Detroit @ Valpo 3/6/12 8PM CST Game Thread

[Valpo_Fred]

Kind of worried about this game. Detroit creates matchup problems for Valpo because they are so long and athletic. The only guy on the team who matched their athleticism the first game was Edwars. But if Valpo plays like they have the past two games, nobody in the HL is beating them. The other positive is that Ray McCallum is a horrible coach. His team seems to space out and let teams back into games. Happened with CSU the last game.

[agibson]

Looking a bit at common opponents.  Obviously, we've played each other twice.

We also have Bowling Green and Akron in common.

Detroit lost _at_ Bowling Green, 61-67.  We beat Bowling Green at the ARC 82-79.

Detroit lost _at_ Akron, 63-81.  We Beat Akron at the ARC, 62-59.

Detroit's best RPI win was CSU (85), in their last game.  We have Akron (63) and CSU twice.  So, Valpo's 3-1 against 51-100.  Detroit's 1-6.  All of Detroit's best wins are in conference.  Next best... maybe St. John's (RPI 150).

So, Detroit has fewer wins against RPI 51-100, but has been more consistent against lower ranked teams.  For "bad" losses:  @UIC 296.  GWU Neutral 181.  @ Bowling Green, 160.  YSU in Detroit, 170.  @Milwaukee 126.

Compared to three sub-200 losses for Valpo, and five 100-200 losses.

[crusaderguy08]

I wonder if they had some returns?  Or some blocks that were freed up recently?

There are much better seats available now, compared to last night.  Looking for two together, right now you can get sections BB or CC row BB.  Section EE row AA.  But, in section DD you're all the way up in row MM.

Not easy from the web interface to figure out how many total seats are available... Last night it looked pretty full (e.g. row ZZ in sections BB or CC, but row EE in section EE).

Anything in the first 4-5 rows of the Mezzanine are obstructed seats.  I would rather sit in row ZZ than AA, BB, or CC.  You have the railing in your line of sight and a contant stream of people walking in front of you.

[DMvalpo18]

My seat is in CC, which I think is high enough up to not be obstructed.

[Valpower]

Looking a bit at common opponents.

Forget the non-conference season for these two teams.  The fact is, they're playing their best ball toward the end of the season and that's all that matters.  Many people seem to think that the early-season stumbling indicates that the Horizon will field a weak representative in the NCAA Tourney, but I don't think it's necessarily the case.

With Valpo, it was to be expected that they would stumble out of the gates as they were dealing with new leadership and strategies (never mind that Bryce was an assistant or that we returned a number of players).  But that it's come together the way it has?  Astounding, really.  More encouraging than Detroit's resurgence, quite frankly.  Detroit was expected to do well, but are just doing so now and that's troublesome for them because I doubt it had much to do with coaching as their uni-faceted approach to the game hasn't seemed to change.  And THAT'S where I think Valpo has a highly-underrated edge, even with the late-season stumbles (YSU, LMU) and close games.

For composure and togetherness, I'd take Valpo over any team given how many close games they've played and won.  For versatility and the ability to make a adjustments? I don't think any team's won with a greater balance of weapons (perimeter, paint, or defense, take your pick).  Detroit?  If they're allowed to play their game, few can beat them, but if any team can take them even slightly off-course (and that's all it takes) it's Valpo. 

I wouldn't be surprised if Valpo romps.

[agibson]

Anything in the first 4-5 rows of the Mezzanine are obstructed seats.  I would rather sit in row ZZ than AA, BB, or CC.  You have the railing in your line of sight and a contant stream of people walking in front of you.

OK - it's probably pretty close to a sell-out then.  Now if you want two together you're in section EE row AA, section BB row ZZ, or section AA row SS.

[milldew72]

Being from Michigan originally, I listen to Detroit sports radio in my office here in NWI every day.
Ray Sr. was on the radio this morning saying they were bringing down "bus loads" of fans tonight.
There's a lot of support in the state for UDM because they all want three state teams in the NCAA's (Michigan State, Michigan and UDM).
I'm frankly surprised at the radio and chat room support the Titans are getting in their home state.

[wh]

Another comparison of the same opponents -

We went 3-0 against a future Big East team with an average winning margin of 11 ppg.  Detroit only went 2-0 against the same future Big East team with an average winning margin of 5.   

[historyman]

Another comparison of the same opponents -

We went 3-0 against a future Big East team with an average winning margin of 11 ppg.  Detroit only went 2-0 against the same future Big East team with an average winning margin of 5.   

I believe Detroit's downfall in not winning by more in that series against Butler and the series against Valpo and in tonight's game at Valpo is their coach, Ray McCallum, Sr. He is no where near what Bryce is as a coach. It will be close but Valpo pulls it out.

UDM  71
Valpo 74

[BrownTown]

Does anyone know the status of Doug Anderson following Saturday's fall?  He returned, but wasn't much of a factor, but his absence might really benefit Valpo tonight.

[historyman]

I just got 2 tickets section CC row AA   


does anyone know who the announcers are for the game tonight?

http://www.espnmediazone3.com/us/2012/03/05/men%E2%80%99s-college-basketball-championship-week-continues/

Mark Jones & Stephen Bardo

The same guys who worked the semifinals. I sure hope they do their homework about the game they are watching tonight, not a game that doesn't exist, or one of the Big 6 conferences they wish they were working instead. They had a lot of mistakes during Saturday's game.

