting up and exploring the "letting the chips fall where they may" mantra as to tournament seeding for everybody else simply because we've clinched the #1. For VU, the chips have already fallen as to seeding.  That is no longer in doubt.  What is in doubt however, is the strength of VU as a #1 seed.   We need to show the league that we are less beatable than we are at present.

[valpotx]

I say:

Valpo 67
Butler 63

[historyman]

(from another thread but I thought it fits better here)

The thing that no one has mentioned is that Butler won all of their games except 2 in their current winning streak at home in Hinkle. They still have not shot well from 3 range. The way they are winning is by gaining the momentum with physical play and athletic play down low from Kyle Marshall and Roosevelt Jones. Jones has not played this well all year. Marshall was hurt a good portion of the season.

The guard play of Nored, Stigall and others has been excellent in this winning streak but the Bulldogs are not shooting from 3 nearly as well as Broekhoff, Bogan, Edwards, Kenney and others. Butler was 2 for 11 from 3 against a weak UIC. I think the key will be how well the Valpo defense can stop Marshall and Jones under the basket and if they can challenge them physically and athletically under the basket for rebounds and putting on enough defensive pressure to make them miss under the basket. Our guard play and ball handling will have to be a lot better than the Crusaders have played lately. Butler has played excellent defense lately and if Valpo starts making mistakes like throwing bad passes or letting Buggs dribble into trouble or forcing things when caught in a move to the basket not knowing what they were going to do with the ball then Butler will get a big lead and not relinquish it.

On the other hand if Valpo can keep it close by playing some tough defense like Butler, play physically & athletically tough under the basket, make free throws, not make a lot of turnovers, hit those important 3 pointers near the end of the game to thwart Butler's momentum then Valpo can squeak out a win and send Butler to the #3 or #4 seed in the HL tourney which is also not at Hinkle this year except the first round game which they wouldn't lose at Valpo or Hinkle. 

[staxawax]

(from another thread but I thought it fits better here)

The thing that no one has mentioned is that Butler won all of their games except 2 in their current winning streak at home in Hinkle. They still have not shot well from 3 range. The way they are winning is by gaining the momentum with physical play and athletic play down low from Kyle Marshall and Roosevelt Jones. Jones has not played this well all year. Marshall was hurt a good portion of the season.

The guard play of Nored, Stigall and others has been excellent in this winning streak but the Bulldogs are not shooting from 3 nearly as well as Broekhoff, Bogan, Edwards, Kenney and others. Butler was 2 for 11 from 3 against a weak UIC. I think the key will be how well the Valpo defense can stop Marshall and Jones under the basket and if they can challenge them physically and athletically under the basket for rebounds and putting on enough defensive pressure to make them miss under the basket. Our guard play and ball handling will have to be a lot better than the Crusaders have played lately. Butler has played excellent defense lately and if Valpo starts making mistakes like throwing bad passes or letting Buggs dribble into trouble or forcing things when caught in a move to the basket not knowing what they were going to do with the ball then Butler will get a big lead and not relinquish it.

On the other hand if Valpo can keep it close by playing some tough defense like Butler, play physically & athletically tough under the basket, make free throws, not make a lot of turnovers, hit those important 3 pointers near the end of the game to thwart Butler's momentum then Valpo can squeak out a win and send Butler to the #3 or #4 seed in the HL tourney which is also not at Hinkle this year except the first round game which they wouldn't lose at Valpo or Hinkle.

Wow,  a headache trying to read this.  Shorter sentences are your friend, historyman!
Offensively, Butler is finally playing an inside/out game.  Pound it or drive it down low, then kick it out if need be.  3-point % hasn't really improved all that much, but Fromm and Hopkins are getting more consistent and Stigall is going to break out a good game someday.   As far as defense goes, Butler has made the national finals two years in a row because of it's defense.  They are playing that quality of defense now.  So, the opponent or the sight makes little difference.  A Butler win is like a shot across the bow of Valpo's boat.  The real battle will be the league tourney finals.
Sorry StlVUFan, I will not be able to make the drive this year.  I'll be watching on ESPNU.

[valpopal]

Vegas has Valpo as a 1 point favorite, but I think Butler has a lot more motivation and Kevin didn't show he was back to his normal self in the Loyola game. Therefore, my head tells me that Butler wins by 5. However, I have a rule of always picking Valpo over Butler, which I will not break:

Butler 61: Valpo  64

[wh]

(from another thread but I thought it fits better here)

The thing that no one has mentioned is that Butler won all of their games except 2 in their current winning streak at home in Hinkle. They still have not shot well from 3 range. The way they are winning is by gaining the momentum with physical play and athletic play down low from Kyle Marshall and Roosevelt Jones. Jones has not played this well all year. Marshall was hurt a good portion of the season.