I did think their idea of calling "The Shot" play "Homer" instead of "Pacer" considering our rivalry with Butler was a great idea. 

[wh]

Does anyone know the status of Doug Anderson following Saturday's fall?  He returned, but wasn't much of a factor, but his absence might really benefit Valpo tonight.

I was hoping to glean something from the Detroit board about that very topic...

[Valpo_Fred]

Note: Titans starting small forward Doug Anderson, who suffered a shoulder stinger on Saturday, was cleared to play against Valparaiso.

That's from the FS Detroit article posted. I can't post a link though. It tells me I'm not 'allowed' post external links. If he does play, who knows how effective he'll be.

[valpospartan]

I was also wondering how often we have been on ESPN.  Thanks for the info.  This will be the first time the ARC is featured on the station.  Also, its in a much more important capacity than, say, us hosting Miami (OH) in a mediocre bracketbuster, or us hosting Purdue in a nonconference game.  This game has meaning, and people will tune in and say "oh, so this is the team that ALWAYSbeats Butler", and be drawn in by the Drew family story, and most importantly, the unselfishness and character that our team shows on the basketball court. I think the team's confidence has to be through the roof at this point, and wish it was Tuesday already.

I fixed it for you.

[valpospartan]

It at least sounds like close to a sell-out, and should be a majority of VU fans again.  If it is anything like the atmosphere on Saturday, our team really responded to that energy...

Especially since there usually aren't many fans at their home games.

[historyman]

Note: Titans starting small forward Doug Anderson, who suffered a shoulder stinger on Saturday, was cleared to play against Valparaiso.

That's from the FS Detroit article posted. I can't post a link though. It tells me I'm not 'allowed' post external links. If he does play, who knows how effective he'll be.

Fred, 2 more posts and that will allow you to post links. You must have 5 posts or more total to post links. That keeps spammers from filling up the message board.

[Valpo_Fred]

Got word from the ticket office there were 380 tickets left. But that was about an hour and half ago, before I posted it up on the University's Facebook and Twitter accounts. Hopefully they sell out. Either way the majority is going to be Valpo fans based off the numbers coming out of the ticket office. Should be rocking tonight. Can't wait. Anyone here going to be there? I'll be doing the Valpo Gameday stuff in the media section in E. Stop by and introduce yourself. I'll have the black nike Valpo polo on and shaved head.

[drewsaders11]

Looking a bit at common opponents.

Forget the non-conference season for these two teams.  The fact is, they're playing their best ball toward the end of the season and that's all that matters.  Many people seem to think that the early-season stumbling indicates that the Horizon will field a weak representative in the NCAA Tourney, but I don't think it's necessarily the case.

With Valpo, it was to be expected that they would stumble out of the gates as they were dealing with new leadership and strategies (never mind that Bryce was an assistant or that we returned a number of players).  But that it's come together the way it has?  Astounding, really.  More encouraging than Detroit's resurgence, quite frankly.  Detroit was expected to do well, but are just doing so now and that's troublesome for them because I doubt it had much to do with coaching as their uni-faceted approach to the game hasn't seemed to change.  And THAT'S where I think Valpo has a highly-underrated edge, even with the late-season stumbles (YSU, LMU) and close games.

For composure and togetherness, I'd take Valpo over any team given how many close games they've played and won.  For versatility and the ability to make a adjustments? I don't think any team's won with a greater balance of weapons (perimeter, paint, or defense, take your pick).  Detroit?  If they're allowed to play their game, few can beat them, but if any team can take them even slightly off-course (and that's all it takes) it's Valpo. 

I wouldn't be surprised if Valpo romps.

Well said

[a3uge]

Going for 6 in a row against Detroit.

I expect the game to be much like every game we play against Detroit. They'll have a couple cool dunks, maybe hit a few cool looking runners... probably take a lead before turning the ball over in the clutch and taking a dozen contested 3's. It'll probably be a close game, but Valpo is much better coached and will make adjustments that produce results, while Detroit players fight with each other to see who can shoot more NBA post-up shots. Valpo definitely matched up well versus Butler, but I think there's also a huge defensive, coaching, and bench mismatch that swings Valpo's way.

[agibson]

Hmm... is it just me having connection issues?

I can't get WAKE's stream to work, nor the chat room here.

At least ESPN3's working OK for me.  And the chat room on the VU page is working...

[valpo04]

Hmm... is it just me having connection issues?

I can't get WAKE's stream to work, nor the chat room here.

At least ESPN3's working OK for me.  And the chat room on the VU page is working...

Chat room isn't loading for you?  Seems to be working ok.

[a3uge]

Slow start. Detroit playing like usual. Forcing shots, some are falling, most aren't. Valpo's D looks good.

[a3uge]

Well losing Kevin certainly don't help things.

[rink]

Somehow, I never realized what a thuggish a-hole Macallum is. What a cocky piece of crap, I don't think I could root for him, even if I were a lifelong UDM fan.

And Harris needs to man up. It's big boy time.

[a3uge]

Like father like son. Team is a bunch of goons.