The guard play of Nored, Stigall and others has been excellent in this winning streak but the Bulldogs are not shooting from 3 nearly as well as Broekhoff, Bogan, Edwards, Kenney and others. Butler was 2 for 11 from 3 against a weak UIC. I think the key will be how well the Valpo defense can stop Marshall and Jones under the basket and if they can challenge them physically and athletically under the basket for rebounds and putting on enough defensive pressure to make them miss under the basket. Our guard play and ball handling will have to be a lot better than the Crusaders have played lately. Butler has played excellent defense lately and if Valpo starts making mistakes like throwing bad passes or letting Buggs dribble into trouble or forcing things when caught in a move to the basket not knowing what they were going to do with the ball then Butler will get a big lead and not relinquish it.

On the other hand if Valpo can keep it close by playing some tough defense like Butler, play physically & athletically tough under the basket, make free throws, not make a lot of turnovers, hit those important 3 pointers near the end of the game to thwart Butler's momentum then Valpo can squeak out a win and send Butler to the #3 or #4 seed in the HL tourney which is also not at Hinkle this year except the first round game which they wouldn't lose at Valpo or Hinkle.

Wow,  a headache trying to read this.  Shorter sentences are your friend, historyman!
Offensively, Butler is finally playing an inside/out game.  Pound it or drive it down low, then kick it out if need be.  3-point % hasn't really improved all that much, but Fromm and Hopkins are getting more consistent and Stigall is going to break out a good game someday.   As far as defense goes, Butler has made the national finals two years in a row because of it's defense.  They are playing that quality of defense now.  So, the opponent or the sight makes little difference.  A Butler win is like a shot across the bow of Valpo's boat.  The real battle will be the league tourney finals.
Sorry StlVUFan, I will not be able to make the drive this year.  I'll be watching on ESPNU.

Stax may have a point there historyman.  91 words... 

[vuweathernerd]

Wow,  a headache trying to read this.  Shorter sentences are your friend, historyman!

that's how we roll in the humanities it took me a while to get used to it when i changed my major to history.

[zvillehaze]

Are there tickets still available for this game?  If so, should I order ahead or just show up?  Thanks!

[valporun]

Are there tickets still available for this game?  If so, should I order ahead or just show up?  Thanks!

I would call the ticket office tomorrow, then order ahead, just to be safe. Since you're coming from out-of-town, would hate for you to drive all that way with gas being priced how it is this weekend to find out that you can't get a ticket.

[agibson]

There are still seats available upstairs.

http://www.etix.com/ticket/online/performanceSearch.jsp?performance_id=1566138&cobrand=valpo

Up a ways, but it's not as big as Hinkle - so the views should still be pretty good.

Last year, last time I ordered, you could print them from home.  So, if I were you, I'd buy them online and print them at home. 

I don't have any reason to expect that you'd get _better_ tickets at the gate.  But, I suppose there might be returns...

[wh]

There appear to be 400-500 seats still available across the top 3 or4 rows of the mezzanine.  I doubt that they will sell out between now and game time.  On the other hand, the line is usually shorter at will call than the ticket office, which means less time screwing around once you enter the front door. I would suggest the latter.

[vu72]

Are there tickets still available for this game?  If so, should I order ahead or just show up?  Thanks!

Just checked.  Lower level all gone but about 300 in the top rows.  Still good viewing angles!    Wonder what the walk up might be.  Is the weather any good??

[agibson]

Just checked.  Lower level all gone but about 300 in the top rows.  Still good viewing angles!    Wonder what the walk up might be.  Is the weather any good??

Weather's a little on the lousy side.  Wet snow falling this morning, an inch of melting slush.  More forecast through the day, falling below freezing over night.

Since they were turning students away who requested advance tickets, I hope they somehow encourage them to come back, and help fill the place up with at-the-gate ticket distribution.

[Nildogg]

What is the capacity?

Surprised you haven't sold this game out, being senior night, and with all the implications!?

[vu72]

What is the capacity?

Surprised you haven't sold this game out, being senior night, and with all the implications!?

Capacity is 5500.  As for senior night, there is only one--a walk-on, so not a lot of buzz in that regard.  By game time it probably will be a sellout if the weather holds up.

[Valpo89]

All of the scenarios are spelled out in the Horizon League release that came out Friday.
Butler can still be No. 2 even with a loss tonight.
Go to page 17 of this release:

http://s3.amazonaws.com/hln/sports/releases/2/release.pdf?1322839841

[vu72]

Just checked the ticket situation and there are now 181 listed seats available, down from 204 about an hour and a half ago.  Suppose there are a few more in EE or in the endzone added bleachers.  Still, sounds like a sellout will occur.

[Valpo10]

Seth Davis picked us to win by 7.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/seth_davis/02/24/Weekend.Picks/index.html?eref=sihp&sct=hp_wr_a3